The emergence of television programs such as Grand Designs and The Block have done no end of good for Tim O’Callaghan’s business by encouraging more people to use beautiful old timbers. Source: Adelaide Now
Mr O’Callaghan’s passion for timber started in the early 1990s when he rebuilt an old Queenslander house in Townsville and began to appreciate the beauty of natural wood.
From there he learnt carpentry and started building houses to earn a living after he injured himself in a mining accident in Kalgoorlie.
It led to the start of Tim’s Timber in Kalgoorlie in 1999, procuring the best timber he could buy and selling it to eager customers around Australia.
He has operated Tim’s Timber on and off since 1999, through varied jobs and travel, including stints in the mining industry and work as an overland safari truck driver in Africa. He also drove a truck with 11 tourists from England through France, Spain, Morocco and West Africa to Ghana for three and a half months.
Tim met his future Dutch wife Suzanne in Ghana, where she was working for the Dutch Embassy, and they then lived in The Netherlands for four years where his passion for Australian timber saw him importing it for keen buyers.
He became really serious about developing his business when they decided to move from The Netherlands to settle at Wirrabara and then Booleroo Centre in the Mid North, six years ago.
“Like anyone who becomes involved in something they love, I find timber gets into your blood,” Mr O‘Callaghan said. “My values are that it’s got to be sustainable, long-lasting, beautiful and functional.”
He sources timber from all over Australia, predominantly hardwood, including more than 12 species such as grey ironbark, red ironbark, stringy bark, red gum, jarrah and karri. He has recovered considerable timber including grey box, sugar gum, red gum and blue gum from the Wirrabara Forest after the Bangor fire destroyed an estimated 90% of it during the fires in early 2014.
He has also just bought 400 tonnes of heritage timber from the old Port Adelaide Pier including rare sizes of jarrah, turpentine and karri that has been in storage for 25 years.
Mr O’Callaghan has accrued 600 tonnes of timber over the years “collecting it like a stamp collector collects stamps”.
Tim’s Timber focuses on hardwood for the construction industry, flooring timber, timber for roofs, pergolas, decking, stairs and various other uses such as meeting the huge demand for grating for sheep to walk on in shearing sheds.
Mr O’Callaghan said Tim’s Timber is growing every year without any expensive marketing, promoting itself through Facebook, Gumtree, and by word of mouth. It sells its beautiful natural timbers to clients including builders, ownerbuilders, architects, people who build dream homes and those who are conscious of the use of natural products in their homes.
