1961 WESTERN AUSTRALIA R E P O R T O F E V I D E N C E taken by Mr. G. J. RODGER, B.Sc. appointed on the 27th April, 1961, as a ROYAL COMMISSION to inquire into and report upon bush fires in Western Australia. BUSH FIRES ROYAL COMMISSION INDEX TO WITNESSES Page ANGELL, J. 1022 ATKINS, E.C. 403 BAKER, H.A. 576 BARRON, G.W. 1052 BATEMAN, M.J.C. 1125 BATEMAN, N.E. (Mrs.) 359 BEGGS, B.J. 682, 807, 1083. BELL, J.R. 982 BERKELAAR, P. 698 BERKELAAR, N. 698 BIRMINGHAM, E.B 702 BISHOP, F. (Mrs.) 827 BROCKMAN, F.C. 837 BROWN, C.J. 1024 BUNNING, C.R. 1197 BUSBY, T.W. 963 BUSHBY, J. 205 CAMPBELL, C.E. 955 CARTMEL, G. (Dr.) 388 COLEMAN, R.S. 1296 COLLINS, F.H.H. 1038 COLYER, A.L. 901 CONNOR, F.J. 1063 COOK, S.C. 460 CRAIN, H.L. 917 CROUCH, T.S. 66, 1133. CUTHBERTSON, D.J. 859 DENNIS, J.W. 966 DUNN, A.C. 629 EASTMAN, W.H. 437 EDWARDS, E.A. 1079 ESPINOS, P. 935 EVETT, J.J. 477 FAWCETT, H. 776, 823 FLETCHER, N.S. 585 FROST, W.T.S. 1132, 1167D GALE, H.E. 942 GUTHRIE, A.C. 1027 HALE, H.J. 110, 174 HARGREAVES, J.D. 757 HARRIS, A.C. 1446 HEWITT, P.N. 1290 HEPPINGSTONE, A.G. 395 HOLLAND, H.L. 891 HONNIBALL, J.J. 1387 HULL, R.G. 726 IRONMONGER, C.H. 222 KELLY, A.R. 1085 KING, W.P. 721 KNIGHT, L.G. 751 KNIGHT, S.H. 1245 LADHAMS, G.L. 585, 784 LEGGOE, J. 1234 LETCH, T.A.E. 1186 LEWIS, R.L. 638 MACKEY, G.W. 524 MARKOVIC, V. 376 MEACHEM, J.C. 1088 MICHELIDES, E. 1076 MILES, A.W. 1168 MILESI, A.J. 1306 MITCHELL, S.C. 1239 MONEY, J.G. 707 MURRAY, C.G. 730 MYERS, R.C. 301 McDONALD, P.T. 921 McDONALD, W.A. 927 McDONALD, W.G. 1369 McKAY, D.B. 767 McLOUGHLIN, C.P. 975 McNEILL, N. 735 NOAKES, H.L. 873 NUNN, G.W.M. 1262 O’BRIEN, J.M. 491 PACAK, J. 1033 PATMORE, W.D. 986 PEARSON, T.W. 568, 583 PICKETT, A.M. 309 POLLARD, W. 665 PRINCE, C.H. 605 QUICK, E.C. 422 RATE, J.H. 1149 ROSE, A. 937 SALTER, R.E. 796 SAW, C.H. 1131 SAW, H.T. 1114 SCADDEN, N.E. 970 SHEDLEY, A.C. 366 SHORTLAND, R.G. 1016 SIBSON, J. 961 SMITH, C.S. 993 SMITH, G.E. 931 SMITH, G.J.S. 1139 SMITH, R.K. 305 SPARKS, R.J. 516 STAGBOUER, G.L. 1360 STANLEY, S. 899 STEWART, D.W.R. 133, 542 STOKES, G.M. 1486 STRAKER, H.E. 326 STRETCH, A.F. 1063 STYLES, H.G. 803 SUTHERLAND, A.H. 3, 81, 158, 300, 357, 1396. THOMSON, H.D. 886 THOMSON, J. 1005 THORN, D.W. 685 TIMOTHY, F.W. 1157 TONKIN, F.H.C. 785 TUCKER, J. 789 WALLACE, W.R. 159 WALKER, L. 246 WATKINS, D.G. 787 WHATMAN, A.M. 1012 WILDING, T.D. 1217 WOOD, A. 620 YOUNG, A.M. 865 __________ WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1961 REPORT OF EVIDENCE taken by GEOFFREY JAMES RODGER, ESQ., B.Sc. (For.) Appointed, on the 27th April, 1961, as a Royal Commissioner to inquire into and report upon bush fires in Western Australia ___________________ COMMISSION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE AS PUBLISHED IN THE “GOVERNMENT GAZETTE” ON THE 1ST MAY, 1961 _________________ ROYAL COMMISSION By His Excellency The Honourable Sir WESTERN AUSTRALIA, ) John Patrick Dwyer, Knight Commander TO WIT, ) of the Most Distinguished Order of JOHN PATRICK DWYER, ) Saint Michael and Saint George, Lieutenant-Governor ) Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator and Administrator ) in and over the State of Western Australia and its Dependencies in the (L.S.) Commonwealth of Australia. To Geoffrey James Rodger, Esquire, of 38 Lynington Street, Tusmore, in the State of South Australia, formerly Director General, Commonwealth Forestry and Timber Bureau: I, the said Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator, acting with the advice and consent of the Executive Council do hereby appoint you Geoffrey James Rodger to be a Royal Commission to inquire into and report upon -- (1) the causes, origins and development of the bush fires (of the kind contemplated by the Bush Fires Act, 1954-1958) which commenced to burn within the said State at or near -- (a) Dwellingup, on or about the 19th day of January, 1961; (b) Karridale, on or about the 27th day of February, 1961; (c) Gidgegannup, on or about the 25th day of February, 1961; and (d) Chittering, on or about the 15th day of December, 1960 1. (each of which fires continued to burn for some days) and also of any other bush fire or bush fires (if any) which burned in the said State at any time during the first three months of 1961 and concerning which you consider it desirable to inquire into for the purposes of this Commission; (2) in regard to each such bush fire, the measures taken to prevent its outbreak and spread and to protect life and private and public property; (3) the measures which are necessary or desirable to be taken by any and what persons, corporations and bodies -- (a) to prevent the outbreak of bush fires in the said