Prior to the new gates there was just a simple wire fence.
Peacock was born at Creswick in 1861 and was the local politician at the time when VSF opened in 1910. He spent 44 years in State Parliament including becoming the 20th Premier of Victoria in 1901. He died in October 1933.
The old Creswick hospital buildings and grounds were purchased by the Victorian Government and refurbished at the instigation of John Johnstone, Superintendent of State Plantations, under the direction of Donald McLeod, then Minister of Forests, (1904–1909) followed by Sir Peter McBride, Minister from 1909 to 1913.
There is some debate about the role and significance that Sir Alexander Peacock made compared to Johnstone.
The new entrance was promoted as a “Gateway to a Man’s Career” by the Forests Commission until female students first entered the school in 1976.
Photograph taken in 1915 (Source: FCRPA) : Tremearne House and the Victorian School of Forestry
Les Ortlipp was born on 18 May 1925 at Culcairn in New South Wales but moved to Bright in NE Victoria in 1933 after his father died and his mother remarried.
Les left school aged 12 and took an apprenticeship at the local Jack Sharp’s bakery.
When aged only 16, Les lied about his age to join the Army, but his mum found out and he was sent home. But about 12 months later in 1943 he joined again (# VX93307) and was sent overseas. He served as a machine gunner in New Guinea, the Islands, Halmaheras, Morotai and Borneo, before being accidently sent to Japan with the American Occupation Forces. Les was discharged in 1947.
On his return to Australia, Les worked briefly for the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) at Bright, before spending a couple of years as a Guard on the Old Ghan railway between Quorn and Alice Springs.
After getting married at Quorn to Colleen, Les returned to Bright in March 1951 and resumed his job on the crew with the Forests Commission.
During the summer months from 1951-1956, Les worked as a fire lookout at Mt Clearspot overlooking the Ovens Valley Plantations. He rode his horse up each day to the summit. And until the late 1950s, there was no tower and not much shelter other than a couple of recycled Stanley Huts on just a bit of open ground, with a telescope mounted on a movable tripod.
During this period at Bright, Les became an active volunteer with the CFA and a foundation member of the local Civil Defence Branch (the forerunner to the State Emergency Service). Les also taught first aid as a St Johns volunteer and was one of the first Ambulance drivers in the township.
Because he showed strong leadership skills and an aptitude for forestry and bushfire work, Les was selected, along with a number of others, to attend the 6-month forest foreman’s school at Mt Disappointment near Broadford in 1962.
On completion of the course, and some short postings in other forest districts, Les returned to Bright in mid-1963 and was later appointed to a permanent Forest Overseer position in June 1965.
A bit like Warrant Officers in the Army, Forest Overseers with the Commission were the people who led the works crew and made things happen. Whether it be remote firefighting, building a road or establishing a plantation, overseers were practical, reliable and down to earth men with a wealth of knowledge. They also guided many a young wet-behind-the-ears forestry school graduate.
But unlike foresters who were compulsorily moved around the state every few years to different districts, Forest Overseers tended to stay put in one place for long periods and so got to know their communities and their patch of forest better than many others.
Les was so familiar with the bush, the mountains, the landmarks and the tracks he was often called upon when the Police needed assistance.
In 1980 and fit as a trout, Les, then aged 55, was the oldest competitor in the “king of the mountains” marathon running event to ascend Mt Bogong, Mt Porepunkah, Mt Feathertop, Mt Hotham and Mt Buffalo over five consecutive days.
Les was well known and well liked throughout the Forests Commission and became instantly recognisable for his trademark bushy mutton chops and moustache.
He spent the remainder of his career at Bright before retiring in late 1984, aged nearly 60. This was around the time of the major disruption and restructuring associated with the newly amalgamated Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL). Many senior staff chose to leave which led to a massive loss of corporate knowledge and field experience.
The Forests Commission organised a farewell dinner for Les in November 1984. The District Forester Derrick Rolland together with senior FCV dignitaries including Commissioner Ron Gross, Chief of Forest Operations, Max Boucher and Divisional Forester Russ Ritche along with 60 guests attended. A gift included a collection of wood working tools. Les also became an avid photographer of the alps in later years.
The Bright Shire Council also organised a testimonial dinner in his honour a year later on 6 December 1985, after which Les and Colleen moved to a new home at Howlong near Albury.
Les Ortlipp later died in Melbourne on 17 April 2004 and his ashes were returned to Mount Clearspot.
Thank you to Charles Ortlipp for his help with compiling this story.
