To Market! To Market! The Changing Role of the Australian Timber Merchant, 1945–c.1965

In urban Australia, timber merchants have been the most important of all building supply dealers. In the 1940s they had close ties to sawmillers while providing timber and credit to contractors. A changing business climate forced them to adapt: sawmills and large builders began to deal directly; competition from timber ‘substitutes’ cut profits; above all, demand from amateur builders soared. Merchants responded by diversifying, relocating, and offering advice and credit, although more slowly than their North American counterparts because of their closer linkages to the timber trade. Targeted at amateurs, these adaptations also helped small commercial operators to remain competitive with a new breed of project builders.