We Visit Eucalypt Banjos

Australian Made – Qld.

There is a particular brand of banjo gaining popularity with musicians these days and it is manufactured here in Australia by husband and wife team Roger and Anne Simpson.

Anne and Roger handcraft every neck, resonator, rim and fingerboard all from Australian timbers.

Roger Simpson has had a variety of interests over the years and his current passions for wood craft are likely to have been developed though his boat-building exploits. As a retired commercial pilot, Roger now delivers flight instruction in his spare time while returning to his lifelong passion of the banjo.

Anne is a medical practitioner with a serious wood-turning and wood-carving hobby. She then learned the technique of wood inlay, called marquetry, which she applies to the resonator of every one of Roger’s handcrafted banjos. Ann also applies this technique to the pearl inlays for the Eucalypt banjo’s fingerboards and peg heads.

Pot and Tone Ring	Resonator	Anne Simpson	Polishing

Roger and Anne’s workshop is located in the beautiful D’Aguilar National Park in Mt Nebo, some 25 km from the Queensland capital, Brisbane.

You are always welcome to call and see us, but it’s wise to phone or email beforehand – Roger Simpson

I have enjoyed several visits to Roger and Anne’s gorgeous bush retreat and watched them at work. The quality of Australian timber is yet to be discovered by luthiers outside Australia; until then Roger and Anne are producing a uniquely Australian, world class, quality instrument.

Roger and Anne can be contacted via their email address: ashokan@banjoz.com or for those with an inkling to travel, their workshop is located at 1903 Mount Nebo Road, Mount Nebo, 4520. Ph (07) 3289 8052.