Les Ortlipp about to head off to fight bushfires. C 1960s. Photo: Charles OrtlippLes Ortlipp with his son Charles when he was fire spotting on Mt Clearspot south of Bright. C 1950s. Photo: Charles OrtlippIn the 1950s the FCV upgraded Mt Clearspot with a couple of Stanley Huts. Then by 1960 they built a two-story dedicated lookout tower. Photo: Charles Ortlipp.From Clear SpotLes Ortlipp (centre) planting trees at Bright. C 1970. Photo: Charles OrtlippCFA Volunteer. Source: Charles Ortlipp Source: Charles Ortlipp Source: Charles Ortlipp Erecting Snow Poles on the walking track across the high plains from Hotham to Bogong in 1977. Les Ortlipp and Neville Robinson from the FCV were the team leader/surveyors. Source: Charles OrtlippLes attended the Forest Foreman’s School at Mt Disappointment in 1962. Photo FCRPA Standing; Ian Sartori, Jack Blythman, Clarrie Pring, Stan Kirkham, Laurie Ritchie, Les Ortlipp, Bill Barnes, Kelvin Taylor, Fred Craig, Harry Blanch, Albert Allen, Max Boucher, Don Sexton behind, Jack Hutchison behind Bill Woods, John Edwards, Len Arnold Denis O’ Connor, Ray Bennett, Stan Gillett, Brian Sheehan, Don Dyke, Chris Collin, Bert Toogood, George Mortimer, Doug Barge, Max Seamer, Des Kelly, Theo Goldie and Noel Fraser. Squatting; Ken Doyle, Brian Warren, Ray Hines Phil King, Ron Harris, Jim Speirs, Eddie Page, Billy Fitz, Geoff Clinch, Tom Waldron, D’arcy Smith, Col English, Ernie Cole and Geoff Mair.The camp at Mt Disappointment had been used during the war to house Italian internees. The Stanley Huts were bleak in winter. Photo: Noel Fraser – FCRPALes attended the Forest Foreman’s School at Mt Disappointment in 1962. Stan Gillett, also from Bright, was killed in a helicopter crash at Wandiligong in 1978. Photo Noel Fraser – FCRPANovember 1984. Source: Charles OrtlippDecember 1985. Source: Charles Ortlipp
On 29 June 1915, 108 years ago today, what is believed to be the world’s first forest patrol flight was made at Trout Lake in Wisconsin.
Aviation pioneer and wealthy Chicago sportsman Logan “Jack” Vilas made the initial flight to demonstrate the viability of using aircraft in fire prevention.
He took Chief Forester, Edward Griffith, for a ride in his new Curtiss Flying Boat to demonstrate how easy it was to spot forest fires from the air.
Impressed, Griffith had the Wisconsin Conservation Commission appoint Vilas as a flying fire warden. Vilas flew almost daily in July and August from the forestry headquarters at Trout Lake in Boulder Junction.
The use of aerial detection to spot and report forest fires—dubbed the “Wisconsin Plan”—soon became a vital tool in fighting wildfires in many forested countries.
The U.S. Forest Service joined with the Army Air Service in 1919 to introduce aerial fire patrols over national forests.
Rumour has it that the planes were equipped with a telescope and machine gun as a deterrent to arson—the number of fires on the Cleveland National Forest decreased for a while.
But reviews by foresters were mixed. Not as many fires were first spotted by the air patrols as hoped, and the lack of wireless radios for communication between pilot and ground crew slowed the fire reporting process down significantly.
In 1925, Secretary of War, John Weeks, ended the program, telling the Forest Service it was time to turn patrols over to commercial operations. But having already purchased some planes the Forest Service continued their own patrols for two more years.
In Australia, discussion took place between the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) and the Air Board as early as 1926, and then over a period of years prior to 1929-30, with the view to commencing regular fire patrols using RAAF aircraft but a lack of safe landing areas and radio communications proved the main obstacle.
Eventually, the first fire spotting aircraft in Australia was deployed on 18 February 1930 when a RAAF Westland Wapiti from No.1 Squadron operating out of Point Cook near Melbourne flew over the nearby Dandenong Ranges.
So break out your silk scarves and goggles to celebrate those daring young men in their flying machines because the rest is history….
American Forestry magazine – September 1915 issue.
The decision to build the massive Thomson Dam in Gippsland was a result of a State Government inquiry into Melbourne’s water security in the late 1960s.
The dam wall and diversion tunnels were built in three stages between 1969 and 1985.
But unlike the Upper Yarra and Maroondah catchments which were “vested“ in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) and closed to public access, the Thomson catchment remained State Forest to managed by the Forests Commission and available for timber harvesting and some other uses.
It’s fair to say, that neither the MMBW nor the Forests Commission were entirely happy about the arrangements.
One of the major issues was the delineation of land to be inundated for water storage.
The wonderfully straight horizontal line along the 450 m contour of the high-water mark was no accident.
Forests Commission staff spend many months trudging through the thick scrub with an aneroid barometer marking the exact elevation.
The barometer relied on differences in atmospheric pressure to measure elevation. Regular radio calls were made back to the FCV Erica Office throughout the day to check on deviations in atmospheric pressures to recalibrate the gauge.
The sawlogs and pulpwood below the line were salvaged before MMBW bulldozers scraped the slopes bare and pushed all the debris into the bottom of the gullies ready to be burnt.
Above: Pocket Altimeter – Aneroid Barometer Type, Fitzpatrick & Co, Melbourne, circa 1900 Photographer: Jon Augier. Source: Museums Victoria
The 1960s saw more prolonged droughts and water restrictions. There were also deadly bushfires on the fringes of Melbourne in 1962, and again in 1968.
Growing concerns about long term water security led to a Parliamentary Public Works Committee inquiry between 1965 and 1967.
In response to the inquiry, the Bolte Government immediately approved works for a 20 km diversion tunnel from the Thomson River and began planning for the massive Thomson Dam in Gippsland (the Upper Yarra Dam had been completed in 1957).
