185 
No. 3. Part I. 
Syncarpia laurifolia , Ten. 
THE TURPENTINE TREE. 
(Natural Order Myjr/tace^e.) 
Aboriginal names. —See vol. i, p. 16. 
Aboriginal name of this tree, as pronounced to me by a very old black gin at Milton, New South 
Wales, “ Bur-um-era ” or “ Per-um-era,” with the accent on the second syllable.—(R. H. Cambage.) 
Timber. —See vol. i, p. 18. 
REPORT ON THE DURABILITY OF UNSHEATHED TURPENTINE PILES FOR WHARF 
CONSTRUCTION. 
During the past three years, while demolishing a number of old wharves in Sydney Harbour, to 
make room for improvements necessitated by the growth of the trade of the port, we have had ample 
opportunity of ascertaining the value of turpentine piles for wharf construction. Nearly all the old private 
wharves in Darling Harbour were built of unsheathed turpentine piles of from 8 inches to 12 inches in 
diameter. Though the exact dates of erection are not obtainable, it is well known that many of them have 
been standing from thirty to forty years. They were usually of light construction, having been built to 
suit a much smaller class of vessels than we find it necessary to provide for now. Had it not been for the 
great increase in tonnage of ships in recent years, several of these old wharves might have been repaired 
and made serviceable for a few years more. Naturally some of the piles drawn were found to be entirely 
crippled, but an examination showed that these were usually not turpentine, but some other timber. 
We have, in our sample-room in the office, four sections cut from piles drawn from Smith’s wharf, 
Miller’s Point, which, from outside indications, appeared to be amongst the most damaged of the piles, 
usually about low-water mark. In three instances, while the sapwood has disappeared, having been 
destroyed by Limnoria terebrans, the timber itself is as sound as the day it went into place. Only one of 
the three sections has any teredo holes, and that not more than ten small ones, which would not materially 
weaken the pile. The fourth section, which is completely riddled with holes, is not turpentine, and has been 
classed as ironbark. It may be added that about 80 per cent, of the old turpentine piles, which we have 
drawn recently after a service varying up to forty years, have been used over again for various purposes, 
such as sleepers for cargo-shed floors, repairs to old wharves, &c. 
Touching upon more modern experience, we recently demolished a jetty in Woolloomooloo Bay 
which had been standing twenty years. The piles were of unsheathed turpentine, and proved to be so 
sound that they have been used again in additions to wharves such as Jones Brothers’ coal wharf, 
Gillespie’s wharf, ifcc. These piles only showed a few teredo holes in the sapwood, and a little erosion above 
low-water mark, due to Limnoria. 
From our exporerience, which it will be seen is based upon the test of a great many years, it is 
quite certain that turpentine piles, unsheathed, are incomparably superior, not only to any other Australian 
timber, but, also, to any other obtainable of the same size. 
Our opinion of the value of turpentine as a teredo-resisting timber has received such confirmation 
that we have built several wharves on unsheathed turpentine piles, amongst which may be mentioned 
Dalgety’s White Star wharf, at Miller’s Point, 1,200 feet long by 40 feet wide, and we confidently look 
forward to a life of from thirty to forty years for these wharves. 
H. 1). WALSH, 
Engineer-in-Chief. 
W. E. ADAMS, 
Sydney Harbour Trust, Assistant Engineer. 
28th November, 1904. 
