Fire Management – 101. Fire Protected Area (FPA).
One lasting consequence of the 1939 Stretton Royal Commission was a revision of the Forest Act in 1939 which handed the Forests Commission the additional responsibility for bushfire protection on all public land including State forests, National Parks and unoccupied Crown Lands, plus a buffer extending one mile beyond their margins onto private land. (A.K.A.…
Fire Management – 101. Backburning.
Backburning to build or thicken a control line from a strategic fuel break, road, ridgeline or 4WD track is a common and effective dry firefighting technique, particularly in remote and rugged country. But indirect attack using backburning increases overall fire size and therefore fire perimeter. It also introduces more fire into the landscape, often under…
Fire Management – 101. Fire / Fuel Breaks.
Victorian foresters were initially trained in European traditions and believed fire had no place in the forest. Like many early settlers, colonial foresters only saw bushfire as a threat, particularly to young regrowth, and sought to eliminate it altogether. A fire exclusion policy, though well-intentioned, shaped forest management for decades with mixed results. Early Forests…
Fire Management – 101. Helicopters.
Helicopters capitalise on the three main advantages of aircraft… speed, access and observation… The RAAF’s first helicopter, a Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly (A80-1), was test flown at Laverton Air Base on 9 October 1947. In May 1949, in an Australian first, the Forests Commission winched firefighters from the hovering Dragonfly. The Sikorsky proved very versatile and…
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Peter McHugh
Retiring in 2016 after nearly 40 years as a field forester and firefighter in Victoria I now find time to write about the forests and their rich history..
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The Working Forests – Volume 1.
The notion of The Working Forests sits at the very heart of traditional forest management and the long-term approach to sustainability. It conjures up an image of a continuous cycle of harvest and renewal, of balance and multiple use of a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits, while growing, and protecting forests for the future.
This eBook comes in two volumes and aims to capture the story of Victoria’s State Forests from the earliest days of the Colony in the 1800s through to the present.
Volume 1 covers the period from colonisation of Victoria, through to roughly the end of World War Two.
Peter McHugh (2025).
The Working Forests – Volume 2.
The notion of The Working Forests sits at the very heart of traditional forest management and the long-term approach to sustainability. It conjures up an image of a continuous cycle of harvest and renewal, of balance and multiple use of a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits, while growing, and protecting forests for the future.
This eBook comes in two volumes and aims to capture the story of Victoria’s State Forests from the earliest days of the Colony in the 1800s through to the present.
Volume 2 covers the period from World War Two to the present. But there are inevitable overlaps with some topics.
Peter McHugh (2025).
The 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires.
The 1982-83 Victorian Bushfire Season.
Including Ash Wednesday – 16 February 1983.
A forester’s perspective – Peter McHugh (2022).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 5.
Peter McHugh (2024).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 4.
Peter McHugh (2023).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 3.
Peter McHugh (2022).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 2.
Peter McHugh (2021).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 1.
Peter McHugh (2020)
Forest Faces : Mysterious carved wooden faces of Gippsland’s forests and roadsides.
Peter McHugh (2021)
1965 Gippsland Bushfires : A reconstruction of events from February to March 1965
Peter McHugh (2020)
Copyright © Peter McHugh – 2022. All rights reserved.
This blog draws a selection of my original stories from a parrallel FaceBook Page.
Contact: theworkingforests@gmail.com
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 