In addition to the Thomson, several smaller diversion catchments known as the Yarra Tributaries were set aside in 1968 under a 10-year lease agreement between the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) and the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW).
Five small concrete weirs on the Armstrong (east and west), Starvation, McMahons and Cement Creeks were built to divert water directly into the Silvan Conduit which connected the Upper Yarra Reservoir to Melbourne.
All the newly designated “Yarra Tribs” as they became known, as well as the Thomson Catchment, sat on State forest, unlike the major Yarra water catchments which were vested with the MMBW in 1891.
The Forests Commission had long opposed the closed catchment policy of the MMBW, arguing that timber harvesting, controlled public access and the protection of water supplies were all compatible.
Previously, in 1958–60, the State Development Committee held an Inquiry into the utilisation of timber in watersheds of the State and the Forests Commission advocated strongly, but unsuccessfully, for access for logging in closed catchments.
However, during the latter 1965-67 Parliamentary Inquiry, the Commission remained more concerned that access to timber in the Thomson catchment would be restricted with construction of a new reservoir. The Commission once again advanced as evidence its successful conduct of harvesting in many proclaimed catchments across Victoria.
The State Government had no appetite to overturn the long standing MMBW closed catchment policy but resolved that timber harvesting would continue in the Yarra Tributaries and Thomson catchments but with some additional protections and they were closed to public access and gates were erected.
Releasing water from the Yarra Tribs was also important to maintain environmental flows in the Yarra River.
Construction on the new Thomson Dam and diversion tunnels commenced in the early 1970s and was completed in 1985.
Long term agreements were eventually negotiated between Melbourne Water and the Forest Service to manage activities in both the Thomson catchment and the Yarra Tribs.
Source: McHugh, Peter. (1991). Statement of resources, uses & values for the Dandenong forest management area (Yarra forests). Dept. of Conservation and Environment. ISBN 978-0724198498.
Jackie Lewis began as a Ranger in 1924 with the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) and worked in the remote Upper Yarra water catchments beyond Warburton and Woods Point.
The legendary “Iron Man” of the bush enjoyed the solitary nature of his work. As a champion long-distance runner Jackie was selected for the 1926 Australian Olympic team, and few could keep up with him anyway.
Foresters and bushmen often reported that he seemed to just appear, on foot, out of nowhere at their camps.
“As I proceeded through the ash forest and rounded a bend, I was startled by a person on the downside of the road crouching over a black-fellow’s fire in the vast cavity of a hollow log. This was Jackie Lewis – patrolman for the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works whose duties required him to inspect the catchments to ensure trespass did not occur. This log was Lewis’ first camp after a walk up from Marysville and he had similar bivouacs scattered throughout the watershed. He was a legend for the distances he could walk. The story was told of how one evening in Warburton he had a party with two tourists. The tourists drove off next day to Moe and up into the mountains to Walhalla. At the hotel in Walhalla, they met a man at the bar who bore a strong resemblance to their friend of the previous night – Lewis. When asked, he astounded them by proving he was the same man – having walked from Warburton up the Yarra Valley, over the Baw Baw Plateau and across the Thomson Valley to Walhalla to surprise (and astound) his friends of the night before.” – Jim McKinty, Forest Assessor, 1937-38.
Jackie fought his first bushfire in 1910 and lost an eye when a blazing tree fell near him during the 1939 fires.
Trapped with a group of fifty men in the 1942 bushfires, he threatened to use his axe on anyone who tried to dash through the flames in the hope of reaching safety. They stayed – and survived.
But it was Jackie’s intrepid, solo, five-week trek in April 1931 through some of Victoria’s densest forest in search of the missing aircraft Southern Cloud, that earned him hero status.
On the way back he fell down a 12-metre precipice and had no choice but put three stitches in a gaping leg wound himself. It’s said he stayed awake all night fending off howling dingoes before dragging himself for hours the next day to the road. But he was back at work in a matter of days.
Searching for people hopelessly lost in dense bush was all part of the MMBW’s service to the community and it’s said that Lewis rescued over 70.
Jackie wrote about his adventures in an article “My Job in the Big Bush” for the Melbourne Herald in January 1933.
Jackie never carried a compass himself and when once called upon to help find a party of tourists lost near Mt Donna Buang, he told police exactly where they would be even before they set out.
In his spare time during winter, Jackie coached the Warburton football team or went skiing.
But sadly, Jackie Lewis died of a heart attack in 1956, aged 62, before he could achieve his retirement ambition… a book based on his diaries in which he noted every trip, and especially the wildflowers of the area, on which he had become an authority.
Jackie, who was a naturalised Greek, died a few days after his brother, and was buried with him at Bundaberg in Queensland.
Later in 1963, the Warburton Advancement League erected memorial gates at the main entrance to the Camping Park at Warburton in his memory. He is also acknowledged on a set of murals next to the Warburton Water Wheel.
Melbourne grew rapidly after the 1851 gold rush and struggled to maintain adequate water supplies and sewerage disposal.
All the night soil, trade waste, as well as waste from kitchens and homes was just thrown into open channels in the street and it simply flowed wherever gravity took it… mostly into the Yarra River. The problem got so bad that some British journalists unkindly described the city as ‘Smellbourne’.
In response, the Yan Yean reservoir was built on the Plenty River in 1857 as Australia’s first water supply reservoir, followed by the Werribee sewage treatment farm in 1897.
