Queensland walnut (Endiandra palmerstonii) is also known as black walnut and as koah or goaj by the Australian Indigenous Peoples. Black walnut is an attractive tree with dark foliage and creamy white flowers visible from October to January. The fruit matures in autumn and were used as food by Aboriginal Peoples after processing. The Indigenous Peoples baked the nuts in underground ovens until their shells cracked, which was approximately 10 to 30 minutes. The nut was eaten either without further processing, or water was added and the nuts were ground into a the paste between two stones on a sheet of bark. This paste was then wrapped in leaves and returned to the coals for 10–15 minutes. This made something similar to damper. The baked nuts are said to have a flavour that resemble roasted hazelnuts and are quite nutritious. Queensland walnut is unrelated to northern hemisphere walnuts such as black walnut (Juglans nigra) which is the walnut commonly eaten world wide.

Queensland walnut timber has stunning greyish brown tones. The heartwood is often streaked with pink, grey, or black longitudinal stripes, often with a wavy grain and the sapwood is pale yellow in colour. Queensland walnut trees tend to grow exclusively in North Queensland between Innisfail and Atherton where it is a prolific tree in the rainforest canopy. There are reports of Queensland walnut growing in Murwillumbah, NSW and the wood we have sourced was locally grown in Beaudesert, Queensland.

Queensland walnut is used as plywood, furniture making, shop and office fixtures, veneers and turned objects. A popular use is making musical instruments such as guitar backs and sides. The timber is highly abrasive due to its high silica content and quickly dulls cutting saws, chisels and blades but responds well to hand carving tools.

Queensland walnut looks amazing as a pen and it’s smokey look has an air of mystique. It is an Australian native with a rich history and is highly sought after.

A Classic fountain or rollerball pen in walnut can be found here.

Queensland walnut timber is also listed in Frankie style.

Our slimmest pen in Queensland walnut timber is the Slimline. 

Here is the classy McKenzie style pen in QLD walnut. 

This blog post has used information from Tuechler, Anna & Ferrier, Asa & Cosgrove, Richard. (2014). Transforming the inedible to the edible: An analysis of the nutritional returns from Aboriginal nut processing in Queensland’s Wet Tropics. Australian Archaeology.  https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Black-walnut-Endiandra-palmerstonii-during-cooking-photograph-by-Richard-Cosgrove_fig1_268632220/actions#reference