Commemorative lapel badges have been produced for the Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA) to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV). The Commission began in 1918 and had a long and proud history as the primary forest and bushfire manager of Victoria’s 7.1 million ha public land estate.Continue reading “Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) – Commemorative Lapel Badges.”
Monthly Archives: August 2023
Black Butt – Mt Fatigue.
This photo from the State Library comes in black and white as well as colour versions, so I guess it was sold as a postcard. It also features in the Leader Newspaper published on 30 August 1902. The caption says the road was recently constructed with an unemployment scheme. I clambered all over those soggyContinue reading “Black Butt – Mt Fatigue.”
Power Poles.
Hardwood poles have always been a very high value forest product with a royalty much higher than sawlogs. In 1946 the Forests Commission produced some 250,000 lineal feet (76.2 km) of telephone and electric power poles, mostly for the Post Master General (PMG) and State Electricity Commission (SEC). From about 1947, as the power gridContinue reading “Power Poles.”
Total Fire Bans in Victoria – a history.
The declaration of a Total Fire Ban (TFB) in Victoria was for many years the key indicator of a day of extreme fire danger for both the fire agencies and the public. But it also served, and indeed continues, to prohibit a range of activities well beyond a ban on barbeques and burning off. TotalContinue reading “Total Fire Bans in Victoria – a history.”
Sundial Peak – Grampians.
Sundial Peak in the Grampians National Park sits at the southern end of the Wonderland Range and overlooks Lake Bellfield. It was named by early settlers who noticed that the 2360-foot-high peak received the first and last rays of sun each day. In 1968, form-five students at nearby Stawell Technical School, under the guidance ofContinue reading “Sundial Peak – Grampians.”
National Service – Vietnam Veterans Day.
Unlike other military conflicts, the records of Forests Commission staff who served in Vietnam are not consolidated or recognised on honour boards. I know a few names… One of the most notable was Des Collins who worked on the crew at Daylesford and was killed along with his workmate, Alan Lynch, at the Greendale fireContinue reading “National Service – Vietnam Veterans Day.”
Pole Plot – Sherbrooke Forest.
The Sherbrooke Forest pole plot is at the southern end of Coles Ridge Track, between Belgrave and Kallista. The study plot in wet forest was paired with another site in drier bush near Winton, on the old Hume Highway. Both research plots are thought to have been established in the 1930s by Post Master GeneralContinue reading “Pole Plot – Sherbrooke Forest.”
Pennies for Pines.
Margaret March-Mount began working for the U.S. Forest Service in 1913 as a clerk on the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming. Growing up in southern Illinois and Kansas, Margaret had witnessed the devastating effects of erosion from wind and rain. She envisioned a nation of healthy trees so began writing and speaking about the benefitsContinue reading “Pennies for Pines.”
Powell Wood Process – Powelltown.
In about 1900, experiments were conducted in England by Mr William Powell to perfect a new process of preserving wood. Mr Powell, who owned a sugar refinery in Liverpool, had noticed that the wooden staves supporting the vats on the side where the molasses was spilt lasted longer than those untouched by the solution. PonderingContinue reading “Powell Wood Process – Powelltown.”
Bailey Bridge – Great Ocean Road.
Almost 11 inches of torrential rain fell over 18 hours during the evening of Wednesday 15 February 1954. The deluge pushed soil and debris down the steep hills adjoining the Great Ocean Road and blocked a small culvert at Hutt Gully, just west of Anglesea. Water spilled across the road, gouging two impassable gaps upContinue reading “Bailey Bridge – Great Ocean Road.”
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 