But water-borne diseases, particularly cholera, remained fearful killers in cities throughout the nineteenth century. A Royal Commission was established by the Victorian Government in 1880 to address these concerns.
In a bold and visionary political move, large catchments in the Upper Yarra River were vested in the newly established Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) in 1891.
A closed catchment policy was also introduced where timber harvesting, recreation, mining, farming, settlements and all public access was not permitted, mainly as a step against the threat of disease.
The relatively small O’Shannassy watershed was vested in the MMBW in February 1910 and an aqueduct commenced soon after to carry water some 50 miles to the Surrey Hills Reservoir to supply the fast-growing eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Its sometimes claimed the aqueduct was named after Sir John O’Shanassy, three times Premier of Victoria, although I have my doubts because the spelling is slightly different and the dates don’t align with the period of his reign.
The open concrete channel skirted along the southern slopes of Mount Donna Buang on a constant gradient of 2 feet to the mile and operated completely by gravity.
The channel, 9 feet 3 inches wide at the top and 3 feet 4 inches deep, was dug by hand and horse-drawn scoops.
Next to the cement lined channel, a flat access track was constructed from the excavated material with a rail line on top to deliver heavy construction materials like timber, stone, pipes, steel and cement.
Water was also carried up and down the steeper slopes, across roads, creeks, rivers and through both farmland and residential areas by siphons, pipes and weirs. Some of the pipes were made from timber staves and some from steel.
The total cost of construction of the O’Shannassy aqueduct on its completion in 1914 was £426,890.
But Melbourne’s water supply woes continued and in 1924 the channel was increased in size to 12 feet 11 inches wide and 5 feet 2 inches deep. Its capacity effectively tripled from 20 million to 60 million gallons per day.
The O’Shannassy scheme was augmented in 1929 by a new weir on the Coranderrk Creek near Healesville which diverted water into an aqueduct that joined near Woori Yallock.
Resident caretakers stationed along its length carefully controlled water flows with a series of manually operated locks and gates. They also patrolled the channel to keep it clear of debris and functioning properly.
The next major phase in the O’Shannassy project was the construction of Silvan Dam in the eastern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. Works began in 1927 and were completed by 1930.
The sumptuous O’Shannassy Lodge was also built near the aqueduct. It was mostly used by the MMBW Commissioners and their guests as a private weekend retreat. The Lodge famously hosted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip when they visited Melbourne in 1954.
But by the mid-1990s, the ageing aqueduct was nearing the end of its service life. There had been several serious collapses over the years, the main one being at Dee Road above Warburton which placed the town and community at severe risk of flash flooding.
Eventually in December 1996, the open aqueduct was closed and replaced with large underground pipes to carry the water to Silvan.
Today, a 34 km section of the old O’Shannassy aqueduct is a spectacular bushwalking and bike riding route.
Up to a thousand Sessile oaks (Quercus petraea) were felled to reconstruct the ancient 800-year-old timber roof and fallen spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was destroyed by fire in April 2019.
A nationwide tree hunt began soon after French president, Emmanuel Macron, decided that the iconic Cathedral would be rebuilt exactly as it was before.
The oaks were between 150 and 230 years old, with trunks at least one metre in diameter and lengths over 18 metres.
Eight of the trees – destined for the most monumental part of the spire – were found in the Forest of Bercé that once belonged to the kings of France.
The trees were harvested over the late winter of 2021 when they were dormant and without leaves, otherwise harmful tree sap and moisture could enter the wood fibres. The logs were then left out to air dry for up to 18 months.
But harvesting the oaks was not without controversy.
Craftsmen then used medieval carpentry techniques and traditional hand tools to shape the replacement roof timbers.
Warrnambool in southwest Victoria has a strong dairy industry that once boasted two factories making thousands of wooden butter boxes.
The first factory was opened in 1896 near the railway station by Welsh immigrant Henry McGennan.
The second factory owned by the Western District Co-Operative Box Company, came a few years later in 1912, on land in South Warrnambool, fronting Pertobe Road. There had been initial negotiations for a single company, but these fell through.
The butter boxes were made with quarter inch sawn boards and timber ply and could hold one cubic foot of butter.
Every three months around 1,200 m3 of kahikatea, or white pine, (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) was imported from New Zealand. Australian hardwoods were deemed unsuitable because their natural tannins and oils tainted the butter.
But in 1920 the imported pine was switched to cheaper mountain ash (E. regnans) from the Otways once a way was found to reduce the taint using a neutral coating.
The new process enabled butter boxes to be manufactured for one shilling and nine pence each compared to two shillings for New Zealand boxes.
To source the mountain ash timber the Co-Op purchased three abandoned agricultural blocks totalling 400 ha in the head of the Aire River about 8 kms east of Beech Forest and built a sawmill. Conditions were harsh and a good day’s output, under manager Charles Brown, was around 10 m3.
The roads were impassable in winter, so the company also built its own timber tramline through the bush for 3 kms to the Olangolah Road and then along the road for further 3 kms to make a connection with an earlier built tramway which joined onto the railhead at Beech Forest.
The remote box mill worked until 1926 when the bush was cut-out and the area abandoned.
