you were right in thinking it was pine. it is in fact Cyprus Pine, lots of House's being built using Cyprus these days, they use it for wall and roof trusses joist and flooring, termites hate the stuff and it is very rare to find any termite or white ant damage in Cyprus, unlike most hardwoods which termites and white ants seem to love,
cheers barnsey.
p.s nearly forgot, we were sitting on the front porch having a cup of coffee at about 9am when a Red Bellied Black snake about 7ft long came cruising out of the bush and went under the house, my reflexes were a little to slow so i missed out on the opportunity to take a photo or get the shovel, just makes you realise how careful you need to be out here in the woods (bush) you need to keep your eyes wide open when walking around out here.
barnsey