A History of Forestry in Australia

374 Pages·1985·25.884 MB·English

by  L. T. Carron

*|§r !. - jt h|
, fi Hi
' *bf.. m 5 *f A History of Forestry in Australia
■'-'i, > It - ‘ Forestry is the wise and sustained fostering,
F
production and use by people of the many
o values, benefits and products of forests. The
r A History of Forestry in Australia development of forestry in Australia in this
e sense, from first settlement by Europeans in
A
s 1788 to the end of the 1970s, is outlined in
t this book.
r H
y L.T. Carron At political federation in 1901, the State
is Governments retained responsibility for, and
i authority over, the forests within their borders.
n t
o However, the powers they ceded at Federation
A r and since have enabled the Commonwealth
y Government to increase its influence over the
u whole forestry sector. The federal system of
s o government has thus complicated what might
t f otherwise have been a simple history of forestry
r in each state, and, in keeping with these
a
circumstances, A History of Forestry in Australia
l is structured around the development of forestry
i
a in each state, the role of the Commonwealth,
r
A_____ and Commonwealth-State integration.
Until the 1 960s, few people outside the forestry
profession or the forest-based industries were
particularly interested in forestry in Australia.
Most people tended to take forests and forestry
projects for granted. But, with the wave of
concern for conservation of the environment'
which began to gather force around that time,
many people began to take a critical, personal
interest in the forest estate, its management
and managers. Therefore, Dr Carron pays extra
attention to some of the more controversial
public issues of the 1 970s.
A History of Forestry in Australia has been
written with a number of aims. One is to
t-1
provide the professional forester and student
H
with a history of Australian forestry. At the
same time, it is directed beyond the profession
Cl - to historians, politicians and conservationists,
59 and all people with an interest in the historical
I development of this important land use.
O
3
*|§r !. - jt h|
, fi Hi
' *bf.. m 5 *f A History of Forestry in Australia
■'-'i, > It - ‘ Forestry is the wise and sustained fostering,
F
production and use by people of the many
o values, benefits and products of forests. The
r A History of Forestry in Australia development of forestry in Australia in this
e sense, from first settlement by Europeans in
A
s 1788 to the end of the 1970s, is outlined in
t this book.
r H
y L.T. Carron At political federation in 1901, the State
is Governments retained responsibility for, and
i authority over, the forests within their borders.
n t
o However, the powers they ceded at Federation
A r and since have enabled the Commonwealth
y Government to increase its influence over the
u whole forestry sector. The federal system of
s o government has thus complicated what might
t f otherwise have been a simple history of forestry
r in each state, and, in keeping with these
a
circumstances, A History of Forestry in Australia
l is structured around the development of forestry
i
a in each state, the role of the Commonwealth,
r
A_____ and Commonwealth-State integration.
Until the 1 960s, few people outside the forestry
profession or the forest-based industries were
particularly interested in forestry in Australia.
Most people tended to take forests and forestry
projects for granted. But, with the wave of
concern for conservation of the environment'
which began to gather force around that time,
many people began to take a critical, personal
interest in the forest estate, its management
and managers. Therefore, Dr Carron pays extra
attention to some of the more controversial
public issues of the 1 970s.
A History of Forestry in Australia has been
written with a number of aims. One is to
t-1
provide the professional forester and student
H
with a history of Australian forestry. At the
same time, it is directed beyond the profession
Cl - to historians, politicians and conservationists,
59 and all people with an interest in the historical
I development of this important land use.
O
3
This book was published by ANU Press between 1965–1991.
This republication is part of the digitisation project being carried
out by Scholarly Information Services/Library and ANU Press.
This project aims to make past scholarly works published
