IF ever there was a fitting task to mark the 40th anniversary of a famous North Yorkshire furniture maker it was this - a magnificent hand-crafted oak dresser and chairs.

It was the latest major export order from Colin Almack, cabinet maker and woodcarvers of Sutton-under-White-stone-Cliffe, near Thirsk and it was bound for a doctor and his family living in Australia.

For Dr John Brougham, originally from Yorkshire, it was like a little bit of home arriving in Victoria state.

David Glegg, son-in-law of the late Colin Almack who carried on the famous beaver trademark tradition, said: "This job was particularly nice to complete. The oak tree is a traditional symbol of Great Britain and represents many of the qualities we feel are distinctive about the furniture we make."

Like other oak creations, the wood was seasoned naturally at his premises, Beaver Lodge.

The family-run firm has an order book that reads like a who's who of British and foreign customers. Beaver furniture can be found in private homes, public schools, in corporate boardrooms and cathedral chapter houses in Britain and abroad.

Attention to detail and traditional working methods meant that their craftsmen were asked to carve the woodwork in Southwark Cathedral - making a modern extension look hundreds of years old.

Craftsmen serve a five year apprenticeship before qualifying to take full responsibility for their work from original drawings to final wax polish.