The star picket is one of those bits of fencing that everyone has seen and few think about. It is the pointed steel post holding up more wire and mesh fences across Australia than any other, and for good reason. Here is what a star picket actually is, the types you can choose from, and why it has outlasted timber for so long.
What is a star picket?
A star picket is a pointed metal fence post, the vertical element that anchors the fence. Its cross-section is three strips of metal meeting in the centre, which is why it is also called a Y-post or T-post depending on the profile. That shape is what gives it strength for its weight.
It is usually made from carbon steel, sometimes rail steel, and carries studs or nubs along its length. Those studs stop wire or mesh sliding up or down the post, which is what keeps a fence at its set height under load. Pickets are graded by weight per lineal foot, commonly 1.01, 1.25 or 1.33, with the heavier grades used where the fence takes more strain.
The types available
The most common in Australia is the Y-post, but the star picket family is wider than that:
- USA-style studded T-post
- European-style T-post
- Y-posts with teeth
- U-post
- Square or round post
- Peach post
Add the range of caps and clips and there is a post to suit most jobs. The right one comes down to what the fence carries and where it sits.
Why steel star pickets beat timber
Timber posts splinter, rot and get eaten by termites. Star pickets do none of that. They are steel, so they hold up where a timber post slowly gives way, and a good one lasts decades rather than years.
Bare steel would rust, so pickets come coated: hot-dip galvanised zinc, PVC or PE coating, black bitumen, or baked enamel. The coating seals the steel against moisture and oxygen, and against UV, which is what stops the corrosion that ends a fence's life. For a coastal site, the coating is the difference between a fence that lasts and one that rusts out early.
Quick to install
Part of the appeal is how fast they go in. A picket without a flange plate is simply driven into the ground with a manual or pneumatic post pounder, no digging or concrete needed. Pickets with a flange plate are bolted or welded to a hard surface instead, for sites where you cannot drive into the ground. That speed is a big part of why star pickets suit temporary fencing, rural runs and long boundaries where you have a lot of posts to set.
Where they fit in a chainwire fence
For a permanent chainwire or mesh fence, star pickets often work alongside heavier tubular end and straining posts: the tubular posts carry the tension at corners and gates, and the pickets fill the line between them. Matching the picket grade and spacing to the mesh weight and wind exposure is what keeps the whole run tight over time.
The takeaway
A star picket is a simple thing that does a lot: strong for its weight, quick to drive, and coated to last. For most wire and mesh fencing it is the practical post, especially over long runs and on rural or temporary jobs. Match the grade and coating to the load and the local conditions, pair it with proper straining posts at the ends and corners, and the fence stays where you set it.