The Upper Yarra Fire #12 erupted on Ash Wednesday, 16 February 1983, on the slopes of Mount Little Joe near Millgrove at 7.20 pm and quickly progressed under the influence of the strong north westerly wind. Also often known as the Warburton or Powelltown Fire, it was first spotted by Jon Gwilt in the Briarty’sContinue reading “Ash Wednesday 1983 – Warburton.”
Category Archives: Forests
Ash Wednesday 1983 – Otways.
A day of Total Fire Ban (TFB) was declared for Victoria at 06.30 am on Ash Wednesday, 16 February 1983. Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) firetowers at Peters Hill, Crowes and Mt. Cowley were up early from 09.00 am in expectation of a bad day, and all crews were in their depots on standby. Under provisionsContinue reading “Ash Wednesday 1983 – Otways.”
Ash Wednesday – 1983, East Trentham & Macedon.
A day of Total Fire Ban (TFB) was declared for Victoria at 06.30 am on Ash Wednesday 16 February 1983, and Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) crews were kept close to the depot at Trentham with the intent that everyone would be back in the yard by midday. Peter Brown was the Trentham District Forester andContinue reading “Ash Wednesday – 1983, East Trentham & Macedon.”
Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Two weeks before Ash Wednesday, on Tuesday 1 February 1983, the weather forecast was for a very hot day with temperatures of 41 degrees and windy conditions. The CFA declared a Total Fire Ban (TFB). A fire, which many believed had been deliberately lit, broke out at 12:49 pm just north of the Macedon RangesContinue reading “Picnic at Hanging Rock.”
Major bushfires for the Forests Commission in 1982-83.
1982-83 was a long and hectic fire season for the Forests Commission with 823 fires and the total area burnt of 486,030 ha, which was well above the 11-year average of 141,000 ha. Ash Wednesday on 16 February 1983 was only part of the story. The main fires within the Fire Protected Area (FPA), whichContinue reading “Major bushfires for the Forests Commission in 1982-83.”
Lost Children’s Tree.
On Sunday morning, 30 June 1867, a group of young children from Connells Gully near Daylesford wandered into the bush past familiar shallow gold diggings to look for wild goats. William Graham, aged 6½, his brother Thomas, 4 years 3 months, and Alfred Burman aged 5, crossed Wombat Creek and headed towards Muskvale. But whenContinue reading “Lost Children’s Tree.”
State Forest Signs.
In 2010 a new policy manual was developed for State forest entry and directional road signs. Over the preceding decades, the standards, materials and colours of State forest signs had drifted to become a visually messy hodgepodge, as each district often did their own thing, The new signs replaced the old, routed timber ones whichContinue reading “State Forest Signs.”
Keep the home fires burning.
The Victorian Firewood Emergency. The 1940s were a busy and difficult time for the Victorian forestry profession. One of the pressing requirements placed on the Forests Commission during World War Two was to organise emergency supplies of firewood for civilian heating and cooking because of shortages in the supply of coal, briquettes, electricity and gas.Continue reading “Keep the home fires burning.”
Barmah Piles.
Most River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) are beautifully twisted and gnarled, but there are a number that are unusually tall and straight stems in the Barmah forest on the Murray River. They were often referred to as the Barmah Piles. They were sought out as “elite trees” for tree breeding purposes with the aim to grow straighterContinue reading “Barmah Piles.”
Otways Redwoods & The Balts.
The first batch of “Balts” destined for the Otway forests arrived in Colac on 8 April 1949, after having travelled by train from their processing centre at Bathurst in New South Wales. Others had been assigned to nation-building projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Many of these post-war immigrants and refugees came from Lithuania, Latvia,Continue reading “Otways Redwoods & The Balts.”
Sussos.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to a worldwide economic collapse, which quickly spread to the Australian economy and signalled the beginning of the “Great Depression”. At its worst in 1932, unemployment in Australia reached 32 percent, but this figure did not include women who had lost their jobs or teenagers who had neverContinue reading “Sussos.”
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 