Cyclone Tracy clock

I met a guy at the footy (Crows matches) a few years ago and we have been catching up for a drink before matches ever since. After a year or so he asked about my interest in wood. It was deep into the conversation that he let on that he used to own a timber mill and still had lots of timber laying around. He kept suggesting that I bring my trailer for a visit, but it was only a couple of months ago that SWMBO and I visited, minus the trailer.
The timber he had "laying around" was all grey and split as it had been in the open for years.
Before we left, he started his chainsaw and cut a piece of approx 100mmX100mm about 1.5m long and told me that it was from a Mahogany tree knocked over by Cyclone Tracy. (For those who are not "in the know", Tracy was a cyclone that devastated Darwin, Christmas eve 1974).
I had to cut a fair bit from the surfaces to get to workable timber, then quite a few hours of tackling one of the hardest woods I have tried to carve. I started to wonder if the tree had been struck by lightening; not that I've ever had the experience, but I've heard that lightening causes the wood to be very hard.
Anyway, last week, even though it was only a Port Power vs Geelong match, we met again at the footy and I was able to surprise him by giving him back a bit of his wood.

For some reason that is beyond me, the photo keeps loading upside down. I guess it is catering for our Northern Hemisphere members.

The photo is the right way.... cause we're at the bottom of the world:D. The mahogany tree/timber is quite hard, I'd see a few pieces of it during my time in Darwin. Another probably little unknow timber from the top end is Melville Island White beech. The tree can be quite large the timber is light weight and pink in colour.