Short instrumental records make characterising Australian hydroclimatic variability difficult and limit the ability to adequately plan and manage water-resource allocations for urban and rural water supply, agriculture, and hydroelectric power generation. Tree-ring records provide a means to extend records back in time, however, there are few such records of more than 200 years from the Australian mainland. Eucalyptus species dominate the Australian mainland and few of those that have been investigated reliably exhibit annual growth rings.  There are, however, promising signs that specialised methods can be used on some species in specific locations to yield cross-datable chronologies that are sensitive to hydroclimate. This study assesses the potential for developing multi-century hydroclimate proxy records from the wood properties of Eucalyptus niphophila (snow gum) and Podocarpus lawrencei (mountain plum pine) using an image analyser, X-ray densitometer, and X-ray diffractometer from SilviScan-3. We measure cell cross-sectional dimensions, density, micro-fibril angle, cellulose crystallite size, wood stiffness and fibre orientation, and compare these wood properties to hydroclimate data from alpine regions in southeastern Australia. These investigations target a strategic knowledge gap about past rainfall and streamflow variability in southeastern Australia. Filling this knowledge gap would provide new insights into the long-term context for recent and projected changes in rainfall and streamflow with substantial anticipated benefits for stakeholders in the Australian water, hydroelectricity, environmental and agricultural sectors.