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Royce's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
Royce's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
Dispatched within 1–2 days
90-day return policy
Insured & free shipping with tracking
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Royce's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
Huon Valley, Tasmania · since 1986
Carved by hand from fallen Tasmanian blackwood. Never lacquered, never glued up.
Workshop closes 30 November · while stock lasts
“Every one of these was a tree headed for a burn pile.” — Royce
40
years at the same bench
1 in 5
trays thrown out before shipping
0
living trees cut
“Forty years I’ve been making these for other people’s tables. This Christmas I’d like to sit at one.”
— Royce Dunstan, 68, Huon Valley, Tasmania
What arrives at your door
- One hand-carved serving tray in the shape you choose: Highland Cow, Eagle, Trout, Bream or Bulldog
- Already oiled with food-safe mineral oil, ready to use
- Wrapped and ready to give as a present
Five animals, five stories
Royce carves the same five animals he has carved for forty years. Every one of them is something off that hill above the Huon.
29 × 21 cm
approx.
Highland Cow
The first tray he ever made, in 1988, for his mum. His dad ran two shaggy Highland cows in the top paddock. Six compartments, the most room of all five.
Best for: cheese boards, Christmas lunch
28 × 28 cm
approx.
Eagle
For the wedge-tails that nest above the block. Wings spread, feathers cut one by one.
Best for: the footy, a centrepiece on the coffee table
28 × 19 cm
approx.
Bream
For the river at the bottom of the valley. A wide, smooth body with three deep compartments.
Best for: prawns and lemon, fruit, afternoon tea
28 × 13 cm
approx.
Trout
The slim one, also from the river. Narrow enough to sit between the plates on a full table.
Best for: olives, pickles, a dresser catch-all
22 × 22 cm
approx.
Bulldog
For Digger, who slept under his bench for eleven years. The smallest of the five, and the one the grandkids fight over.
Best for: kids’ snacks, keys and reading glasses
Why it is different
NO. 01
Rescued, not felled
Every tray comes from Tasmanian blackwood that came down on its own in the Huon Valley: storms, floods, old age.
NO. 02
Carved, not pressed
Each compartment is cut out of the block by hand. Nothing glued on, nothing pressed out of a mould.
NO. 03
No lacquer to peel
Oiled, never sprayed. There is no shiny coat to go cloudy, lift and end up in your food.
NO. 04
Dried slowly, then rested
Months of air drying, a kiln, then rest again before the first cut. That is what keeps cracks out of the compartments.
NO. 05
Darkens with the years
Blackwood mellows from warm gold to a rich, dark chocolate-red in its first year in the light.
NO. 06
No two alike
Every tray comes from a different trunk, so colour, weight and grain vary. Yours is the only one.
Why most wooden serving trays don’t last
01 · The lacquer
The usual tray
A sprayed-on shine that looks rich in a photo. Olive oil, lemon, a warm dish and a few trips to the sink, and it goes milky, lifts at the edges and flakes into the food.
Royce’s tray
Oiled, never sprayed. There is no coat on it, so there is nothing to cloud over, peel or end up on your cheese.
02 · Timber dried too fast
The usual tray
Looks perfect the day it arrives. A few weeks later a hairline crack runs straight across a compartment, for no reason you can see.
Royce’s tray
Tasmanian blackwood air-dried for months, finished in a small kiln, then rested again before the first cut. One tray in five is thrown out along the way.
03 · The plastic platter
The usual tray
Hot, sour food on melamine: party pies, sausage rolls, warm dips, tomato sauce. In a 2013 study, people passed about six times as much melamine after hot soup from melamine bowls as from ceramic ones.
Royce’s tray
One solid block of Tasmanian blackwood. Nothing plastic, nothing glued, nothing printed. Timber gives up nothing you would mind eating.
From someone who grades timber for a living
“Storm-damaged blackwood is cracked, twisted and full of tension. Mills won’t touch it, and most of it gets chipped or burnt. Getting a sound serving tray out of a log like that means drying it slow and throwing a lot away. That is the part nobody does any more.”
— Warwick Pask, specialty timber grader, Geeveston, TAS
From a burn pile to your table
1931
His grandfather takes up the bush block above the Huon.
