Parquetry* inlay with various native timbers on Western red cedar (Thuja plicata). Made by Kenneth McKenzie, c1900 - 85.8 cms diameter 7.5cms depth

Kenneth McKenzie (1836–1922) was the eccentric bachelor brother of Jessie Catherine Thorburn for whom he designed Meroogal. He was an engineer involved in gold mining in the Shoalhaven district and in Bathurst, prosperous enough to retire at 50 when he become an architect, designer and builder.

Constructed in McKenzie’s own workshop at home in Cambewarra this circular tabletop was his most intricate work. Over 11 timbers have been identified in the table including local timbers such as red cedar, rose mahogany, silky oak, blackwood, honeysuckle and musk. McKenzie recorded the list of woods used in the construction of the table, listing both their common and botanical names. His handwritten list survives at Meroogal.

The choice of Australian flora was very popular with nationalistic Australians as they approached Federation. Timbers used in this table were collected during rambles in the mountains adjoining Cambewarra where McKenzie regularly gathered plant and timber specimens with his botanist friend Professor William Bauerlin.

The tabletop rests on a turned base of Australian cedar which is most likely of commercial construction, and when not in use as a table it served, according to a Scottish custom, as a decorative ‘fire screen’ in the dining room from Spring to 27 April, as decreed by Jessie Thorburn.

McKenzie also used this craft to make gifts for his family (particularly his nieces, both unmarried and for their wedding presents), as well as for soldiers returning to the district following active service. Other examples of his craft were exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show and at Arts Schools in the district.

* A mosaic method where timbers in thin blocks or strips have been fixed together by glue to create a continuous decorative surface. Applied to the surface decoration of furniture and associated woodcraft, it is called parquetry and is a companion craft to marquetry. Parquetry is much older than marquetry, as evidenced by the fine examples retrieved from the ancient Egyptian tombs dated around 3,000BC.

Rf: Sally Webster, Kenneth McKenzie amateur Cabinet-maker, Australiana, August 1999 pp 79–81