It seemed such a brilliant idea. An Australian company set up to grow willow trees that could be used to fashion top-grade cricket bats, reviving a dormant industry and breaking the English domination of the market. ................. The Australian Cricket Bat Willow Project was spruiked by greats including Dean Jones, Richie Benaud, Steve Waugh and Greg Matthews but after 16 years, it has produced just one sample bat. ................. A cricket bat and cap at the launch of the Australian Cricket Bat Willow Project. A cricket bat and cap at the launch of the Australian Cricket Bat Willow Project. Photo: Wayne Taylor Jones has walked from the whole project and other investors say the early promise of returns have collapsed. "They still haven't got a tree. We haven't seen a tree," Jones says. "Well, I have in one photograph and it was a piece of shit. They [the management] were very amateurish. All they were worried about was getting money in and they never worried about the investor." ................. The scheme had high hopes when it was established in the late 1990s. At the time an estimated 350,000 English willow bats were sold worldwide each year. That figure was expected to rise to 900,000 by 2010. The price of top-grade bats has also risen since then – from $500 to more than $1000 in 2015.
A willow plantation north of Swan Hill. The trees will be used to make cricket bats. ...... "Australia has an opportunity to generate considerable export dollars for our country through a sport in which we have excelled as a nation for over a century," Waugh said in the prospectus. ................. Similar to other managed investment schemes, the project was given a 100 per cent tax deduction ruling by the Australian Taxation Office. The tax deduction, especially appealing to investors in a high tax bracket, was to encourage investment in agriculture, Craig Crosbie, of PPB Advisory, says. ................. From a minimum investment of $5000 for 20 trees and annual fees of $250 per unit, the company said it could produce 600 bats by 2013. They estimated this would give each $5000 investment a net return of $73,263. The company now says a return is more than three years away. ................. It is not known how much money investors ploughed into the project but unconfirmed estimates are more than $1 million by about 70 investors. .... Click here for the full story http://www.smh.com.au/national/willow-bat-cricket-company-seo-here-20150818-gj1jxr.html
CRICKET BAT WILLOW
IS VALUABLE
By KURRAJONG, Special Agricultural Representative of "The Examiner."
Somebody said once that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. The old school tie may not be play Fix this texting such a paramount part in this war, but that emblem of the British public school spirit, the cricket bat, or at least the tree from which it is made, is pulling its weight, for the cricket bat willow is used for several important military purposes. There is every possibility that growing the cricket bat willow will become a major Tasmanian industry. Some forty years ago, while waiting his turn to face up to the Australian bowlers, A. C. McLaren, the English captain, remarked to the great international umpire, the late Bob Crockett. that Australia should be admirably suited to the growing of the cricket bat willow. As a sequel to that talk six cuttings were sent to Australia, one of which survived. From that tree 5000 descendants are now growing on the Daylesford plantations of R. M. Crockett and Son, and the bats made from their timber are equal to, if not actually better than, the finest England can produce. Australia alone spends some £150,000 a year on cricket bats, so it is easy to see that the possibilities for expansion are immense. With the outbreak of war the cricket bat willow assumed new importance be cause it was found to be the equal of spruce in certain airplane components, admirably suited to the manufacture of artificial limbs, and that charcoal made from it turns out the fine textured jasic substance from which special explosives are made. Because of this the willow, which has always been valuable, has become particularly so, and the world is faced with an acute shortage which will persist for many years as a result of the rapid cutting out of the English supplies. Accordingly the extensive expansion of Australian plantings becomes a matter of urgency, and experts consider that Tasmania is the most favoured state in the Commonwealth for the purpose, trees here attaining in 12 years the same degree of maturity which takes 20 years in their native England. Department Interested Mr. P. E. Keam, Tasmanian representative on the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has interested Mr. D'Alton, Minister for Forestry, in the possibilities of this tree, and the Minister recently visited the Crockett plantations. As a result Mr. Crockett is coming to Tasmania this week, and it is probable that the industry will be launched here in the near future. From a farmer's point of view the cricket bat willow, or blue willow, variety "Cacrulea," of the genus 'Salix alba," has two important attributes. In the first place it offers a quick and substantial return, a 12-year-old tree,. if sound and