River Sheoak

By Geoff Holloway

River Sheoak (Casuarina cunninghamiana) a member of the Casuarinaceae family which includes 21 species growing throughout Australia. The River Sheoak is prolific in the Ipswich area especially on river and creek banks (a good example is on the banks of Bundamba creek).

All casuarinas are easily identified by their thread like foliage, the River Sheoak is the largest of the casuarinas growing to 35 metres and 1.5 metre diameter with a dark grey furrowed bark. The heartwood is dark red to brown with distinctive medullary rays, quite dense at up to 900 kg/m3. The wood splits readily when drying but useful sections can be obtained for craft work.

Indigenous Australians have long used River Sheoak for making boomerangs, shields and spear-throwers. Australian native trees with oak in the common name was how the early settlers described these trees because of the similarity to the English Oak (Quercus robur) wood’s medullary rays, there are no Quercus species native to Australia.