Since 1919, work had been done in forest products under the Advisory council of Science and Industry and this work was continued from 1926 by the CSIR Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CA 486). A special Division of Forest Products was
established in the CSIR on 5 July 1928 with I.H. Boas as Chief. In 1944 he was replaced by S.M. Clarke who was Chief until 1960. H.E. Dadswell was chief from 1960 to 1964 and R.W.R.Muncey from 1966 to 1971.
  
The Division of Forest Products, CSIR (CA) was abolished on 19 May 1949 when the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CA 486) was abolished and replaced by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CA 641). The CSIR Forest Products Division was replaced by the Division of Forest Products, CSIRO (CA 3387).
  
Fields of research covered by the Division included studies into the fundamental properties of wood and its constituents, swan wood, harvesting and conversion of logs to wood products, sorting seasoning, grading, timber for building and structural purposes, timber lamination, panel products, plywood, particle board, reconstituted wood, behaviour of wood in service, control of deterioration, biological degradation agents, paper and fibreboard - manufacture and properties, pulping of wood and pulp preparation, blending of pulps, wood chips, recovery processes and effluent, optimum use of wood reserves.
 
The research work of the Division was carried out be eight sections - Wood and Fibre Structure, Wood Chemistry, Timber Physics, Timber Mechanics, Timber Preservation, Timber Seasoning, Plywood and Glueing and Timber Utilization.
 
The Division provided assistance to individuals and local industry, administered courses of instruction on timber properties and usage, and maintained co-operative projects with several overseas authorities operating in the same field.
 
On 24 May 1971 that part of the Division of Forest Products concerned with wood as structural material and integrated with the Division of Building Research. The remaining part of the Division of Forest Products which was concerned with research of the pulp and paper industries was integrated with the Division for Applied Chemistry.  

Historical agency address
69 Yarra Bank Road, South Melbourne

Subsequent agency unregistered

Division of Building Research Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
 Research Organisation, 1950- 
Division of Applied Chemistry, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
 Research Organisation, 1966-1974