COMPANY ORIGINS : Splinters In Our Veins

WEARING THE INDUSTRY CROWN

Nullarbor. The very first. The founding fathers of the reclaimed timber industry. Nothing can or will ever change it.

In an age where every man and his dog claims to be the biggest, the best, the country's leading supplier of reclaimed timber, the fact remains -  Nullarbor Timber continues to wear the industry crown. They were Australia's first registered timber recyclers - long before it was identified as a fashionable practice - and have maintained their station as the most experienced, educated and reliable specialists in the field.

YOU CAN'T RE-WRITE HISTORY. YOU CAN ONLY BUILD ON IT.

Brendan Donchi, Managing Director of Nullarbor Sustainable Timber comes from a long line of timber lovers, mill workers and industry experts. In 1865 when his European ancestors arrived to work in the Australian bush as tree-fellers, a tradition was born of passing on knowledge, expertise and respect for the resource through generational bloodlines.

EARLY DAYS & A NEW INDUSTRY MODEL

Battista Donchi first arrived in Australia in the 1800s as a 15 year old looking for labouring work. After a period in Sydney, he travelled to Chiltern where the Donchi's love affair with Australian forest timbers began. His sons Jim and Pat continued to work in the Australian forests, developing a great love for Australian Hardwoods. Geoff, the son of Pat, along with many uncles and cousins followed the tradition.  It was Geoff's visionary wisdom and disdain for waste which sparked the fire that led to his son, Barry's pursuit of a new industry model

In the early 1980's, with great foresight and calculated planning, Brendan's father, Barry Donchi single-handedly pioneered the timber reclaiming industry, salvaging seasoned timbers others had stacked on the burning pile, housing them on dry, Murray River land for correct seasoning and creating a world-first re-milling plant. With an utter intolerance for waste and great respect for Australia's vast natural resources, Barry bought his son up through the ranks to take the company into the future. 

"Batista Donchi arrived from Teglio Italy in 1855 and worked as a timber cutter in a ship yard in Sydney. He was the first documented Italian in Australia. He moved to Chiltern and cut timber for the mines in the district, and burnt charcoal. He fathered 5 girls, and 5 boys. After the first war ,in the early twenties, his eldest son Jim, a couple of his brothers ,and his sons Bob, Lindsay (Charkey) and Clarence (Pat) were attracted to move to Orbost along with other family members, and the de Piazzas, to cut timber for the railways, with the rail line expanding from Bairnsdale to the East. There have been many Donchis cutting sleepers in the district, including Jim, Bob,Chark,Pat,Lenny, Mack, Geoff (my father), Allan, John, Gary,Myself, and others, including Allans and Johns sons. My son Brendan and grand son Tommy still cut some timber at Nullarbor in Moama, and i exercise the swing saw occasionally. Dad did a calculation one day on the approx number of sleepers cut by the family and it is on a tape recording somewhere".  

- Barry Donchi. Founder, Nullarbor Forest Timber Industries

SPLINTERS IN HIS VEINS

Brendan Donchi, who has worked with Australian hardwoods since he was about 7 years old, has taken the company into bold new territory, providing commercial and home builders and architects with reliable advice and knowledge stemming from decades of hands on experience, adapting to shifting market trends, consumer requirements and vast changes within the industry. Australian timber is a resource he was born with an inherent understanding of and maintains a profound respect for.

Brendan continues the family mission of salvaging reclaimable and sourcing sustainable timbers from all over Australia and ensuring such timbers are not wasted, discarded or devalued in any way:

"Through the use of state of the art milling techniques, Nullarbor take great pride to ensure that every parcel of timber that passes through our yard is value added to its maximum potential and reused for future timber projects. We strongly believe in producing a high quality product with fast and efficient service."

CONTEMPORARY BEAUTY IN TIMBER

Australian Hardwood Timbers are one of the most environmentally friendly building materials available. They are extraordinarily versatile, naturally renewable, aesthetically pleasing, and strong to build with. Offering design options that are only limited by imagination, builders and designers look to timber to express a contemporary beauty.
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