Winter 1986
The neighbour bulldozes the blackwood gully below the orchard for pasture. Every tree goes into windrows to be burnt.
Spring 1986
Royce, 28, pulls one blackwood trunk out of a windrow and takes it home on a borrowed trailer.
1988
The first tray, a Highland cow for his mum. It is still on her bench in Cygnet, used every day.
Last year
The state compulsorily acquires the block for a highway upgrade. A timber broker from the mainland gets the rights and asks A$1,400 for a single split log.
30 November
The last timber in the shed is the last he will ever get. The shed shuts; what is left ships from his niece Tegan’s place until the shelf is empty.
Perfect for
Things you can check yourself
- Run a thumb inside a compartment. You will feel faint, smooth ripples where the gouge went. A machine-cut tray is router-flat.
- Turn it over. No glue line, no joins, no stamped logo. One block of timber, edge to edge.
- Tilt it towards the window. A soft satin glow, not a plastic shine. That is oil in the timber, not a coat on top of it.
- Follow the grain. It bends round the head and the legs, because each animal was laid out on the trunk before the first cut.
“I’ll be straight with you: this is a serving tray, not a chopping board. Keep the knife on a board and the tray on the table, and it’ll be on that table long after I’m gone.”
Royce Dunstan · in the shed in the Huon
Before you order
- Solid Tasmanian blackwood, carved by hand
- Food-safe mineral oil finish, no lacquer, no plastic
- Five shapes, each one a different trunk
- Dispatched within 1–2 business days, free shipping Australia-wide
- 90 days to send it back, for any reason or none
90 days, no questions
Fill it, serve on it, put it in front of the whole family. If it is not right, the size, the colour, the grain or no reason at all, send it back within 90 days for your money back. No restocking fee.
Care: Hand wash with warm water and a little soap, dry right away. No dishwasher, no soaking. Rub in a few drops of food-safe mineral oil once a month and it will outlast you.
Good to know: Every tray is cut from a different trunk, so colour and grain vary from the photos. Small knots and dark streaks are part of the wood, not flaws.
Details
| Maker | Royce Dunstan, Huon Valley, Tasmania |
| Wood | Fallen Tasmanian blackwood |
| Finish | Food-safe mineral oil |
| Highland Cow | approx. 29.3 × 20.5 cm |
| Eagle | approx. 28 × 28 cm |
| Trout | approx. 28 × 13 cm |
| Bream | approx. 28 × 19 cm |
| Bulldog | approx. 22 × 22 cm |
| Care | Hand wash only, oil monthly |
| Shipping | Dispatched within 1–2 business days, free shipping Australia-wide |
| Returns | 90 days, for any reason |
R.D.
Huon
TAS
Royce Dunstan
Carved by hand since 1986 · Huon Valley, Tasmania
The Final Sale
The Final Sale
A note from the shed in the Huon:
Royce Dunstan has carved serving trays from fallen Tasmanian blackwood in a tin shed in the Huon Valley since 1986. Last year the state compulsorily acquired his family’s bush block for a highway upgrade, and the timber rights went to a broker who now sells every fallen blackwood as specialty timber. The timber drying in his shed is the last he’ll ever get, and his hands are telling him it’s time. Royce shuts the shed on 30 November. Whatever is left after that ships from his niece Tegan’s place until the shelf is empty.
When they’re gone, they’re gone.
Free Shipping
Free Shipping
Free shipping Australia-wide
- Dispatched within 1–2 business days
- Delivery time: 7–14 business days
- Insured: Every parcel is fully insured
🌳 Carbon-neutral shipping
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
My niece Tegan and I personally respond to every single email — as fast as we possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to talk timber, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (AEDT)
- Saturday: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (AEDT)
Email: info@cedarandtinco.com
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Of course. We stand behind everything on Cedar & Tin Co. 100%. If you're not happy, neither are we. Just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right — no hassle, no headaches.
How are your products made?
How are your products made?
Every single product on Cedar & Tin is 100% handmade — crafted by hand, using only premium quality materials. We're proud to carry on a tradition of craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.