A love of timber and a determination to get the most out of life has kept Clarrie Bernhagan involved in the timber industry long after he has hung up his axe.
	Clarrie is fondly known within the industry as “have-a-chat” and for 40 years Clarrie would “talk the leg off an iron pot” around the campfire or over a cup of tea, his yarns and recollections echo a time when life was hard but friends were true. Over those forty years Clarrie grew to love the warm characteristics of the wood he handled and the earthy aroma of many of our native timbers.

When retirement came Clarrie decided that he would keep his hand in by following one of his personal philosophies, that Camphor laurel was doing great damage to our environment, but the solution may best be found in exploiting its value as a cabinet timber.

So Clarrie set about removing problem trees around the village and local farms. The timber was then cut into slabs and racked to “season” in the shed beside Clarries home in Bonalbo.

Many species of trees are among the racked slabs and Clarrie is able to tell the visitor the history of each tree. The pride in workmanship that was part of Clarries working life has carried over into his retirement; his home is filled with beautifully hand-made furniture that caresses the individual characteristics of the wood. Timber is salvaged from condemned and noxious trees and given another life as handmade furniture or stylish panel work finishes in the homes of friends.