Ironbark, Red Gum and Box — Choosing Firewood in Bendigo

Ask five people in Bendigo what to burn and most will say red gum. Fair answer, but not the whole story. Central Victoria grows some of the heaviest firewood timber in the country, and the gap between a load that holds a fire until morning and one that is ash by ten comes down to which species are in it and how dry they are.

Where does firewood in Bendigo actually come from?

Every load we sell is a by-product of tree work. Removals, storm jobs and reduction pruning across Bendigo and the surrounding suburbs produce trunk and limb wood that gets rung up, split and stacked to dry, while the finer material becomes arborist mulch in Bendigo. That is why the mix shifts between deliveries: a fortnight on old ironbark blocks around Maiden Gully puts different timber on the truck than a fortnight of suburban red gum pruning.

Which species turn up in a Bendigo firewood load?

Six broad categories cover almost everything, from the box species and ironbark at the heavy end down to the light material that earns its place early in the evening.

Ironbark vs red gum firewood in a Bendigo heater

This is the comparison people want settled. Red ironbark is the local one, and it is heavier than red gum, so a stacked cubic metre of it carries more heat. It is also stubborn to light — put ironbark on a half-hearted fire and it will sit there sulking.

Red gum is more forgiving. It takes a flame sooner, suits an open fireplace, and lays down a deep coal bed that makes the morning restart easy. It leaves more ash for the same heat — that is the trade.

Used together they cover each other's weaknesses: red gum to build the fire and make the coals, ironbark or box on top once the firebox is hot and the air can come down.

So is red gum the wood everyone should be asking for?

Honestly, no — not exclusively. When people ask whether redgum is the best firewood, the accurate answer is that it is very good and deservedly popular, but ironbark matches or beats it on density and burn time, and yellow box and grey box are outstanding heater timbers that get overlooked because their names are less famous.

The practical answer for most households is a mixed load, which is what our firewood sales in Bendigo are built around. B Grade Hot Mix blends heavy hardwood with lighter species so there is something for every stage of the evening; A Grade Hardwood Eucalyptus is the dense end only, for slow-combustion heaters chasing overnight burns. If you burn nightly through a Strathfieldsaye or Axedale winter, a cube of each is a sensible way to buy redgum firewood in Bendigo alongside the heavier species.

How do you season firewood properly?

Species matters, but moisture matters more. A green piece of ironbark burns worse than a dry piece of sugar gum, every time. Until the water in fresh timber is driven off, the fire spends its energy boiling it rather than heating the house. You see it as a lazy orange flame, hear it as hissing at the cut ends, and pay twice — in lost heat, and in creosote building up in a cool flue as a chimney fire risk.

• Split it first. Rounds dry from the ends only; splitting opens the face and does most of the work, which is why wood splitting in Bendigo is a service in its own right.
• Get it off the ground on pallets or bearers so it is not drawing moisture back out of the soil.
• Cover the top, leave the sides open. Rain off, air through. A tarp wrapped right around a stack traps moisture and grows mould.
• Give it a season or more. Wood split in late winter and stacked through a hot central Victorian summer is ready; wood bought green in May for that same winter is not.

To check it, lift a piece — dry wood is lighter than it looks, with fine checks in the cut ends and a dulled grey on the split faces. Seasoned firewood in Bendigo lights with kindling and a match, not with a fight.

What does firewood cost in Bendigo, and how is a cubic metre measured?

Our prices are set and published rather than quoted case by case. B Grade Hot Mix is $185 per cubic metre; A Grade Hardwood Eucalyptus is $210 per cubic metre. Two cubic metres takes 5% off, three or more takes 10% off. Delivery is free inside 20 km of Bendigo, a flat $50 between 20 and 35 km, and by quote beyond — see our firewood and mulch sales in Bendigo page.

The measure matters, because it is where buyers get short-changed. A cubic metre is a stacked measure — a metre each way, pieces laid in reasonably tight. It is not a loose heap tipped off a trailer, which takes far more space than the timber inside it, and it is not a "ute load". Ask how a supplier measures before comparing prices.

What about fire restrictions and what not to burn?

A wood heater inside your house is not affected by the CFA's Fire Danger Period, which restricts fire in the open air. Outdoor burning around Bendigo is another matter: incinerators, burning off and fires for warmth carry conditions during the Fire Danger Period and can need a written permit, and on a Total Fire Ban day fire pits, braziers, chimineas and incinerators are banned outright. Councils set local rules too, so check the current position with the CFA and the City of Greater Bendigo before lighting anything outside.

One rule holds year-round and indoors: never burn treated, painted or preserved timber. Old decking, treated pine and chipboard release toxic compounds, foul the flue, and leave ash that should not go on the garden. If it did not come off a tree, keep it out of the firebox.

Frequently asked questions