The Warrnambool factory then turned to other suppliers of timber. This move kept the plant going for several more years until a fire in 1936 which damaged part of the works. The company then closed the factory and moved its operations to Melbourne.
The figures for railway sleepers produced from State forests are simply astounding.
More than 26 million were cut between 1919 and 1986, primarily from the red gum forests along the Murray, the yellow stringybark forests of Mullundung near Yarram and greybox from East Gippsland.
Sleeper cutting began around Orbost in the 1920s and there are records of up to 150 sleepers being cut from a single tree.
Initially cut by hand with a broad-axe and adze most sleeper cutters switched over to terrifying swing saws.
This article about the well known Donchi family from Orbost appeared in Victorian railways magazine in August 1975.
For many years, the number of students at the Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) at Creswick was too small to field its own competitive football team.
In 1942 there were only about 17 students, but in 1944 the annual intake increased, with the result that by 1946 the number in residence had more than doubled to 36.
The 1946 intake was also unique because it included four ex-servicemen that came to the school under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. They were also about two years older than their fellow VSF students with some experience of the “rough-n-tumble” in the outside world.
The ex-servicemen were Jeff Brisbane (RAN), Trevor Arthur (RAAF), Bill Middleton (2 AIF) and Derrick Rolland (RAAF), three of whom were very good footballers.
Early in 1946, Tom Evans, Secretary of the Clunes League football competition (and later an MLA) visited the School and suggested that it enter a team. The Principal, E J Semmens was a strong supporter.
But setting up a new football team would be expensive. Funds would be required for team guernseys (forest green being the natural colour of choice), plus footballs, bus hire for away matches, and many other overhead expenses.
The School had no sports fund, and the students received no cash allowance. Moreover, Creswick township already had a football team, so the VSF students couldn’t expect much local financial support for a rival team.
So, the students decided to fund the new team themselves and held weekend rabbit drives in the heavily infested paddocks around Newlyn. They also cut firewood in the school bush to support their fledgling club’s modest budget.
The VSF team went well and played in the 1946 grand final, only to be defeated by Smeaton.
The forestry school fielded a team for several years and many students also played successfully in other local teams. The Captain, Jeff Brisbane, had an invitation to play at a senior level with Geelong.
Before the fires, the well-established Ezards company already operated several sawmills and had constructed (and owned) a section of tramway in the Thomson Valley from Erica to a point just beyond the iconic South Cascade Bridge.
After the fires, the Forests Commission extended the line and operated a separate tramway further north as far as Little Boys. The Commission ran this section of line with two small diesel rail tractors.
But Ezards closed all their mills around Erica in about 1950 and then shifted operations to Swift’s Creek, north of Bairnsdale.
The Forests Commission was unable to reach an agreement with Ezards over the use of the company railway line from Erica, so the company ripped up their tracks and sold the metal rails. This effectively left the section of FCV track marooned from the South Cascades Bridge to Little Boys.
But at the time, there was a major technological shift away from steam and rails to diesel and roads, so the curved rail bridge over South Cascade Creek was abandoned.
The current Thomson Valley Road more-or-less follows the alignment and grade of the old FCV rail line as it hugs the contours of the hillside.
However, the South Cascade Bridge became a popular visitor spot but by the late 1960s the Commission became concerned that the slowly decaying structure was too dangerous for the public to walk over. And there was no funding to repair it.
In 1968, Max Boucher was local District Forester and Bernie Evans was the senior assistant, while Tony Manderson and Bill Clifford were also based at Erica.
Max reluctantly gave the order to demolish the South Cascade Bridge. It was done by the local FCV district staff under the direction of the Commission’s explosives expert “Blow em up” Charlie Saunders.
Bernie and Tony together with a couple off the crew scrambled down through the steep gully laying explosives at the base of the various pylons. Charlie was a large man and happily supervised most of the operation from the road.
It took a couple of goes to demolish the bridge (the structure wasn’t as fragile as everyone thought) and there were still a few metres of it left on the south side that was subsequently fenced off.
It’s often reported that the Army Reserve blew the bridge up, but this is not so, although that may have become involved in some later demolitions.
Photos: FCRPA Collection
Photograph probably taken in the mid-1940’s (Source; FCRPA) : Thomson Valley tramway, South Cascade bridge
Also known as the Tramway Bridge or the Old Steel Bridge, Poverty Point Bridge was designed by Mr. Timmins, an engineer from the Victorian Railways.
The prefabricated steel components were manufactured by Dorman Long and Co and erected in 1900 by Austral Otis Co from South Melbourne.
Dorman Long and Co was a Middlesborough firm – a city on the Tees straddling the North Yorkshire – Durham border. In Australia, of course, it is best known for its role in the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge two to three decades later.
The Poverty Point Bridge was part of a seven-mile, horse-drawn, two-foot gauge tramway to serve the Long Tunnel gold mine in Walhalla during the town’s gold rush.
There was an extensive network of tramways in the bush which transported structural timbers and thousands of tonnes of boiler-wood for the mine’s voracious furnaces.
The line closed between Platina and Walhalla in 1944 and the timber deck was later destroyed by bushfire.
In March 1976, the bridge was redecked by the Forests Commission using a Jayrow Bell 206 Jetranger to sling-load timber to the site.
The bridge is architecturally significant and is listed as state significance on the Victorian Heritage Register.
