30 April 2026
The Marshall-Notaras Story
How does a
coastal blackbutt, spotted gum or ironbark log become the flooring, staircase
or decking in an Australian home? A new video from the North East NSW
Forestry Hub answers that question across two sites of the one family
business: the Marshall Notaras mill on the Clarence River at South Grafton, and
Marshall’s Timbers at Cardiff. It follows two of the brothers behind them, Paul
and Bruce Marshall.
Nick
Cameron, the Manager of the North East NSW Forestry Hub, said the Marshall
video adds a processor’s and retailer’s perspective to the Hub’s growing video
series on the people behind NSW native timbers. “The Marshall story shows
how deeply native timber is woven through family businesses on the North Coast.
It takes decades of experience to know how to handle an Australian hardwood log
properly, and the care this family puts into every stage, from tagging logs on
arrival through to advising a retail customer on the right species, is exactly
what the Hub wants Australians to see,” Cameron said.
SEE VIDEO HERE
Paul
Marshall, Director of Marshall Notaras Hardwoods, has watched the Australian
hardwood industry for most of his working life. The Marshall family’s
involvement in timber processing stretches back 55 years. For the last 25 of
those, they were the Notaras mill’s largest customer before taking the business
over themselves.
“It’s been
a succession. We were the Notaras family’s biggest customer for 25 years,” Paul said
in the video. “We’re very proud of that fact, to be given the opportunity to
take the business to bigger and better things.”
The mill
processes a range of Australian eucalypts. Coastal blackbutt, grown on the east
side of the Great Dividing Range, is the predominant species, alongside red and
grey ironbark, white mahogany and spotted gum. All are sawn into the section
sizes used in the flooring, joinery and staircase markets. Every log is tagged
and graded on arrival, and boards are tracked through milling, planing, and
kiln drying.
“New South
Wales hardwoods, especially from the north coast, are probably the best timbers
in the world, the hardest, most durable and long lasting,” Paul
Marshall, Director, Marshall Notaras Hardwoods, South Grafton. “We’ve got a
great product, sustainably sourced through our wood supply agreement with New
South Wales Forestry,” he said. “New South Wales Forestry should be
commended on their harvesting processes. I think we’re world leaders in
harvesting. There are wildlife corridors and habitat areas. Everything is taken
into consideration prior to any harvesting going on.”
Inside the mill gate, a system follows each log through to the end user.
“We’ve got
a chain of custody on our logs, pretty much from the forest, as the forestry
logs arrive, to the end user,” Paul added. “At any time during our timber
milling, planning or flooring manufacturing process, we can track our boards.”
That
Cardiff arm is run by Paul’s brother Bruce Marshall, whose outlet specialises
in Australian hardwood decking (the number-one product line), alongside 19 mm
strip flooring, parquetry, joinery and staircase materials, structural
hardwoods, lining boards and claddings.
“Kiln
drying is used basically to bring the product down to a more stable product
that’s suitable for all different types of applications,” Bruce
said. “In its green form, or unseasoned, it just doesn’t perform at its
optimum.”
Every board
is graded to Australian standards: select, standard or pioneer grade. “We’re
very proud that all our timber is graded exceptionally high and to those
standards,” he said.
Resource recovery is central to the Marshall operation.
Short
offcuts from the dry mill are reworked into parquetry blocks (glued into block
or herringbone patterns for the flooring market), and sawdust from the saws is
redirected to local chicken farms and stables. “Recovery is paramount to us.
It’s the most important part of the sawmilling process,” Bruce said. “It’s just getting the best out of that natural resource. We’re here to
preserve, conserve and look after the New South Wales forests, and to do the
best we can for that natural product.”
Both
brothers point to education as a growing part of the job, helping buyers
understand the differences between coastal species and matching the right
timber to the application: “The species that everyone knows is blackbutt.
But there are a lot of other good options out there that we’re trying to
educate our customers on,” Bruce said. “Understanding the application
and giving the right advice for what they’re looking for is very important.”
“Ninety per
cent of the time, people would prefer to buy Australian-made, Australian
products. What we have here is unique worldwide, and we are very proud of it.
There are a lot of other sawmillers and family businesses, such as ourselves,
that do a remarkable job out there, and we should be very passionate to support
timber and wood products for the future,” Bruce added.
According
to Cameron, Marshall Notaras is the type of business that keeps timber flowing
from the forest to the family home. “Every log tagged, every offcut turned
into parquetry, every customer given the right species for the job. That’s the
detailed knowledge our native timber industry is built on, and that’s what this
video series is about,’ Cameron stressed.
The new
video adds to a growing library of videos produced by the North East NSW
Forestry Hub profiling the people who grow, harvest, process and craft NSW
native timbers. Earlier instalments featured Coffs Harbour Hardwoods, Ironwood
Taree, Machin Sawmill and Kyogle fine woodworker Garan Hale.
ABOUT THE
NORTH EAST NSW FORESTRY HUB
The North
East NSW Forestry Hub is one of eleven Regional Forestry Hubs established
across Australia under the Commonwealth’s National Forest Industries Plan.
North East NSW is the heartland of the State’s hardwood timber industry, with
around 850,000 tonnes of hardwood logs sourced from native regrowth forests and
hardwood plantations each year. The Hub works with industry, governments and
stakeholders to support a sustainable, productive and innovative forestry
sector across the region.
MEDIA
ENQUIRIES
Nick
Cameron, Manager, North East NSW Forestry Hub
manager@nenswforestryhub.com.au | 0422 577
805
The Hub acknowledges funding support from the Australian Government
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.