Forest Yarns
Although sleeper hewers mostly worked independently in the forest, they acted co-operatively to achieve some of their aims. Their work was under threat with the appointment of Victoria’s first Conservator of Forests, George Perrin in 1888. Perrin was convinced that sleeper hewing was a wasteful method of getting sleepers
Forest Yarns
The overwhelming majority, if not all of the railway sleepers that came out of the Rushworth forest were hand hewn, which begs the question, why were they not just cut to specifications in the local sawmills? In states other than Victoria, many sleepers were cut by sawmills. In Victoria the
Forest Yarns
From the gold rush until late in the 20th century, the output of timber products from the Rushworth forest has been enormous. Sawmills were established as early as the 1870s as the employment offered by the gold mines continued to subside. The timber industry grew rapidly and provided employment for
Forest Yarns
The Rushworth forest has been harvested for timber since colonial days. Initially, during the gold rush, the tree felling was uncontrolled by the fledgling Victorian government. As time went by it was realised that unless there were some controls the forests would be completely denuded. The government has progressively introduced
Forest Yarns
Harvesting the leaves Originally, the blue and green mallee trees were cut down, leaving the stumps protruding from the ground. The timber was burned, then when the mallees re-sprouted to the required height, they were cut down by hand with a sickle. This was back-breaking work. The cutters also had
Forest Yarns
Unfortunately, there do not seem to be any records of how much charcoal was produced in the Rushworth forest in the second half of the 19th century. Into the 20th century, as government became more actively involved in the management of forests, more records were kept. In the 1917 financial
Forest Yarns
Stories from the Rushworth Forest
Forest Yarns
Stories from the Rushworth Forest
Forest Yarns
Aboriginal Connections
Forest Yarns
Introduction
Celestial Connections
1863 & 1865 NAME ASSET LOCATION 1863 1863 1865 1865 NO VAL NO VAL A Wing Hut & Puddling Machine Main Gully Chinese Camp 126 12 A Wing Hut & Puddling Machine Main Gully Chinese Camp 127 10 A Wing Hut & Puddling Machine Main Gully Chinese Camp 128 10
Celestial Connections
PROV FILE* NAME OCCUPATION PLACE OF DEATH CAUSE OF DEATH CHINESE WITNESSES NOTES 1856/389 Ching Mine Not stated Whroo Natural Causes Nil Died in tent; had been ill 1858/360 A Yea Miner Rushworth Mining Accident (cave-in) Nil Working with Europeans - unusual 1862/857 Kong Tong Miner -