In addition to building dams and water points, the Stretton Royal Commission recommended expanding the use of bushfire dugouts. Well-constructed dugouts had saved the lives of many sawmill workers and their families during the 1939 bushfires. But in some locations, they had proved fatal. Dugouts became mandatory for those few sawmills that remained in theContinue reading “Bushfire dugouts.”
Monthly Archives: September 2022
Russell Grimwade Prize for Forestry.
Wilfrid Russell Grimwade was born in 1879, knighted in 1950 and died in 1955. He led a remarkable and diverse life by any measure. He was a chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist. He also had a passion for science, appreciation of art and sense of obligation to the community. An early motoring enthusiast he wasContinue reading “Russell Grimwade Prize for Forestry.”
Splitters.
Forest and bushfire management in the Colony of Victoria from 1851 through to Federation in 1901 can best be described as chaotic. Prior to European settlement, nearly 90% of Victoria had been forested but it was rapidly, and indiscriminately, cleared by miners during the gold rush, by timber splitters and then in a mad scrambleContinue reading “Splitters.”
Fire Dams & Water Points.
Building fire dams was another of the many recommendations of the Stretton Royal Commission after the 1939 bushfires. The Forests Commission annual reports give a clue to the increase in the numbers over the years. There were no fire dams reported in 1939-40, but by the time that the Forests Commission ended and became Conservation,Continue reading “Fire Dams & Water Points.”
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 