LUNE DE SANG (trailer)
Bundjalung Country
28°39'24"S 153°26'03"E
Architecture Firm - CHROFI Architects

Lune de Sang is a 113 hectare registered cabinet timber plantation located in the Hinterland of Byron Bay, some 25 kilometres due west of Australia's easternmost point.  

“An inter-generational venture of pavilions”, Lune de Sang is located in northern New South Wales, and is described by John Choi, founding partner of CHROFI Architects, as “ruins in the landscape”. Once a deforested dairy farm, Lune de Sang is in the process of being regenerated with native hardwoods, slow-growing species that will take between 50 and 300 years to reach maturity. The property’s built environment is made up of five elements, The Stone House, The General Manager’s Residence, The Pavilion, and two sheds, all of which are defined by their integration with the landscape and endurance to stand the test of the time required to undertake the ambitious reforestation of the native ‘Big Scrub’ environment.

Lune de Sang is located within what is known as the Big Scrub, which was once a subtropical lowland rainforest covering approximately 90,000 hectares. The Big Scrub area is associated with the Mount Warning Volcanics and is generally bounded by Ballina in the south, Lismore and Dunoon in the west, Byron Bay in the north and east to the edge of the coastal plain.  The area has been commercially exploited since the 1840’s by first, the timber and then the dairy industries.  Now, only around 300 hectares of its original rainforest exists as isolated remnants.

The Big Scrub area is blessed with perfect tree growing conditions; thick basaltic soil, rainfall of over 2,000 mm/yr, significant extended periods of sunshine and a mild, largely frost-free climate.

Since the early 1900's, Lune de Sang formed the heart of a relatively large dairy farm and piggery owned by the King family. Over the past 50 years, with the gradual decline of butter prices, the local dairy industry became uneconomic and the King property was subdivided and sold.  Over time, these tracts were generally neglected and as a result, they became overgrown and weed infested.  

Andy and Deirdre Plummer acquired the first of the Lune de Sang properties in 2007. Since then, a further 6 properties have been purchased. The plantation was started in 2008. It contains some 50 species of valuable and important trees which are endemic to the Big Scrub; species such as Red Cedar, White Booyong, Silver Ash, Teak, Rosewood and Quandong.