well-grown, being valued at £10 for tie 8ft. bole alone, while some return may also be expected lortie timber in the boughs for purposes other than bat manufacture. Secondly, this tree is particularly valuable for the prevention of erosion on river and creek banks, quickly forming all imperviols mat of roots which will defy the wildest waters. Some thousands of the species are ill use for this purpose on properties under the charge of the Metropolitan Water Board and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission. In the midlands of Tasmania there are streams which are destroying many hundreds of acres of good land every serious flood, and overseas experience is that trees are much more effective than piles or even concrete for the protection of banks. A Tough Tree Landowners know the weakness of .the ordinary willow, its sprawling boughs breaking easily and cluttering up stream beds, but the cricket bat willow has an upright form of grown and its boughs hold tightly to the trunk It flourishes wherever the ordinary willow grows, namely, along streams and water-courses where dampness prevails but the subsoil is not waterlogged. It will not thrive under stagnant conditions. The story is not wholly rosy, as may be expected, for, like all good things, even the cricket bat willow industry has its handicaps. Not all "Salix elba" trees make good bats. The practice is to take cuttings only from those trees which are proved by felling to be sound and suitable. Cuttings taken in discriminately may grow into trees of undesirable texture which give only inferior timber. Furthermore, a disease, known as "watermark," attacks the trees, rendering them unfit for use. Fortunately the Crockett plantation have been kept free of this plague, and with care it should be possible to keep it out of Tasmania altogether. Generally speaking, it seems likely that Tasmanian bats may soon 'compete in fame with Tasmanian tennis rackets, and they can be 100 per cent. locally grown if landholders in this state are alive to the possibilities. Mr. Crockett himself will be here in a day or two and no doubt will give us much valuable information to this end.
The willows (Salix – Salicaceae) in Tasmania
Matthew L. Baker Tasmanian Herbarium, Private Bag 4, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/Muelleria_27%282%29%2C_p127-148%2C_Baker%2C_Salix_in_Tasmania_web_version.pdf
Abstract The genus Salix L. in Tasmania is wholly alien, having been introduced as cultivated plants. Several taxa have become naturalised, whilst others are potential sources of naturalised taxa. The naturalised taxa are: S. fragilis L. var. fragilis, S. ×reichardtii A.Kern., S. cinerea L. subsp. cinerea and S. cinerea subsp. oleifolia (Sm.) Macreight. Taxa that are not fully naturalised are: S. alba L. var. vitellina (L.) Stokes, S. ×rubens Schrank, S. ×sepulcralis Simonk. nothovar. chrysocoma (Dode) Meikle, S. matsudana Koidz., ‘Tortuosa’, S. ×calodendron Wimm., S. purpurea L. Taxa that are common in Tasmania but only known from cultivation are: S. humboldtiana Willd. ‘Pyramidalis’, S. matsudana × S. alba and S. ×pendulina Wender. var. pendulina. The taxa are described and illustrated, and their identification, distribution, habitat and status are discussed. Muelleria 27(2): 127-148 (2009)
Roar Pro
By KURRAJONG, Special Agricultural Representative of "The Examiner."
Somebody said once that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. The old school tie may not be play Fix this texting such a paramount part in this war, but that emblem of the British public school spirit, the cricket bat, or at least the tree from which it is made, is pulling its weight, for the cricket bat willow is used for several important military purposes. There is every possibility that growing the cricket bat willow will become a major Tasmanian industry. Some forty years ago, while waiting his turn to face up to the Australian bowlers, A. C. McLaren, the English captain, remarked to the great international umpire, the late Bob Crockett. that Australia should be admirably suited to the growing of the cricket bat willow. As a sequel to that talk six cuttings were sent to Australia, one of which survived. From that tree 5000 descendants are now growing on the Daylesford plantations of R. M. Crockett and Son, and the bats made from their timber are equal to, if not actually better than, the finest England can produce. Australia alone spends some £150,000 a year on cricket bats, so it is easy to see that the possibilities for expansion are immense. With the outbreak of war the cricket bat willow assumed new importance be cause it was found to be the equal of spruce in certain airplane components, admirably suited to the manufacture of artificial limbs, and that charcoal made from it turns out the fine textured jasic substance from which special explosives are made. Because of this the willow, which has always been valuable, has become particularly so, and the world is faced with an acute shortage which will persist for many years as a result of the rapid cutting out of the English supplies. Accordingly the extensive expansion of Australian plantings becomes a matter of urgency, and experts consider that Tasmania is the most favoured