This site focusses on the care and management of the forests and woodlands in the State of Victoria, Australia until around the late-1990s. In the early to mid-1800s, non-aboriginal people arriving in what is now known as south-eastern Australia, encountered a landscape that seemed boundless; and one clothed with unfamiliar forests. In the early 1900s, after several Inquiries into Victoria’s forests, the Forests Commission of Victoria (FCV) was established. It was merged into a large land and resource management department in the mid-1980s. Founded in 1979, the Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA) currently comprises around 180 members. The Association can be contacted at: www.victoriasforestryheritage.org.au/. In facilitating the establishment of this site the FCRPA acknowledges the considerable support it received from the 'Australian Centre for the Moving Image', and the then Department of Land, Environment, Water, and Planning. (Now DEECA)
My PoP was a blacksmith at a mill and i was often there on school holidays - just like this kid = but i was only 10yo - often warned off from the mill area ! but catching bugs and crubs from the logs and go fishing ! - rabbit was often baked and stuffed with vegtables for dinner !
It is such a pity that greed has caused the demise of the timber industry in Victoria. I run a small-scale milling operation south of Ballarat, only processing about one hundred tonnes per year. Regards Liz.
2024 hardwood logging banned All the mills shut Handful of people made all the money everyone else redundant Can't cut firewood anywhere not aloud Alcoa own the only old growth left in the state destined for clearing Nothing was learnt
It’s amazing what a cross cut can do! I would’ve liked to be there before wouldn’t you? The Japanese would have been laughing at us, destroying our old growth forests for export to be turned into paper, It’s sad.
American here. I apologize Australia. Didn't even know you had forests, let alone forests of this magnificent wood. You can tell it's tough even looking at it. Strong wood harvested by strong men. Stay safe.
I grew up in a small sawmilling town in Northern Tasmania in the late 60's and it was the same. I'm one of 6 brothers, 5 of us worked in the mills at some time or other. hard work but a good living. such a shame it's almost all gone now but we still have some magnificent forests and memories of a different time.
Thankyou for posting. Great coverage given the vintage. We now understand that the myth of koala brains being small is incorrect. Their quirky and intelligent behaviour defies their critics on that front.
What a bunch of lies you know nothing about the Barmah forest this is just made up garbage to suit today’s narrative 180 years ago it wasnt even a forest it was open plains country and it has been seeded for tree growth .,And is now overgrown and basically a pig sty since Parks Victoria has been in control. You know nothing about the water table or how red gums work. Who ever put this together you are a disgrace
Thanks again for sharing, I was lucky enough to spend a week with my uncle John when he worked for Alec Demby delivering timber from the mill in the truck forty years ago. There was an old bloke in the log yard cutting logs to length with a chainsaw and he was moving it backwards and forwards, Uncle John said that fella's that old he still thinks he's using a cross cut 👍.
My dad ordered 12m 6x2 in the mid seventies, hardwood from smithton tas , there was a 10 percent surcharge because of the length, beautiful timber and bloody heavy
Very interesting. Similar to the wattle bark stripping around Port MacDonnell, just across the SA border, where Wilke's bark mill ground and crushed bark from 1874 to 1920, exporting it all via sea - the mill being connected with the jetty by its own tramway. Golden wattle and Black wattle was found to be the best, having a higher tannin content.
Once again thanks for this footage my father was born in forrest and his father was the forestry officer there at that time 1931. The responsibility of the protection and management of our forest reserves must rest with the commission and its selective logging practices, unfortunately they are no longer with us like the vast knowledge of those men and women, as for now the sole responsibility of our Victorian forests and lack of management is controlled by six inner city councils and their armchair expert residents whose preference is to look at desiduous trees.
Thanks for this treasure my grandfather died before i was born so I'm naturally interested in his life. he was the forestry officer at forrest in the early thirties Arthur Tiny Ure he played football for forrest and as legends go he kicked the ball one day in a game and they stopped the game to measure the kick eighty two yards.Geelong asked him to play for them but it was difficult for him to get to training as his job was far more important than playing football, he sat on the bench for one senior game as nineteenth man and didn't go on so therefore he's not in the book. he was promoted to forest commissioner and transferred to Healesville and is pictured in your video titled Australian Eastern States-Timber Industry Stabilization Conference-1951.Field Excursion At 2:09 he can be seen standing to the left of the journalist holding the camera at WM.Cook & Co. Mill Thornton...Thank you.
Went in there in1960 with the Morwell YMCA on a bushwalk to LakeTarli Karn up Riggalls Spur. Road construction had just started . Great access to the Wellington Plateau for many subsequent Bushwalks.😁
Such a shame to see an iconic forest and eco system turned to rubbish the enviro terrorists behind this you wouldn’t leave in charge of an empty bucket. If their collective brains were manure it wouldn’t grow a weed
Señores seguirán los desastres naturales si no hay REFORESTACION de árboles NATIVOS para que vuelva el ciclo de vida. Los árboles regulan la temperatura en la corteza terrestre. Resguardan las NAPAS SUBTERRÁNEAS. Juntos podemos 2022. Ahora estamos parados en una bomba de tiempo. No hay equilibrio en el planeta. Prioridad para todos los países del mundo.
great video .it s so sad to see australian forests cant recover from fire. we have turkish pines in our forests. they r extremely resistant to drought but when they burn they can recover in 20 years
"Tactics left to the fire boss on the scene." What a novel idea. Back burning at night, tracking close to the fire line when possible and immediate tactical backburning. The current experts don't seem to realise that taking hours or days to make decisions is a significant part of the reason why we have more and bigger fires. The biodiversity and adjoining land owners are bigger losers than ever before. It is not a matter of how little has been learnt. It is more about how much has been forgotten and now not used by today's experts.
Thanks for posting, lovely slice of history. I note the beret style hats a couple of the men were wearing. I've seen photos of my father from the 1960s wearing the same type of headgear. At the time he was working on Flinders Island TAS for the Agricultural Bank.
