Author Archives: Peter McHugh

With the generous support of Eucalypt Australia and the Dahl Trust, I have been busy over the last year writing and compiling a free eBook titled “The Working Forests”. The notion of Working Forests sits at the very heart of traditional forest management and the long-term approach to sustainability. It conjures up an image ofContinue reading “The Working Forests – mission accomplished.”

Soil erosion was identified as an emerging problem across rural Victoria almost immediately after the gold rush of the 1850s. The Royal Commission of 1897-1901 into the destruction and wastage of Victoria’s forests also identified the importance of protecting soils and forested water catchments. A Sludge Abatement Board was appointed in 1905, charged specifically withContinue reading “Harold Hanslow – Soil Saver.”

If you have ever wondered why Victoria’s bushfire arrangements are the way they are… then look no further than Judge Leonard (Len) Edward Bishop Stretton. Len was born in 1893 and initially grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, but from the age of six he had a rural upbringing at Campbellfield, just northContinue reading “Judge Stretton.”

A major fire started at Aberfeldy just near the edge of the Thomson Reservoir at about 11.30 am on Thursday 17 January 2013. The bush had been severely burnt only 6 years earlier in the Great Divide fires of 2006-07, so the forest had lots of dead trees and had grown back with a thickContinue reading “Aberfeldy – Donnellys.”

Only a week after the Delburn bushfires, on 7 February, the devastating Black Saturday bushfires broke out. All the staff were placed on early standby in the Traralgon ICC with the expectation of it being a bad fire day. The morning was ominously calm and there was even a slight dew on the car whenContinue reading “Black Saturday – Churchill.”

The Premier, Daniel Andrews, announced in Parliament on 23 May 2023 that commercial harvesting of native State forests would end on 1 January 2024. After the announcement, FFMVic stated that harvesting and haulage contractors would remain engaged by VicForests until 30 June 2024 and continue to support the fuel-reduction burning program. VicForests Community Forest licenseesContinue reading “When the last tree falls in the forest… will a forester be there to hear it?”

A fuel reduction burn near Tidal River in the Wilsons Promontory National Park escaped on Friday 1 April 2005. It was the second time the burn, which had been ignited 12 days earlier in thick tea-tree, had escaped its containment lines, and was now bearing down on the popular campsite. The burn had been initiallyContinue reading “Wilsons Promontory – 2005.”

The 12 February 1977 was described as “Black Saturday” as 69 fires broke out across Victoria. Five people were killed and 17 injured as 100 kilometre-an-hour winds drove fires statewide. Most of the fires appeared to have occurred by power line failures caused by the very strong winds. Eleven of the major blazes were inContinue reading “Creswick Bushfires – 1977.”

Howard Loftie Allan Stoney was the first forester in East Gippsland. He was one of the original 16 appointed and took up his position as Inspector in Bairnsdale in 1883, aged 24. Originally from Bairnsdale, Howard had no forestry experience or training but had worked in the Lands Office at Sale as a Crown LandContinue reading “East Gippsland’s first forester – Inspector Howard Stoney.”

The Wombat State forest straddles the Great Dividing Range and stretches from Daylesford to Macedon. It has a very fragmented public land boundary and complex private land interface. There are many small settlements surrounding, and also as inliers, in the forests. The Wombat forests are close to Melbourne and have been important for tourism andContinue reading “Wombat State Forest.”

The Heytesbury State forest was once on the western side of the Otway Ranges, south of Cobden and Terang. The first timber mill was established in the 1850s by James McLure between Curdie Vale and Timboon. In 1882, the Victorian Inspector of Forests, William Ferguson, made a field survey of the Heytesbury Forest. He estimatedContinue reading “Heytesbury Land Settlement Scheme.”

Before Airbnb, TripAdvisor and online accommodation bookings, or grabbing a glossy colour brochure at the local travel agent, tourism was a core function of both State government and local councils. The Victorian Railways first established an “Inquiry Office” in 1888 at Spencer Street Station to assist tourists. They offered road maps and guides and alsoContinue reading “Victorian Government Tourist Bureau.”

This magnificent 80-page coffee table book was produced as a prelude to the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. There were others in the series produced by the Australian Publicity Council. The effusive preface was written by the Premier John Cain Snr. This small selection of images reflects an unashamed sense of optimism and pride in countryContinue reading “Under Southern Skies.”

By the early 1980s, the Forests Commission employed some 300 foresters, plus a further 500 technical and administrative staff, and well over 1000 works and fire crew, spread across country Victoria in 48 districts and 7 divisional offices. Most of them lived and worked in small country towns or larger regional cities. Head Office wasContinue reading “Pride of Place.”

A new FCV pavilion was officially opened by Minister of Forests, Lindsay Thompson, on 20 September 1965 at the Royal Melbourne Show Grounds. It replaced the original building, which was built in 1922, but was badly in need of expensive repairs. Victorian timbers were on display along with free advice to visitors, architects and homeContinue reading “Royal Melbourne Show Pavilion.”

In my experience, there are three topics that are guaranteed to upset staff. 1. rearrangements to office accommodation, 2. allocation and use of vehicles, and 3. uniforms. The matter of uniforms in the Forests Commission has a long and fraught history. A motion was raised at the 1966 meeting of the Victorian State Foresters AssociationContinue reading “Staff Uniforms.”

The State Forest Department (SFD) was established in 1907 following several scathing inquiries leading to a Royal Commission (1897-1901) into the destruction and waste of Victoria’s forests which followed the gold rush of the 1850s. Foresters were a lonely voice advocating for conservation and the combined principles of sustainability, multiple use and economic development ofContinue reading “Organisational Culture.”

A simple working plan for the Grampians State Forest had been produced in 1939, but a new blueprint was prepared by Commission in 1974 which reaffirmed its core principles of balance and multiple use. The document was an innovative attempt at the time to set out a vision for the 210,000 ha Grampians State forestsContinue reading “Multiple Use Case Study – Grampians 1974.”