Australian Forest History Society Newsletter No. 77 May 2019 "... to advance historical understanding of human interactions with Australian forest and woodland environments." Forester Murray Thompson feeding his pony Kitty at Narbethong in 1938 Photograph courtesy Murray Thompson, Peter Evans collection. Newsletter Editor: Peter Evans [email protected] Series Editor: Fintán Ó Laighin [email protected] AFHS Address: PO Box 5128, KINGSTON ACT 2604 Web: www.foresthistory.org.au Twitter: @AustralianFHS ISSN 1033-937 X Australian Forest History Society Inc. Newsletter No. 77, May 2019 2 MEMBERSHIP IN THIS ISSUE Membership of the Australian Forest History Society A Note from the Editors .............................................. 2 (AFHS) Inc is A$25 a year for Australian and In Brief ............................................................................. 2 New Zealand addressees or A$15 a year for students. The Life and Work of a Forester in Victoria's Upper For other overseas addressees, it is A$30. Acheron Valley ............................................................ 3 These prices do not include GST as the AFHS is not Why Australian Retailers Should Respect the Past and registered for paying or claiming GST. Membership Rename their "Black Friday" Sales .......................... 7 expires on 30th June each year. Forests Commission of Victoria Payment can be made by cheque or money order, or "Big River" Camp ....................................................... 8 through Electronic Funds Transfer. Start of a Giant - AKD Softwoods ........................... 10 Cheques or money orders should be made payable to The Harman Steam Logging Winch ......................... 12 the AFHS and sent to: AFHS Member Michael Bleby Recognised in Australia Day Honours 2019 .................................. 13 Australian Forest History Society Inc. PO Box 5128 Oak Beams .................................................................... 14 KINGSTON ACT 2604 The Solar Eclipse of November 1974 ...................... 14 Electronic Funds Transfer can be paid into: Sir William Schlich ........................................................ 15 New Books and Publications ...................................... 15 Commonwealth Savings Bank BSB 062 911 Account No: 1010 1753 A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS By Peter Evans and Fintán Ó Laighin Please also return this form if you pay by EFT or send an e-mail to the Treasurer advising that you have joined/renewed - As south-eastern Australia recovers from the hottest [email protected]. summer since European records commenced, the fire season was bad enough, but it could have been much, much worse. As we slide into the cooler months, it may Name: be worthwhile to consider what past fire experiences can contribute to our knowledge. Address: Accordingly, the first half of the newsletter has a strong focus on fire. Two articles raise the issue, either in whole or in part. Peter Evans's account of a forester's life in Victoria's Upper Acheron Valley in the 1930s includes a discussion of fire-fighting, while Daniel May writes about the Black Friday fires in Victoria in 1939 and what it Tel: means for Australian retailers 80 years later. Fax: And finally, an apology. This issue was scheduled for E-mail April and Peter Evans provided a draft in time, but competing duties prevented it being finalised until May. We hope to be on time for the August issue. Please mark the box if you would like a receipt - otherwise an acknowledgment will be sent by IN BRIEF e-mail. By Jan Oosthoek The AFHS is now on Twitter! The Australian Forest History Society has recently expanded its online presence into the social media sphere by opening a Twitter account @AustralianFHS. Follow us to stay up-to-date with our latest news, developments and events. Visit our Twitter page at: https://twitter.com/AustralianFHS. NEXT ISSUE The Augusta Conference Proceedings now on The newsletter is published three times a year and AFHS Website the next issue should be out in August 2019. The proceedings of the Augusta conference in 2004 Input is always welcome. are now available from the AFHS website and can be Contributions can be sent to accessed at [email protected]. www.foresthistory.org.au/2004_conference.html. Australian Forest History Society Inc. Newsletter No. 77, May 2019 3 THE LIFE AND WORK OF A FORESTER IN instead of a foreman. Each foreman was to be paid VICTORIA'S UPPER ACHERON VALLEY £3 15s 0d per week on commencement, rising to By Peter Evans £4 4s 0d per week on completion of his third year of service in the position. Each would be eligible for nine The Upper Acheron Valley formed the southern end of public holidays and, after twelve months of service, six the Victorian Forests Commission's Niagaroon Forest days of sick leave on full pay and six days on half pay; District. The Acheron River