state in the Commonwealth for the purpose, trees here attaining in 12 years the same degree of maturity which takes 20 years in their native England. Department Interested Mr. P. E. Keam, Tasmanian representative on the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has interested Mr. D'Alton, Minister for Forestry, in the possibilities of this tree, and the Minister recently visited the Crockett plantations. As a result Mr. Crockett is coming to Tasmania this week, and it is probable that the industry will be launched here in the near future. From a farmer's point of view the cricket bat willow, or blue willow, variety "Cacrulea," of the genus 'Salix alba," has two important attributes. In the first place it offers a quick and substantial return, a 12-year-old tree,. if sound and well-grown, being valued at £10 for tie 8ft. bole alone, while some return may also be expected lortie timber in the boughs for purposes other than bat manufacture. Secondly, this tree is particularly valuable for the prevention of erosion on river and creek banks, quickly forming all imperviols mat of roots which will defy the wildest waters. Some thousands of the species are ill use for this purpose on properties under the charge of the Metropolitan Water Board and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission. In the midlands of Tasmania there are streams which are destroying many hundreds of acres of good land every serious flood, and overseas experience is that trees are much more effective than piles or even concrete for the protection of banks. A Tough Tree Landowners know the weakness of .the ordinary willow, its sprawling boughs breaking easily and cluttering up stream beds, but the cricket bat willow has an upright form of grown and its boughs hold tightly to the trunk It flourishes wherever the ordinary willow grows, namely, along streams and water-courses where dampness prevails but the subsoil is not waterlogged. It will not thrive under stagnant conditions. The story is not wholly rosy, as may be expected, for, like all good things, even the cricket bat willow industry has its handicaps. Not all "Salix elba" trees make good bats. The practice is to take cuttings only from those trees which are proved by felling to be sound and suitable. Cuttings taken in discriminately may grow into trees of undesirable texture which give only inferior timber. Furthermore, a disease, known as "watermark," attacks the trees, rendering them unfit for use. Fortunately the Crockett plantation have been kept free of this plague, and with care it should be possible to keep it out of Tasmania altogether. Generally speaking, it seems likely that Tasmanian bats may soon 'compete in fame with Tasmanian tennis rackets, and they can be 100 per cent. locally grown if landholders in this state are alive to the possibilities. Mr. Crockett himself will be here in a day or two and no doubt will give us much valuable information to this end.
The willows (Salix – Salicaceae) in Tasmania
Matthew L. Baker Tasmanian Herbarium, Private Bag 4, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/Muelleria_27%282%29%2C_p127-148%2C_Baker%2C_Salix_in_Tasmania_web_version.pdf
Abstract The genus Salix L. in Tasmania is wholly alien, having been introduced as cultivated plants. Several taxa have become naturalised, whilst others are potential sources of naturalised taxa. The naturalised taxa are: S. fragilis L. var. fragilis, S. ×reichardtii A.Kern., S. cinerea L. subsp. cinerea and S. cinerea subsp. oleifolia (Sm.) Macreight. Taxa that are not fully naturalised are: S. alba L. var. vitellina (L.) Stokes, S. ×rubens Schrank, S. ×sepulcralis Simonk. nothovar. chrysocoma (Dode) Meikle, S. matsudana Koidz., ‘Tortuosa’, S. ×calodendron Wimm., S. purpurea L. Taxa that are common in Tasmania but only known from cultivation are: S. humboldtiana Willd. ‘Pyramidalis’, S. matsudana × S. alba and S. ×pendulina Wender. var. pendulina. The taxa are described and illustrated, and their identification, distribution, habitat and status are discussed. Muelleria 27(2): 127-148 (2009)
Why willow? The magic wood and English monopoly
Roar Pro
By Edward L'Orange, 12 Sep 2017 http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/09/12/willow-magic-wood-english-monopoly/
As a cricket tragic, the timber used to make cricket bats has always fascinated me. Why willow?
Of all the plants in the world (there are over 60,000 species of tree), why is only one very specific timber used to make bats?
The timber in question comes from a single cultivar of the English White Willow, known as the cricket-bat willow, or Salix alba var. caerulea
All the best cricket bats in the world are made from this tree. At least, they are considered the best if the timber is cultivated and harvested in Britain. England has a surprising monopoly when it comes to producing cricket bats.
There is another place from which we get cricket-bat timber: the Kashmir region of India, which produces what is known as Kashmir willow. This is, in fact, the same Salix alba caerulea found in Britain, but grown in India ... http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/09/12/willow-magic-wood-english-monopoly/
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