From Drought to Multi-Million Dollar Firewood Empire: Peter Chauncy's Story

Struggling financially after drought and bushfire ravaged his farm 40 years ago, Peter Chauncy picked up an axe and started chopping firewood to make ends meet.

Now, if you have a log fire in your home, chances are that wood has come from Mr Chauncy's property in the NSW Southern Highlands.

What began as a way to put food on the table has grown into a multi-million-dollar business servicing half of Australia, one distinctive yellow bag of firewood at a time.

The family-run business packs and distributes about 1 million bags of firewood each year.

The distinctive yellow packaging has become a servo staple, sold at 3,000 locations across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

But the Chauncy family's success was born of some desperately cold and hard times.

Tragedy, drought hits

Mr Chauncy initially pursued a career in law and began studying in Sydney, but returned to the family's sheep and cattle farm at Canyonleigh when his father was diagnosed with cancer.

"I'd come home to help out while he was ill, thinking he would recover and, of course, he didn't. Then I decided to stay on," Mr Chauncy said.

But more tragedy was to come.

A bushfire ravaged the 670-hectare farm and, just as it was starting to recover, almost all of eastern Australia was consumed by drought in the 1980s.

"I was going broke … I wasn't going to give in."

With a growing family, Mr Chauncy had to get creative to stay afloat financially, and started selling livestock along the Hume Highway.

He also sold wood from fallen trees and branches found on his property by doorknocking in Sydney, working his way up to wealthier suburbs.

"After about three weeks, I had enough business where I didn't have to knock on a door," Mr Chauncy said.

His boots-on-the-ground business quickly evolved into his biggest income stream, involving dozens of machines and plenty of full-time staff.

"I was initially dealing with small business owners but now I deal with all the big companies, mainly franchisees."

300 tonnes of wood loaded daily

At his home office, Mr Chauncy points to a long, digitised list of transport operators he uses to haul his product.

"On any given day, there could be up to 25 trucks being loaded nationwide, and they are mainly 12-tonne capacity vehicles," he said.

The business holds contracts with the NSW and Queensland forestry corporations, which use the silvicultural practice of thinning to remove specific trees from overcrowded areas.

A diverse range of employees, from those who have been working in the business for 25 years, to European backpackers on fleeting stays, then chop the wood using purpose-built machinery.

The logs are then weighed into 10 and 15-kilogram bags.

Busier than ever

Despite a push to renewable energy and the international fuel crisis, Mr Chauncy said his business was experiencing record-breaking demand.

"We had the best April … which is surprising considering we had to put a fuel levy on our products and I would have expected it to have had a fairly big impact on sales," he said.

Mr Chauncy admits his business would be impacted significantly if NSW were to join Victoria and Western Australia, which banned native forest logging two years ago.

"It'd be a challenge we'd have to face at the time. But at this stage, we certainly have a lot of timber ahead of us from private property," he said.

Reflecting on four decades of his business, Mr Chauncy has no regrets about giving up a career in law, saying his main motivation has always been providing for his family.