Author Archives: Peter McHugh

Black powder splitting guns were commonly used to split large logs into more manageable pieces before the advent of excavators and front-end loaders in bush logging operations. A typical splitting gun used in Victorian forests was a piece of high-grade steel about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and about 16 inches long, and slightlyContinue reading “Splitting guns.”

It’s often said that mountain ash, Eucalyptus regnans, is the world’s tallest flowering plant, and possibly the tallest plant of all time, although no living specimens can make that claim. Tree height is influenced by species, genetics, age, stand density, soil type and depth, rainfall, aspect, altitude, protection from wind and snow damage, fire historyContinue reading “Tall trees and taller tales.”

Metal branding hammers were the most common way to control the sale and movement of hardwood timber produce like logs, railway sleepers, fence posts, and poles from Victorian State forests. Royalty was also paid on this basis. The hammer had a crown stamp on one end with a unique number in the middle which identifiedContinue reading “Branding Hammers.”

These photographs, taken in the early 1900s, are of 100 foot long Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) piles produced by the Gray Brothers mills on Bruny Island in southern Tasmania. The timber was destined as hewn piles for Admiralty Harbour Works at Dover in England and for similar works at Simon’s Town in South Africa. TheContinue reading “Blue Gum piles.”

Early foresters, as well as some sawmillers and timber merchants, recognised the unique qualities of Victorian hardwood timbers and the Government was keen to promote them to the world market. But by far, the greatest proportion of dressed timber for internal work, joinery and furniture was expensive imports from North America and Scandinavia. There wasContinue reading “Timber seasoning – Newport.”

The beautiful curves of wooden boats have surfaces which come together at odd angles and often use special timber shapes called “boat knees” to join them together and add strength. Most woodworkers know that timber is strongest along the grain but will split when force is applied across the grain. Timber can be bent, joinedContinue reading “Boat Knees.”

The losses from converting round logs onto square sawn timber depends on the species of tree, the diameter and length of the log, straightness and the overall taper of the log, internal defects and waste. Sawn timber recovery can vary from 40 to 50% of the gross volume (cubic metres) for a large mountain ashContinue reading “Sawdust.”

Australian foresters are lucky to no longer endure some of the older “head scratching” imperial measurements. Hoppus Log Volume (HLV) was used around the British Empire and is still used in some countries. Introduced in 1736 by English surveyor Edward Hoppus, it estimated the volume of a round log that would produce usable or merchantableContinue reading “Hoppus Log Volume.”

Decimal currency was spectacularly introduced in an overnight overthrow on 14 February 1966, but it took another 8 years before metrication finally arrived in the forest and timber industry. Eventually, the measurement of logs and sawn timber changed from imperial, and excruciating, measures such as super feet of sawn timber, billets and cunits (100 cubicContinue reading “Forest Metriverter.”

Prior to the formation of the Alpine Resorts Commission (ARC) in 1983, Victoria’s snowfields were managed by a conglomerate of competing government agencies including the Victorian Railways, National Parks Service, Lands Department, State Electricity Commission and the Forests Commission Victoria. The Forests Commission first developed a substantial interest in the development of Mt Buller asContinue reading “On the Piste.”