Author Archives: Peter McHugh

By the beginning of the 20th century Victoria’s forests were in a very sorry state following years of forest clearing and degradation. The first five decades had been characterised by uncontrolled harvesting of forests by a powerful mining and sawmilling industry, a government desire to clear the land to establish a thriving farming sector whichContinue reading “Federation – 1901.”

The deadly bushfires, the indiscriminate clearing of Victoria’s public land, and wastage of its forests and timber resources during the 1800s could no longer be ignored. There had already been inquiries and independent reports including those from D’A. Vincent (1887), Perrin (1890) and Ribbentrop (1896) into the parlous state of Victoria’s state forests, but withContinue reading “Royal Commission into Forests and Timber Reserves, 1897 – 1901.”

Forest and bushfire management in Victoria in the 50 years between the discovery of gold in 1851, through to Federation in 1901, can best be described as chaotic. Prior to European settlement it’s thought that nearly 88% of Victoria had been forested, with the remaining 12% made up of open grasslands, coastal and alpine heathlands,Continue reading “Inertia, Inquiries and Inaction.”

George Samuel Perrin was born England on 28 November 1849 and in 1880 became a forester with the Woods and Forests Department of South Australia. From 1886 to 1887 he was Conservator of Forests in Tasmania. In 1888, the Lands Minister, John Lamont Dow, brought two bills before Parliament: a measure for the Conservation ofContinue reading “George Samuel Perrin – Victoria’s first Conservator of Forests.”

The political jousting over the alienation and sale of Victoria’s valuable Crown Land estate began many years before the Colony separated from NSW in 1851. It continued unabated over the following decades as self-interested and wealthy squatters (pastoralists), who dominated the Upper House of Parliament, were fiercely pitted against those keen to see a homeContinue reading “The tragedy of the Otway & eastern Strzelecki forests.”

Clement Hodgkinson was as an English naturalist, explorer, senior public servant and surveyor. Born at Southampton in 1818, he studied civil engineering in France before working at topographical fieldwork and mechanical drawing in England. He arrived at Melbourne in December 1851 intending to become a pastoralist but instead joined the Surveyor-General’s Office in January 1852.Continue reading “Clement Hodgkinson – Father of Victorian Forestry.”

Flushed with tremendous wealth generated by the goldfields, the Victorian government invested over £9 million in the decade between 1854 and 1864 to build just 254 miles of railway, while private companies invested another £1.8 million. The Victorian Railways Department was established in 1856, and the rail network rapidly began to radiate out from Melbourne.Continue reading “Railways.”

The Victorian Acclimatisation Society was founded in 1861 by Edward Wilson, editor of The Argus newspaper and a private collector, whose motto was “if it lives, we want it”. The Society was governed by the colony’s most eminent scientists who believed that Australia’s plants and animals were greatly inferior to those in Europe, providing onlyContinue reading “Acclimatisation Society.”

As gold revenues declined, selling Crown Land to accommodate the thousands of new arrivals on farms and settlements became the next untapped frontier of wealth for the new colonial government. Producing enough food for the expanding population was another important consideration. Besides, farming was believed to provide a “healthy and pleasant pursuit” for ex-miners whoContinue reading “Land alienation – Yeoman Ideal.”

The Marvellous Melbourne we enjoy today began to take shape in 1854 and was paying for it in gold. They were heady times. The MCG, Flinders Street Railway Station, Port Melbourne’s Station Pier, the University of Melbourne, both St Paul’s and St Patrick’s Cathedrals, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Customs House on the Yarra, while theContinue reading “Prosperity – 1854.”

The distance from Melbourne to Sydney often frustrated and delayed important government decision making when Port Phillip was still a reluctantly dependent outpost of New South Wales. It was one of the main reasons that Port Phillip residents passionately advocated for a separate and independent government. A Separation Association was formed following a public meetingContinue reading “Gold – 1851.”

After some years of agitation, Queen Victoria signed the Australian Colonies Government Acton 5 August 1850 to separate the Port Phillip District from NSW to create the new independent Colony of Victoria. When the news reached Melbourne from London on 11 November 1850 it was announced with great flourish under a tree at the northernContinue reading “Separation Tree(s) – 1850.”

1788 to 1851 – reshaping of the forests… The present-day State of Victoria had a hesitant start. George Bass sailed from Sydney in 1797 in an open whaleboat with a crew of six on an epic and perilous journey to explore the southern coast. He travelled around the southern tip of Wilsons Promontory to landContinue reading “The Working Forests – in the beginning.”

Over the last few years I have written nearly 1000 short Facebook stories and lodged eight free eBooks in the state and national library. There are also more than 20 Wikipedia pages. This year will see a shift of focus to writing a book about “The Working Forests” which seeks highlight the importance of ourContinue reading “The Working Forests.”

The fantastic sketch on this Christmas card was done in 1961 by Alan Rawady, the Forests Commission’s graphic artist. It was found in a box of old stuff at the Altona museum. The card was produced at a time when Alf Lawrence was the Chairman with Herb Galbraith and Ben Benallack as Commissioners. It includesContinue reading “Merry Christmas.”

It’s been another busy year on the Victorian Forests and Bushfire Heritage Facebook page. Once again, I have gathered up the main stories into a free eBook and published them in the national and state libraries so they don’t get lost in the Facebook soup. But the biggest achievement for 2024 has undoubtedly been photographingContinue reading “Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria – Series 5.”