It is also part of the Alpine Walking Track but is currently closed.
Philip Thomas Crosbie Morrison, sometimes known as PTCM, but more commonly as just plain Tom, was born in 1931 and grew up in Brighton.
It’s alleged that on New Years Eve, Tom, and his younger brother James, climbed the statue of Victoria’s infamous and colourful Premier Sir Thomas Bent, which overlooked the Nepean Highway, and placed a beer can in his outstretched palm. It’s not known if the can had been emptied of its contents or not… but one suspects so…
Tom graduated in 1951 from the Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) at Creswick. He was one of three unrelated Morrison students who attended the school around the same time including Ken (1949) and Graham (1962).
Like so many other VSF graduates before him, Tom’s career began with the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) in Assessment Branch, and then followed a well-worn path of numerous district postings including Broadford, Powelltown (1954), Dunolly (1957), Bruthen at Mount Taylor (1959-1966), before being promoted as District Forester to Corryong (1966).
In about 1969, Tom had been offered the leadership of an Antarctic expedition, but the Commission refused to let him go on the grounds that he was needed in the organisation. Naturally he was very disappointed with the decision.
During the late 1960s, recreation and conservation on State forest was receiving greater community focus. A key moment for the Commission came in August 1970, then under the new chairmanship of Dr Frank Moulds, with the creation of the Forest Recreation Branch.
This initiative was a first for any Australian Forest Service, and its brief soon widened, and by 1971 it became the Forest Environment and Recreation (FEAR) Branch, firstly under the stewardship of Athol Hodgson and later Stuart Calder.
In January 1971, Tom was one of the founding members of the new FEAR Branch which was based at Treasury Place in Melbourne.
Tom set high standards for recreational facilities in the bush. This included working with FCV Districts to establish signboard workshops at Forrest, Stawell and Benalla, map laminating at Benalla, picnic table and information shelter production at Forrest, and picnic ground fireplace manufacture at Trentham. He also arranged production of the reflective aluminium track markers used on the Alpine Walking Track and Howqua feeder track, and other signs such as the brown and yellow ‘Native Plants and Wildlife Protected in this Forest’ metal signs.
Tom often spoke passionately of multiple-use forestry . . . Water, Wood, Wildlife and Recreation (AKA – the four Ws).
And while with FEAR Branch, Tom also advocated strongly for conservation ideals within the Commission and provided technical advice for the iconic film “The Living Forest” which was produced in 1973.
The 22-minute short film portrays, beautifully for its time, Victoria’s forests and woodlands including its flora, fauna, water and soils, recreation and tourism use, fire management and economic values, including the timber industry. The film briefly examines the Forests Commission’s “multiple use” philosophy and explored the importance of balancing the environmental and economic demands that community’s make on State forests.
Tom continued to make short films throughout his career and developed many important contacts outside the Commission, such as cameraman David Corke, and ABC natural history producer, Dione Gilmour, in the early stages of her legendary career.
With his colleague and graphic artist, Helen Dean, a new interpretations brochure was designed with the slogan “Forests are for Everyone “… a phrase that would come to underscore the ethos at the Forests Commission for many years to come.
In 1973, Tom and Helen together with Mary Crooks (who was a geography student at the time working over the uni holidays), hiked the tracks of the Grampians making notes, taking photos and suggesting illustrations for Mary’s publication – Field Guide to the Grampians Wonderland Forest Park.
Tom was also a prolific pipe smoker, just like his father, and in those days public servants could puff away at their desks oblivious to those around them gasping on the fumes. His friends recall a big glass ashtray that sat on his desk full of smelly pipe cinders.
In a pre-computer era, many of his tasks involved reading technical documents and writing memos and manuscripts in longhand for the office typist. Tom became most adept at with his legs outstretched on the visitor’s chair that everyone had at their desk in those days. Tom had a great command of the English language and asked the organisation for a new-fangled Dictaphone but was rejected because the higher-ups thought everyone might want one. Like many, Tom was known to get frustrated by small-mindedness and bureaucracy.
Tom also had a great fondness for old-style English humour such as Spike Milligan and the Goons. He had an infectious capacity to laugh spontaneously with such freedom and enthusiasm at all their silliness.
His humorous contributions to the banter around the morning tea trolley were legendary. The shenanigans extended to a mock radio program at a FEAR Branch lunch, complete with theme music and commentary.
Never very far from a small portable radio, Tom would readily tune into anything that spiked his interest or curiosity.
At the beginning of 1976, Tom took a stint at his alma mater, the Victorian School of Forestry, as lecturer for the mature aged certificate of applied science students.
Tom lacked a university degree and always felt this had been a handbrake on his career progression. So, it was while at Creswick, and after a very long gestation, that Tom was finally awarded a Diploma of Forestry (Victoria) for his thesis – “The Natural Occurrence, Distribution and Utilisation of Natural Resources in Victoria”.
A great communicator, Tom was always seeking other people’s opinions and ideas, and genuinely listening to what they had to say. He was widely respected and popular with his students but chose to return to Melbourne at the end of 1981 as an Interpretation Officer.
And just like his father, Tom kindled in anyone who spun into his ever-enthusiastic orbit, an appreciation of the bush, of its simple pleasures, and fostered great care for the outdoors.
