https://www.photoblog.com/ShangriLa/2011/01/24/ And other stories. Ok i only got one useful shot of the bamboo here but i think it should be pretty telling so i hope its good enough. If not, never mind. I will have to look elsewhere.
I should know the name of that bamboo Andrea , are the clumps very tight [ close together ]? There was a row of this type of bamboo just before turn off for High Falls Farm on Whyanbeel rd . I tried propagating it a few times while I lived there , and remembner how thick the timber was . Not many bamboos are that thick .. https://bambooman.com.au/Genus_Thyrostachys.html This guy is our closest supplier and also one of the cheapest , a quarter the price of some of the more southern suppliers .
https://bambooman.com.au/Bengal_Bamboo_pic_1.html Mike the bambooman thinks its this one. Bambusa polymorph from India, not Japan. Still looking for more info on its uses.
If it is B. polymorpha, Victor Cusack lists it as "SM2" - translated as Structural type; Medium sized; Structural quality 2 (scale 1-5 with 1 being excellent). The shoots are edible, though slightly bitter. Also suitable for heat bending for furniture crafting.
Don who is Victor Cusack? Is he the guy who wrote Bamboo World? Yeah i tasted a raw shoot and I noticed it was bitter.
That would be him - he also wrote "Bamboo Rediscovered" ($20 from Earth Garden Books) - line drawings and b&w photos, and heaps of info on selection, growing & using most varieties available in Aust.