Euculyptus Oil

Native to Tasmania and New South Wales in Australia, the tree was first recorded in Tasmania in 1792 and the oil was first distilled in Australia in the 1850s. By the turn of the twentieth century the Tasmanian Eucalyptus Oil Company, with its platypus logo, was the most highly respected supplier. The medicinal properties of eucalyptus were quickly recognized, while the tree itself was appreciated because it uses large amounts of water and can turn swamp into usable land while at the same time eliminating the standing water in which mosquitoes thrive. The tree has been exported to many areas north and south of the Mediterranean and elsewhere in the world. In the late nineteenth century it was exported to South Africa, where the wood was used for mine building.