People who knew Tom attest he was a gentle soul, a delight to work with, very humorous, very approachable, very kind, very caring, very encouraging, very compassionate and wanting to help others.
But sadly, Tom died suddenly in 1982, aged 51, of a hereditary heart condition.
Philip Crosbie Morrison
They say, “apples don’t fall far from the tree”, and there seems little doubt that Tom was strongly influenced by his father, Philip Crosbie Morrison, the legendary naturalist, educator, journalist, broadcaster and conservationist.
Crosbie Morrison, as he was widely known, broadcast on radio 3DB-3LK during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Australians learned natural history during his Sunday evening radio program, “Along The Track”, which became an institution.
His broadcast opened with a burst of kookaburra laughter, then the tones of a Sherbrooke Forest lyrebird, next the introduction of ‘Mr Crosbie Morrison, Master of Science, editor of Wild Life magazine, followed by the familiar and friendly, “Good evening listeners”.
In his mellifluous voice he told his listeners how to identify the small bush creatures, such as pygmy possums and feathertail gliders that came into their suburban lounges in a load of wartime firewood.
The popularity of the man with the pipe, the moustache and the Harry Potter glasses was enormous, as was his fan mail, which sometimes contained live spiders and other bits of flora and fauna for identification.
Before the programme was five years old, a survey found that 78% of all Victorian radios on Sunday evening were tuned into Morrison. In following years, the programme was relayed throughout Australia, New Zealand and even extended to South Africa.
Prominent in many conservation organisations, Crosbie Morrison lobbied relentlessly for the protection of environmentally significant areas of Victoria such as Wilsons Promontory. He was appointed the founding director of the Victorian National Parks Authority in 1956.
Philip Crosbie Morrison died suddenly in 1958 and left a remarkable legacy.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra dedicated the Crosbie Morrison building as its Environmental Education Centre.
Thanks to Rob Youl, Helen Dean, Kester Baines, Mike Leonard, Brian Fry, Mal McKinty and Dennis Williamson for contributing to this tribute.
Tom Crosbie Morrison at Creswick – C 1978. Source: FCRPATom Crosbie Morrison (complete with pipe) & Ray Baker at Gunbower c1974. Source: FCRPATom and James Crosbie Morrison. C 1930s. Source: State LibraryThe Morrison family in 1952. Philip Crosbie Morrison (standing), his wife Lucy with sons James (left) and Tom (right). Unknown Pooch and location. Source: VNPAPhilip Thomas (Tom) Crosbie Morrison graduated from the Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) in 1951. Source: FCRPATom and Ken Morrison at VSF in 1949. Source: FCRPAPhilip Crosbie Morrison was a legendary naturalist, educator, journalist, broadcaster and conservationist.
The iconic Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) “two-tree” logo was designed in the early 1960s by graphic artist, Alan Rawady.
The modern logo replaced the circular emblem with myrtle beech fronds that had been in service for many decades.
Alan had the grand title of Artist and Display Designer and was part of the three-person Publicity Branch with Alan Watts as the manager and George Self as the photographer. They were situated on the third floor of 453-455 Latrobe Street. The building is gone now.
In 1961, Morris Carver who was Assistant Secretary to the FCV at the time, commissioned Alan to “design a logo to make them gasp in wonder and amazement’. The Chairman, Alf Laurence, personally approved the final design in 1964/65.
There were three colour versions of black-white, brown-gold and greenish. They came in various sized adhesive stickers, reflective ones on a magnetic backing to attach to car doors, as well as sew-on badges. The new brand also adorned FCV stationery and offices.
The standard colours for the mission-brown logo were Pantone Matching System – BROWN-PMS 168 and GOLD-PMS 137.
The logo was to become the cornerstone of corporate graphics when the Commission created the Forest Environment and Recreation (FEAR) Branch in 1971.
The simple and bold design remained in use until the mid-1980s when it was replaced by a circular and very non-descript logo during the Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL) era.
But staff never really warmed to the new CFL logo, which some said looked more like a “sheep’s bum”. It seemed that ex-Fisheries and Wildlife staff fondly clung to their iconic platypus badge, and ex-National Parks Rangers to their hopping kangaroo, while the “two-tree” logo was cherished by ex-FCV employees.
Alan Rawady recalls that the material used to screen print the sticker at that time was probably a Fasson or a Jacpaper product sourced from Europe. The material was (then) high quality white mylar which had an aggressive sticky back and was virtually indestructible. The screen-printing was done by Buckle Bros. in Lennox Street Richmond, and ink was nearly toxic and smelled abominable.
There are still a couple of stickers around the bush, but not many… A relic was recently discovered at Blackwood, still completely identifiable after 40 years, even if a little battle scarred.
Collectors’ items for sure…
The original FCV logo had been in use for decades.he cover of the Victorian State Foresters’ Association newsletter summed up the feeling of many FCV staff. Source: FCRPA CollectionStaff never warmed the the “sheeps bum” CFL logo. Source: Rod Johns
Forty years ago today, on 4 May 1983, the Minister for Forests, Rod Mackenzie, announced in Parliament the State Government’s intention to “shake up” the forest service.
The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV), and its predecessor the State Forests Department (SFD), had been stable and relatively autonomous authorities responsible for management and protection from bushfire of Victoria’s public forests for over 75 years.
