Description
Tallowwood is a large hardwood found along the coast and coastal ranges between the Hunter River in New South Wales up to the Maryborough district of Queensland.

Rough bark persists to the small branches and is brown to red-brown, soft and fibrous.
 

Appearance
The heartwood is a greyish-yellow colour with tinges of olive green and is a hard, fairly close-grained timber. The sapwood is distinctly paler. The timber is free of gum vein, something quite rare in eucalypts.

The timber has a slightly ‘greasy’ feel which comes from the high levels of triterpenes among its extracts. This feature can also impact on adhesive bond strength to the material. The problem can be resolved to a certain extent by washing the area(s) to be glued with a 10% solution of sodium hydroxide.

Properties
The heartwood is very durable (Class 1). The material works well and has been widely used in a variety of applications including decking, flooring, domestic structures, heavy commercial construction, sleepers, marine structures, poles, piles and bridges. Definition of properties