The State Minister for Higher Education and Skills, Peter Hall, visited the Timber Training Centre at Creswick last week to oversee progress on a project being undertaken between Government House, the Victorian Government and the Timber Training Centre. Source: The Advocate – Hepburn
“Last year the Governor of Victoria, Alex Chernov, came to me with an opportunity involving a 140-year-old Hoop pine tree that was part of the original plantings by William Guilfoyle, who laid out the Government House gardens,” Hall said.
“The Hoop pine tree had unfortunately died and knowing my passion for woodwork the Governor approached me to ask whether the tree could be used for training purposes.
“He (the Governor) didn’t want it to go to mulching and asked if the wood could be used for training TAFE or VET students.
“I immediately thought of the Timber Training School,” Hall said.
The training school is the only centre that teaches milling and saw doctor facility in Australia.
The tree was assessed by an arborist and removed from government house and shipped to the training centre where it is being milled, dried and graded.
“Hoop pine is a fantastic material for furniture making,” said Rob Rule manger of the Timber Training Centre in Creswick.
“The next stage will be to distribute the high quality timber to among joinery and cabinet students for furniture making as part of their training.”
The minister also presented Certificate 2 in Forest Growing and Management to students on the day.