A year earlier in April 1982, John Cain had been elected Premier of Victoria and replaced Liberal leader Lindsay Thomson as the first Labor State Premier after 27 years of unbroken conservative government.
The new Cain Government had formulated a range of ideas while in opposition and was keen to get busy. The reforms were to include radical changes to the operation of the State public service including a move to greater central and budget control by adopting a departmental model rather than independent commissions. Other organisations like the MMBW and the Victorian Railways were also in their sights.
A few months after the announcement, on 1 September 1983, the Forests Commission lost its discrete identity when it was merged into the newly formed Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL) along with the Crown Lands and Survey Department, National Park Service, Soil Conservation Authority and Fisheries and Wildlife Service.
The subsequent amalgamation and restructure were a protracted and disruptive process over the next three years. Many experienced forestry and firefighting staff chose to leave, while others saw it as a career opportunity to diversify, but most just had to “suck-it-up” or end up in the redeployment pool.
There was a short period of stability, but then the tempo of change seemed to accelerate, with many more departmental restructures occurring over the subsequent four decades. I can count nine major departmental name changes including…
Department of Conservation Forests and Lands (CFL) – 1983
Department of Conservation and Environment (DCE) – 1990
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (CNR) – 1992
Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) – 1996
Department of Primary Industries (DPI) – 2002
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) – 2002
Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) – 2012
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) – 2014
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) – 2023
In 1983, some 70–80% of all CFL personnel were located outside Melbourne, but over time, and with each successive budget and staff cut, the balance shifted with the number of regional offices in country Victoria radically falling from an initial eighteen down to six.
The demise of regional influence also corresponded with greater centralisation of decision making in head office combined with, what seemed, an exponential growth of media and ministerial advisors.
There were further splits and amalgamations with Agriculture and Planning, first moving in, and then moving out of the department, as well as the formation of the Victorian Plantation Corporation (VPC) in 1993, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) in 1994, Parks Victoria in 1996 and VicForests later in 2004.
Moreover, the department experienced no less than 7 State Premiers (both Liberal and Labor), 15 Government Ministers, 13 Director-Generals / Secretaries and 9 Chief Fire Officers, all of whom wrought their own changes which added to the organisational precariousness.
I’m not 100% certain of some of the dates, and in later years the expanding mega-department had multiple portfolios and multiple Ministers, so I may well have missed someone.
I also can’t remember exactly how many other minor internal changes and convoluted job titles have been inflicted but I seem to have accumulated a large collection of name tags and business cards.
It was sometimes very difficult to remain buoyant while getting used to yet another tongue twister acronym. Staff also became the butt of so many tiresome jokes like…
CNR = Constant Name Review,
DSE = Dept of Sparks & Embers or Dept of Scorched Earth
NRE = No Rational Explanation
And now we have the unfortunately named DEECA heads.
But for most bushies all the corporate branding was lost on them because as far as they were concerned, I still worked for “The Forestry”.
“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.” Caius Pteronius – Roman Consul, AD 66
Rod MacKenzie – Minister for the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) from April 1982. Then first Minister for newly formed Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL) from Sept 1983 to March 1985.Evan Walker – Minister Conservation from April 1982. Then Minister for newly formed Dept of Planning and Environment.Joan Kirner – March 1985 to Oct 1988Kay Setches – Oct 1988 to April 1990Steve Crabb – April 1990 to Jan 1992Barry Pullen – Jan 1992 to Oct 1992Mark Birrell- Oct 1992 to April 1996Geoff Coleman – Oct 1992 to April 1996Maree Tehan – April 1996 to Oct 1999Sherryl Garbutt – Oct 1999 to Dec 2002Sherryl Garbutt – Oct 1999 to Dec 2002John Thwaites – Dec 2002 to July 2007Gavin Jennings – July 2007 to Dec 2010Ryan Smith – Dec 2010 to Nov 2014Jaala Pulford – Nov 2014 to 2016 ?Lisa Neville – Nov 2014 to 2016 ?Lily D’Ambrosio – 2016 to current
FCV Stucture. C 1970. Source: Dale Young.I seem to have accumulated a large collection of name tags and business cards.
Jim Hickman, a Fire Management Officer from Tasmania, first suggested using lasers for slash burning in the late 1960s.
Inspired by US weapons research, Forestry Tasmania wanted to ignite logging slash from 4 to 5 km away. The idea was further promoted by Phil Shepherd in a series of reports in 1973.
In 1975, Phil Gourlay from Forestry Tasmania, working with Dr Mark Waterworth from the Physics Department at the University of Tasmania, began a joint research project to develop the idea. In 1977, Evan Rolley took-over from Phil as coordinator.
Experiments were conducted between 1979 and 1981, using a weapons-grade laser mounted on a Royal Australian Navy Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. It had taken two years of paperwork and intergovernmental diplomacy to get clearance from the Navy to release the weapon.
But there were several problems in getting the laser to work effectively in the bush. The mirrors were gold plated and required very skilful polishing. It also required a very stable platform and the mirrors to be precisely aligned to concentrate sufficient power at one point to ignite logging slash from a considerable distance.
The laser had varied success at igniting canvas targets at distances between 200 m and 500 m, but after further research by Nick Gellie the project was discontinued in 1983.
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 