Brett Bennett
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Copyright by Brett Michael Bennett 2010 The Dissertation Committee for Brett Michael Bennett certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Locality and Empire: Networks of Forestry in Australia, India, and South Africa, 1843-1948 Committee: ___________________________________ Bruce J. Hunt, Supervisor ___________________________________ Wm. Roger Louis, Co-Supervisor ____________________________________ Gail Minault ____________________________________ James Vaughn ____________________________________ Gregory Barton Locality and Empire: Networks of Forestry in Australia, India, and South Africa, 1843-1948 By Brett Michael Bennett, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2010 Acknowledgements Many people helped me to research and write this dissertation. At the University of Texas at Austin my thanks go first to Bruce J. Hunt and Wm. Roger Louis, my co- supervisors. Both provided continual support, guidance, and constant insight throughout my four and a half years as a graduate student. No pairing of advisors could have helped me more. To Bruce I credit my intellectual development as a critical historian. Bruce has the amazing and rare ability to inspire confidence while also providing critical feedback. No one spent more time reading and commenting on my work and critiquing and encouraging me when necessary. Roger Louis provided me an entry into the rich world and craft of British and British imperial history. His requirement that all his students master the historiography of British imperialism by reading the “classic” 500 books will forever ground my research. His emphasis on writing “clean, clear, and crisp” prose has, hopefully, slowly influenced my writing. Roger always supported my work 100%, offered friendly encouragement, and allowed me to blaze my own intellectual path. Thank you both. Other faculty in the Department of History played instrumental roles in my intellectual development. I thank Gail Minault, A.G. Hopkins, and James Vaughn for helping me to understand the unique and inter-related histories of Britain and India. Gail continued to help me after our seminar on Indian history ended by reading through drafts of my fellowship applications, encouraging me during my research iv trips, and commenting on my chapter drafts. James provided friendly advice, support at conferences, and suggestions on how to pursue my research and writing. Antony Hopkins continued to serve as an informal advisor, guiding my research into global history and economic history. The graduate students in the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin were foundational to my success. We shared a special camaraderie as a group that I have not seen elsewhere in the world before or since. I made many lasting friendship and had many excellent conversations that continue to influence my views on the past and present. There are too many students and friends to thank properly; I will thank you all personally so as not to omit any person. I will always fondly remember Austin and my friends there. On my travels to South Africa and the United Kingdom I relied upon the assistance and friendship of many. Richard Bingle in London offered me a home away from home so that I could pursue work in the British Library. His intricate knowledge of the archives and excellent private library aided my research immensely. I will always treasure our conversations about India over tea and dinner. Roger Mills helped me use the abundant resources at Oxford University’s Plants and Sciences Library. In South Africa, Lance van Sittert served as my guide to Cape Town and Tokai; Jane Carruthers gave me a tour of downtown Johannesburg and set up a seminar at the University of Johannesburg; Fred Kruger offered me a place in his home in Pretoria and taught me more about forestry in South Africa than I could learn v in an entire archive of documents; Andre du Toit in Pietermaritzburg provided me with an eminently Victoria experience; and Norman and his lovely family in Durban graciously took me in to their home and gave me a full tour of Durban. Many people in Australia deserve credit. During my three trips to Australia I made many friends and learnt from new colleagues. The College of Arts at the University of Western Sydney generously allowed me the time to finish my PhD before starting my job there as a lecturer in modern history in January 2011. The Australian National University and Macquarie University both offered me visiting fellowships, which provided me with an office and printing privileges, a necessity when finishing my dissertation. At the Australian National University Tom Griffiths, Libby Robin, and John Dargavel offered continual support and advice. The graduate students down my corridor at the ANU made life fun and tea times a delight. And of course, Gregory Barton and Timothy Neal have made my work in Australia possible by providing me housing and an enduring friendship that began in the United States and continues in Australia, my new home. Numerous other friends and scholars helped guide my work and development. I particularly thank Joseph Hodge, Diana Davis, Roy MacLeod, John Gascoigne, Andrew Warwick, David Munns, James Beattie, Simon Pooley, Fredrik Jonsson, Tamson Pietsch, Andreas Weber, Jodi Frawley, Cheryl Oaks, Peter Stanley, Peter Kanowski, Carolyn Strange, Josh Imhoff, Peter Hoffenberg, and William Attwell. vi I also thank my family. My mother and father supported me continuously throughout my graduate studies. My grandfather, Robert Bennett, patiently championed all my career decisions, and my grandmother, Cathy Bennett, provided me encouragement to finish this quickly so that we can celebrate my graduation together. Financial support to research my dissertation was provided by the Social Science Research Council, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Forest History Society, the J.B. Harley Trust, the National Science Foundation, the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin, the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin, and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Cambridge University Press, Springer Press, White Horse Press, and the British Scholar Society permitted me to publish material from my previously published articles. Gregory Barton collaborated with me on two of the published articles, although I draw from selections of my own writing and research. Any mistakes are entirely my own. vii Locality and Empire: Networks of Forestry in Australia, India, and South Africa, 1843-1948 Brett Michael Bennett, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2010 Supervisors: Bruce J. Hunt, Wm. Roger Louis This dissertation draws from national and regional archives to argue that many important aspects of forestry science, education, and culture in colonial Australia, India, and South Africa developed according to unique local environmental, political, social, and cultural influences. Local environmental constraints, combined with unique cultures of experimentation, encouraged the innovation of new scientific methods for forming timber plantations that differed from existing European and British methods. Debates over how to create forestry schools to train foresters in each region emphasized local problems and contexts rather than focusing primarily on continental European precedents or methods. The culture of foresters in each region corresponded to local cultures and social conditions as much as to a larger imperial ethos inculcated by training in continental European or British forestry schools. viii Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................ix Archival Abbreviations ...............................................................................................x Introduction .................................................................................................................1 Re-Assessing European and Empire Forestry .....................................................................7 Definitions .........................................................................................................................15 Chapter Outlines ................................................................................................................20 Chapter One: Debating Forestry Education for British India, 1855-1885 ..........29 The Origins and Development of Forestry ........................................................................32 Competing Conceptions of Forestry..................................................................................46 A “British,” “Continental,” or “Indian” Forestry School? ................................................53 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................62 Chapter Two: Forestry Culture, The Environmental Ethic, and Deforestation in British India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries......................................63 America in India: Preservation and Conservation .............................................................68 Gentlemanly Forestry ........................................................................................................73 Forestry Literature .............................................................................................................79