Timber town: Woodport reflects Erina's timber industry past. The term Woodport was only used for the part of Erina around the timber loading wharves on Erina Creek particularly towards where Avoca Drive meets The Entrance Road at what used to be known as "Moir's Corner". The Legge family also referred to their property as "Woodport". 
Manual labour has always been a feature of timbergetting. In Henry Donnison's time, the sawyers lived in primitive local camps, such as "Scotchtown" or "Moscato Town".

Sawpits: Logs were felled and dragged by bullocks and chains to a sawpit close by. A sawpit required two logs running parallel along the top of a long and deep pit. Sometimes a dry creek bed was used for this purpose. Men worked in pairs, with team comprising a top man and a pit man. A long crosscut saw was used. The top man stood (obviously) on top of the log. The pit man (generally less skilled than the top man) stood below the log in the pit, and got covered in sawdust. The term "underdog" derives from the poor sawyer who stood under the log being sawn in less than ideal working conditions. Sawing logs in this way was a very hot, slow, dirty and dangerous process.

Early timber products: In early times Erina Creek provided weatherboards, laths (small strips of timber used in walls and ceilings, providing a base for plastering) and shingles for roofing.
Steam power revolutionised the milling of timber, but transporting the logs to the mills required bullock teams and log jinkers. Bullock teams were well suited to dragging logs out of forest, and were a common feature of the Erina timber industry until the demise of the major sawmills.

Pioneer Sawmill: The Howard family established the Pioneer Sawmill adjacent to the Erina Wharf in 1879 with two employees. 
By 1925, the mill had a staff of 14. At this time the Howard mill boasted:
"several big, open-sided sheds covering a large area on the creek bank. On the main saw bench are mounted three big saws, while smaller units are set up elsewhere. There are planing and other special machines, while a big vertical saw, driven in a concrete pit by its own engine, cuts the big logs into manageable sizes for the other saws. Logs are drawn into position by a steam driven winch; or material can be transported from point to point on a tramway with wooden rails and an ingenious system of "points"'.
The complex also comprised an engine house, fruit case-making room, and the Howard's owned the vessel Lone Pine. The 53-ton wooden steamship "Lone Pine" was built in Sydney in 1916, and acquired by Howard's in 1925. She was used to transport logs from around Brisbane Water to Erina for milling, and also for transporting sawn timber to other destinations. 
Keeping time: According to Otto Huxley: "The whistle of the "Pioneer" sawmill acted as an audio timekeeper to the orchardists, timbergetter and roadworkers around Erina. The first whistle sounded at 7. 30 am, and the next whistle was at 12 noon, the final whistle on Monday to Friday was at 5pm. " The Howard's sawmill continued until the late 1920s, when it closed after being destroyed by bushfire.

Alfred Aldrick: Another operator of sawmills in the Erina area was Alfred (Dar) Aldrick, who operated the Kcirdla (Aldrick spelt backwards) mill on Terrigal Drive. In the 1920s Aldrick's advertised small weatherboard and fibro kit homes, which could be bought for 250 pounds. This type of building was commonly used for holiday homes throughout the Brisbane Water District, and variations on the same architectural theme were used for farmhouses, churches, community halls and even local lifesaving clubs. Aldrick's mill was destroyed by bushfire in the late 1920s. A later mill occupied the same site until the late 1990s.