KNYSNA’S HEART OF WOOD

Knysna’s wooden heart is life itself and the reason why the town grew along with the forest.

George Rex, the supposed son from the undisclosed first marriage of King George III, established a port in 1817, sending timber through the heads to the British navy. The Thesens, from Norway, settled in 1870, building a sawmill (on what is today Thesen Island) and thus strengthening the export trade. A decade later, George Parkes, an industrialist from Birmingham, also joined the trade, further solidifying the town.

But left unchecked, demand and neglect wreaked havoc on the natural beauty of the forest, so much so that the government stepped in, halting cutting from 1939 to 1967 so as to allow re-growth. Since then, there has been stringent control and regulation of the industry. And the Department of Water & Forestry has re-established a balance between commerce and nature.

And the result of that is an extraordinarily, beautiful wood trade that has resulted in handcrafted furniture and sculptures bringing fame to Knysna. this is what this site is about. Wooden furniture, yellowwood, hardwood and indigenous timber forests in Knysna and along  the Garden Route, Western Cape,South Africa. Handicraft, wood working, curios, sculptures, carpenters, carpentry, shop fitting, cabinet makers, cupboards, roof trusses, builders, building services, supplies, suppliers, factories, sawmills flooring, garden sheds, fencing,  playground equipment, childrens toys and every asapect of woodcraft.