by The Australian National University available to
a global audience under its open-access policy.
A History of
Forestry in Australia
A History of
Forestry in Australia
L. T. Carron
El
Australian National University Press
Australian National University Press is a division of Pergamon Press
Australia and a member of the Pergamon Group of Companies.
AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Australia) Pty Ltd, 19a Boundary
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Japan
First published in Australia 1985 by the Australian National
University Press.
Copyright © 1985 L. T. Carron
Cover design by Denis French
Typeset in Australia by Griffin Press Limited
Printed in Australia by Macarthur Press
National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication Data
Carron, L. T. (Leslie Thornley), 1920- .
A history of forestry in Australia.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 0 08 029874 5.
1. Forests and forestry - Australia - History.
2. Forest policy - Australia - History. I. Title.
634.90994
Library of Congress No. 84-71363
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior permission of Pergamon Press (Australia) Pty Ltd.
To Peg,
Beverley and Philippa
Contents
Preface xi
Abbreviations xvi
Chapter 1. New South Wales
The First Settlement 1
The Next Hundred Years 3
The First Reservations and the First Director-General of
Forests 4
A Difficult Decade 7
The Forestry Acts of 1916 and 1924 9
The Start of Coniferous Afforestation 12
The Kessell Report 13
The 1930s and 1940s 14
Post-war Consolidation and Expansion 19
Administration 19
General 19
Funding and Royalties 20
Wood Resources 22
Fire 27
The 1970s 27
Introduction 27
Indigenous Forest Policy 31
Rain Forest 35
Hardwood Woodchips 41
Coniferous Afforestation 48
Multiple Use 53
Chapter 2. Tasmania
First Settlement and Timber Operations 59
Forest Conservation Begins 61
The Hutchins Report 64
The Forestry Act of 1920 65
The Foundations 67
The First Commission 70
Pulpwood, Paper and Woodchips 74
The Beginnings 74
vii
viii Contents
The First Concession: Associated Pulp and Paper
Mills 76
Australian Newsprint Mills 77
The Southern Forest and Australian Paper
Manufacturers 77
Wesley Vale and Associated Pulp and Paper
Mills 79
Hardwood Woodchips 79
The Impact of the Expanding Pulpwood Industry
Regeneration 83
Conifer Plantations 89
Fire 91
Land Use and Forest Multiple Use 92
Chapter 3. Queensland
Early Settlement 95
The First Legislation and the First Director 97
Technical Forestry Begins 100
Firm Foundations in a Turbulent Period 101
Four Decades of Steady Progress 108
Administration 108
The Native Forest 110
Coniferous Afforestation 114
The Timber Industry 118
National Parks 120
Multiple Use 123
Land Use 125
Chapter 4. Western Australia
First Settlement 135
Early Forest Industry 136
Concessions and Licences 137
Early Investigations and Reports 138
Slump and Boom in the Industry 140
A Conservator and a Department 142
A New Conservator and the First Legislation 144
Another Start 148
The War and Early Post-war Years 152
The Royal Commission of 1951 154
The 1950s and 1960s 155
Programs and Problems of the 1970s 158
Administration 158
Jarrah Dieback 159
Mining 161
Coniferous Afforestation 162
Pulpwood and Woodchips 167
Contents ix
Land Use and Forest Multiple Use 169
Sandalwood 176
Chapter 5. Victoria
Early Settlement 178
Bushfires and Gold 179
The First Conservator 180
The Royal Commission of 1897 182
The Forests Act of 1907 and a Forests
Department 182
The Forests Act of 1918 and a Forests
Commission 183
The Native Forest 187
Extent and Structure 187
The Sawmilling Industry 188
Management 192
Pulpwood 195
Royalties 197
Firewood 197
Plantations 198
Fire 201
Water 204
Land Use 206
Conservation and Recreation 207
Forestry Education 209
Chapter 6. South Australia
Early Settlement 214
The Beginnings of Forestry 215
The First Conservator 216
‘This Remarkable Pine’ 219
A Royal Commission on Afforestation 222
Planting and Utilisation Expands 232
The 1970s 237
The First Hundred Years 240
Chapter 7. The Commonwealth
Early Views on the Role of the Commonwealth 241
The Commonwealth’s Role Begins 244
The Royal Commission on the Constitution, 1927 246
The Forestry Bureau 250
The Forestry and Timber Bureau and the Forest Research
Institute 254
Professional Education 258
Early Discussions and the School of Forestry,
University of Adelaide 258