March 2023 – Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage

World Forestry Day.

Today is World Forestry Day (WFD) which was proclaimed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation over 50 years ago in 1971. It was set down for 21 March each year to coincide with the vernal equinox when the sun passes over the equator giving equal lengths of day and night. It also marksContinue reading “World Forestry Day.”

Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre.

The magnificent Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre (TFDC) was opened by the Minister for Natural Resources, Geoff Coleman, nearly 30 years ago on 14 February 1994 but its origins can be traced back many decades earlier. During the late 1960s, the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) started to dip-its-toe into the world of public information and schools’Continue reading “Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre.”

Pack Saddle.

This pack saddle was thought to be owned by the Forests Commission and used by fireguards from Orbost at remote fire towers like Stringers Knob, or by forest assessors measuring stands of timber. They could spend up to a week away at time and the saddle was designed to be secured on the back ofContinue reading “Pack Saddle.”

Speedy Moisture Meter.

Bushfire behaviour is influenced by many things including temperature, relative humidity, forest type, fuel quantity and fuel dryness, topography and even slope. Wind has a dominant effect on the Rate of Spread (ROS), and also bushfire size, shape and direction. Fuel arrangement is as important as fuel quantity (tonnes/ha). Fibrous and ribbon bark, together withContinue reading “Speedy Moisture Meter.”

Loch Sport – 1983.

There was no respite… Three weeks after Ash Wednesday, on Thursday 10 March 1983 at about 8.30 pm, a fire broke out in the National Park about 4 km west of Loch Sport near Beacon Swamp Track. The fire began in thick coastal heathland on the southern shores of Lake Victoria and the cause wasContinue reading “Loch Sport – 1983.”