Jarrah

Eucalyptus marginata

Also known as: Swan River Mahogany

Appearance

Jarrah heartwood is a rich reddish-brown that deepens with age to a dark burgundy. The grain is moderately interlocked, with a medium to coarse texture. Jarrah has a distinctive warm character and natural lustre that makes it highly valued for feature applications.

Workability

Jarrah can be challenging to work due to its density and interlocked grain, but produces excellent results with sharp tooling. It accepts finishes well and polishes to a high gloss. Pre-drilling is essential for nailing and screwing.

Common Uses

Availability

Commercial logging of Western Australia's native forests ended on 1 January 2024, so jarrah is no longer routinely logged. It grows only in the south-west of WA and is very difficult to establish in plantations, so there is no farmed alternative to fall back on. New jarrah does still reach the market, mostly salvaged from approved mine-site clearing along with recycled and reclaimed timber, but the days of large-scale native-forest harvesting are behind it.