Paul’s trees
On June 9th 2021, a severe wind warning had been issued for Hepburn Shire.
When local berry and orchid grower Paul Ulrik heard twigs and leaves hitting his bedroom window around 11pm he wasn’t surprised.
But an hour and a half later when a huge tree crashed through the heated glass house containing thousands of his precious orchids, Paul knew this wasn’t a regular storm.
Over the next twelve terrifying hours relentless 100km winds would bring down 150 trees including huge fifty metre messmates.
Paul’s property on Fern Rd in Little Hampton next to the Wombat State Forest was the local epicentre of the freak storm that tore down forests in the Dandenong Ranges, Macedon Ranges, LaTrobe Valley and Hepburn Shire.
Seventy percent of the trees on his property were blown over, smashing sheds and flattening his berry farm.
To get to Paul’s street from Trentham the CFA had to cut their way through five kilometres of fallen trees.
After the storm Paul’s overriding emotion wasn’t sadness for the loss of income and destroyed buildings – his glass orchid-house alone took him five years to build – but sadness for the trees. Some of the fallen messmates were over 200 years old.
Storm clean-up teams came to take the huge logs away but Paul wanted to see them milled for timber instead of going into the mulcher or being turned into firewood.
He bought a portable sawmill and an excavator but at seventy years old with health issues he was going to need help.
Through a friend he got in contact with CERES Fair Wood’s urban sawmiller Darcy Vermont.
Darcy came over and worked out a deal to pay Paul a commission from the timber he sold and over the next three years Darcy visited around fifty times milling and sticking out timber from around eighty trees.
Three years later Darcy dropped the first lot of Paul’s messmate timber to be sold at CERES Fair Wood
It’s beautifully clean kiln-dried timber in 135×19, 135×25 and 175×19 boards that’s going to make great furniture, shelving and joinery.
You can find it in the racks at CERES Fair Wood 31-33 Raglan St, Preston.
Have a great week
Chris