State or to prevent the spreading of such fires; and (b) to protect life and private and public property in the said State from the consequences of such fires; (4) the basic requirements for an effective State Fire Emergency Organisation to handle major fire emergencies and to co-ordinate and ensure the taking of measures as aforesaid and I hereby declare that by virtue of this Commission you may in the execution hereof do all such acts, matters and things and exercise all such powers as a Royal Commission or the Chairman or members of a Royal Commission may lawfully do and exercise whether under or pursuant to the Royal Commissioners’ Powers Act, 1902-1956, or otherwise. Given under my hand and the Public Seal of the said State, at Perth, this 27th day of April, 1961. By His Excellency’s Command, DAVID BRAND Premier. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN ! ! ! ________________________ TECHNICAL ADVISER TO COMMISSIONER: Alan Grant McArthur SECRETARY: Joseph Richard Waldron CONSULTANTS: Henry James Hale John Reginald Purse Frank James Oates 2. BUSH FIRES ROYAL COMMISSION TUESDAY, the 9TH May, 1961 The Secretary read the Commission and terms of reference as published in the “Government Gazette” on the 1st May, 1961. ALLEN HERBERT SUTHERLAND, Secretary, Bush Fires Board, sworn and examined: BY THE COMMISSIONER: You have, I understand, a prepared statement which you wish to make in the first instance?---That is so. I propose to read this fairly rapidly, unless you wish to ask me questions. I propose to let you read it right through. I will not ask you any questions, if it can be avoided, until you have completed the whole of your evidence?---Very well. The statement is as follows :- I, Allen Herbert Sutherland, duly appointed Secretary of the Bush Fires Board, submit the following general evidence on behalf of the board. This statement of evidence was approved at a meeting of the board held on the 1st May, 1961. The Bush Fires Board: The Bush Fires Board was constituted in 1955, under the provisions of the Bush Fires Act, 1954, and at present comprises the following members :- Messrs. F.C. Smith Under Secretary for Lands - Chairman J.M. Stewart Representing the Road Board Association J. Heitman “ “ “ “ L.W. Nenke “ “ “ “ J.R. Purse “ “ “ “ S.H. Knight “ “ “ “ A.J. Milesi “ Forest Department C.R. Stewart “ Railway Department A.W. Curtis “ Underwriters’ Association A.R. Barrett “ Nominee of the Minister for Agriculture. The Board was similar in its membership to the Rural Fires Prevention Advisory Committee which it succeeded. History : To enable a full appreciation of the policies followed by the Bush Fires Board to be obtained, an outline is necessary of the evolution of fire control measures in the State. The high temperatures and low humidity experienced over the summer months in Western Australia, together with the fact that average rainfall is very light in these months, gives rise to severe LN/SPK 3. A.H. SUTHERLAND, 9/5/61. fire dangers almost every year and no doubt caused the question of the control of bush fires to figure quite early in the history of Western Australia. Various ordinances were issued in the latter part of the 1890’s, imposing some prohibitions on fires in the summer months, demonstrating an awareness of the serious fire danger, even before very extensive agricultural development had taken place. The first Bush Fires Act was passed in 1902, and came into force in the period when agricultural development was beginning to gain impetus. The major early agricultural development in the State was directed towards the growing of grain crops. Once the crop was harvested, there was very little risk of major financial loss so far as the farmer was concerned, and consequently a considerable amount of burning took place during the height of summer, so that development could be pushed ahead. The spread of pasture development and stock into areas previously devoted almost entirely to the production of grain caused a considerable extension to the period during which serious agricultural losses could be caused by fire. During the period up to 1937 local authorities fixed the dates of the prohibited burning times in their own districts. In practice, this resulted in the prohibitions having only a minimum value in controlling fire losses. There was a multiplicity of dates of prohibited times which were not co-related in any way and frequently the district of a local authority was divided into many sections with differing dates, mainly determined on the basis of whether the particular section was already developed or whether development was just commencing.