Cinderella Timber

Comes Into Its Own

Previously the Cinderella of

ji’s building timbers, kauvula

at last coming into its own. [THEN Mr. C. S. Sibley Elliot, r assistant chief of Forest Pro ducts Division of the Common alth Scientific and Industrial ganisation spent a week in the lony recently, kauvula was one of 3 main objects of his scrutiny.

Costing about £4/10/- a hundred per feet, as against about £6 for ported Oregon, kauvula is an idous way of utilising a natural ource as well as getting a cheaper use and furniture.

Fiji’s Forestry Department has m pushing it for years, as an ernative to the more expensive kua and Oregon, but until recently had been used only for cases and ;h like.

Uthough it needs treatment —the restry Department has installed plant at Colo-i-Suva —kauvula is 11 worthwhile because it is reason y prolific and fast-growing. £r. Elliot was able to investigate use in a Methodist Boys’ School d in houses on the Raiwaqa :ate. A lot of the timber had come m Kadavu, although kauvula can

o^ S( fv. n long , Queen’s Road, „ 6 i Forestry Department now nas a plantation at Colo-i-Suva.

Mr. Elliot’s coming to the Colony demonstrated the good sense and foresight of the department in allocating £2,250 of its Colonial Development and Welfare grant for timber research by the CSIRO TTnr tviof -cm n L thp hplfi! Wlll * h ?£ e vast t pSTßn’c f fi?Pst r H® o^c 1 - CeS f° f he dI V SIon for pvtlonmpr t and dustrv Pm6nt ° f the FIJI tlmber m "

Uui>L Y ‘

“Even identification is quite a job in itself. There are a lot of local timbers we don’t know anything

about yet. Now, we can send speci mens to Melbourne for identifica tion, and then decide what is best for the future. We are trying to en courage the local timber industry and cut down imports if we can,” said a Forestry Department Officer ln Suva.

“Mr. Elliot came to have a look at our problems for himself, and he has now £° ne back with a much Nearer picture than he would have had if he had not made the trip .”

In the week after his arrival on February 22, Mr. Elliot explored forest projects in the western division of Viti Levu and visited various sawmills along the Queen’s Road.