BLUE MALLEE AND BROOMBUSH COPPICING
HISTORICAL INDUSTRIES UNDER THREAT
INTRODUCTION
Blue Mallee and Broombush has been sustainably coppiced in New South Wales since the 1930s and is used as building material and essential oils. In West Wyalong, located 496km west of Sydney in the electorate of Cootamundra, Broombush coppicing has been a traditional part of life with some businesses having been in operation for decades.
The future of this historic practice is currently under threat, with the NSW Government’s Draft Native Vegetation Regulatory Map restricting coppicing activity in the Central West. Producers can face legal notices for coppicing on patches of their own land mapped as “Pink” (category 2-sensitive regulated land).
BLUE MALLEE
EUCALYPTUS POLYBRACTEA
Blue Mallee is a multi-stemmed shrub native to south-eastern Australia. The leaves are coppiced and steam-distilled to produce high-quality eucalyptus essential oil used in pharmaceuticals, cleaning products and aromatherapy.
Blue Mallee is sustainably coppiced every 2-3 years using a system that allows for regrowth from its lignotuber which is a woody root base that resprouts after cutting.
BROOMBUSH
MALALEUCA UNCINATA
Broombush is a dense, woody shrub native to the arid and semi-arid zones of NSW, SA, VIC, and WA. It’s fine, straight branches are harvested to produce high-end privacy screens and decorative fencing.
Producers with only cut the mature stems of the plant, predominately by hand. Stems from a plant are harvested every 10–15 years in patches to allow enough time for regeneration.
COPPICING
IS NOT LANDCLEARING
Coppicing is a traditional land management technique where a plant is cut back close to ground level to encourage the growth of new, vigorous shoots. Though often associated with European woodlands, similar practices have long been used in Australia, particularly in the management of native species.
In New South Wales, eucalypts — including blue mallee — can naturally regenerate through coppicing after being cut or damaged. This regrowth has been traditionally managed to provide a renewable supply of timber, firewood, and poles. In managed woodlands, stems are harvested on rotation, depending on their age and intended use: younger regrowth might be used for smaller construction materials or firewood, while older stems can be used for fencing or building.
Coppicing not only supports sustainable resource use but also helps maintain biodiversity and forest health, making it an important tool in both traditional and modern Australian land management.
“When we approach a patch of brush, it is never a blanket harvest. Everything is done by hand, taking only what we need and nothing more, leaving little to no footprint. The broombush is never taken from its root system; we cut a few branches and leave the plant to regrow.”
Bailey Lynch
Third Generation Broombush Harvester
STRANGLE VINE
Strangle vine is one of the greatest threats to Australia’s broombush and blue mallee population.
The vine can smother the host plant which may break under the weight and are often killed.
However, intervention and coppicing activity lead by farmers is the greatest defence, and a cost-effective solution that the NSW Government must acknowledge.
NATIVE VEGETATION MAPPING
Patches of privately owned land where blue mallee and broombush has been sustainably coppiced for more than a century have been mapped as category 2 sensitive regulated (pink) due to the plants’ highly controversial ‘critically endangered’ status. In October 2024, farmers began receiving legal notices from the NSW Government Department for Planning and Environment, accusing them of alleged unauthorised clearing of native vegetation in a Regulated Rural Area. Not only has this brought broombush and eucalypt production to a halt, with an economic impact to farmers and the rural communities in which they spend their money, but allegations of legal activity are taking an immersible toll on mental health of those impacted.