is tributary of the Goulburn three days of annual leave increasing by two days for River with the major settlements along the Acheron each year's service, with a maximum of fourteen days being Narbethong, Buxton, Taggerty and Alexandra. The annual leave per year. A forage allowance of £32 per valley is bordered by the Great Dividing Range to the annum was also available to cater to the needs of the south, the Poley and Blue ranges to the east, and the foreman's horse. (FCV file 37/740.) At the same time, Black Range to the west. The heights of the ranges are District Foresters could claim a maximum allowance of clothed in Mountain and Alpine Ash, two of the most £195 for the departmental use of their personal motor commercially significant tree species in Victoria. Access vehicle or for vehicle hire where necessary. (FCV file from the mid-1930s was by an improved road over the 37/1115.) Cadet Forester Caplehorn was succeeded at Black Spur providing access to the railway terminus at Narbethong by Assistant Forester Alan B. Coldicutt. The Healesville. The improved road was made possible by work of supervising falling operations was dangerous "sustenance" schemes during the Great Depression. even for a Forester. Coldicutt lost a foot and part of his Without a railway connection in the Acheron Valley, this calf when he was clipped by a falling tree knocked over road was the only means of getting sawn timber to by another tree felled by paling splitters. He was some Melbourne. 400 feet from the paling splitters at the time and probably considered himself to be at a safe distance. As a result of the accident, he had to retire from active forestry work and later became an engineer. He was replaced by Assistant Forester Donald Murray Thompson late in 1937. Murray Thompson's experiences were probably typical of most Foresters in the mountain forests of Victoria, so it may be instructive to pause and consider the life of a Forester through his eyes. The hours were long and the work hard. A typical day started at 6:00 AM when he rose to feed and groom his pony Kitty. While the pony breakfasted on bran, oats and chaff, Murray would eat his own breakfast and dress for his working day. No uniform was provided for Forests Commission staff and his only means of exerting his authority was his personality and the known backing of the Commission. It did not hurt, however, to be dressed The Upper Acheron Valley, sandwiched between in smart riding breeches and polished boots. Riding the Watts and O'Shannassy catchments. breeches were obtained from the Commonwealth Clothing Factory and cost their owner 30s per pair. The forests along the ranges bordering the Acheron Boots were also specially made in Melbourne and cost £4 Valley were within the Forests Commission's Central per pair. The young Forester was responsible for the Forest Division, and were included in the Upper Yarra provision of feed for his horse, although, by 1939, the Forest District from 1919. In 1927, the Niagaroon Forest annual allowance for this item had risen to £40. The District was created to control the northern portion of allowance was not very generous and, with chaff at £1 the Upper Yarra Forest District, with a head office at per bag, did not go very far. Not covered by the Taggerty. The first professional forester appointed to allowance was the cost of shoeing. Horse shoes cost 7s administer the district was Fenton George Gerraty. per set and the shoes had to be renewed every four Gerraty was succeeded at the Taggerty office by weeks. The Forester also had to provide his own harness, A. C. Ure, in charge from 17 August 1936 to and a good saddle alone could cost £8. 11 June 1946; H. R. Parke, from 12 June 1946 to 2 August 1951; and J. H. Cosstick, from 3 August 1951 At 7:00 AM the young Forester would set out on his to 23 June 1958. (FCV District Administration Records.) working day, and might visit two or three mills each day depending on the distances to be ridden to reach them. In 1937, the Niagaroon district was subdivided into five For lunch he took a packet of sandwiches stuffed inside separate "Foreman's Charges": Taggerty (Foreman his shirt and an old lemonade bottle filled with cold tea. K. Andrews); Rubicon (Foreman H. C. Simmons); If he could arrange to be out with the fallers at Murrindindi (Foreman J. Hauser); Marysville (Foreman lunchtime, he could be assured of a hot cup of tea fresh J. Gill); and Narbethong. Due to the importance of the from the billy. Slung over his saddle was a snack of bran latter and the amount of timber traffic traversing the and oats for the pony's lunch. It was important to take main road to the Black Spur, the Narbethong "Charge" good care of his primary mode of transport as she was was under the control of Cadet Forester W. F. Caplehorn working hard and carrying a fair weight over rough Australian Forest History Society Inc.