James Lees Shaw.
James joined the 29th Battalion on 12 July 1915 at a relatively senior age of 44 and embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Ascanius on 10 November 1915. A native of Stawell, he lived at Brimpaen and worked as a forest officer in the Wartook and Murra Murra state forests on the western side of the…
Yarra Pipeline – 1974
Photos from the Gregor Wallace Collection The 1960s saw prolonged droughts and harsh water restrictions in Melbourne. There were also deadly bushfires on the fringes of the city in the Dandenong Ranges in 1962, and again in 1968. Growing concerns about long-term water security led to a Parliamentary Public Works Committee inquiry between 1965 and…
Wail and Dimboola.
Gregor Wallace reminisces – c 1968 – 1971. The Wimmera Forest Nursery at Wail, near Dimboola, “phone number Wail # 5”, had been a significant showcase for the Forests Commission since 1946. The nursery was within a large plantation of Sugar Gum (E. cladocalyx) which had been initially planted in about 1909 and was maturing…
Cork Oak.
Cork Oak (Quercus suber) is a medium sized evergreen tree which was planted in Australia as a specimen in many parks and gardens from the mid-19th century. The oldest tree is said to be in the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens, which was planted in 1857, and the largest at Tenterfield, in northern NSW, was planted…
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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