Look Twice, it is Pine Planking, from North America

When the first colonists arrived in Western Australia they found a vast variety of natural products to use for building and trade. All around Fremantle there were large quantities of limestone and durable timbers such as Jarrah and Tuart. However, one thing missing from Nature’s warehouse was softwoods. As such, almost everything made from softwoods such as pine, beech and larch, had to be imported. While a lot of these materials were originally brought in from Europe, from the late 1880s an increasing amount came from North America, via ports such as Seattle, Vancouver and San Francisco, and almost all was imported in sailing vessels. Once the gold boom started in the early 1890s the flow of products became a flood. The cargo manifest of the City of York, for example, wrecked on Rottnest Island in July 1899, included 3638 wooden doors, sash windows, skirting boards and rolls of newsprint- all loaded in San Francisco. So, why mention that here? The Drum Store, in which you are now standing, was built in 1897 and the ceiling is made from pine planking, almost certainly from North America. Like many of the buildings erected in WA at this time, the bulk of the door frames, architraves, window frames and skirting boards in the Shipwreck Museum came from North America. If you own, or live in, an old house in WA you may be able to date it by its doors, windows and trim.

The City of York, which wrecked on Rottnest Island in July 1899, anchored in an unidentified harbour.
Credit: State Library of South Australia, PRG 1373/14/16 A.D. Edwardes Collection

San Francisco based schooner C.A. Thayer loading lumber at Hoquiam, Washington for Honolulu, 1912.
Credit: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, F01.6375n

San Francisco based schooner C.A. Thayer sailing along the U.S. West Coast with a load of lumber. It is now a museum ship.
Credit: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, J07.05134