Robert Onfray

Fishing at the Pulp Dam: some memories and notes from Bob French’s fishing diaries

23 September 2022 23 September 2022 / 5 Comments

Bob French has been fishing every year at Talbots Lagoon for nearly 60 years. Although he has a shack at the Great Lake, Talbots has always been his favourite fishing place. Fortunately, Bob has kept records and diaries to document his experiences. He is recognised through the North West Fly Fishers Club as a measurer …

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The insect that created the Aussie salute

9 September 2022 9 September 2022 / 2 Comments

Flies! Damn flies! Everywhere in Australia, there are flies. Some areas have more than their fair share of annoying flies. Sometimes it can be impossible to do anything outside without applying something to ward them off. This is because they are so persistent in trying to land on us. Unfortunately, all we can do is …

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Wooden gold

2 September 2022 2 September 2022 / 2 Comments

Introduction Sandalwood is a highly aromatic timber that has been harvested in Asia over centuries for many uses. The main one has been burning powder from the tree in joss sticks as incense and forms a significant part of religious ceremonies. In Australia, Aborigines had many cultural uses for sandalwood. Some species can be carved …

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Morris “Mort” Bloom – my career with AFH

26 August 2022 26 August 2022 / 19 Comments

This month is a guest blog from Morris “Mort” Bloom. Some of my most memorable days in the bush were marking road lines with Mort. My role was to source timber mostly from private property for the logging contractors under my supervision. Some were easily accessible across grass paddocks in the summer. However, the wet …

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Liquid gold and the Goldfields Pipeline

12 August 2022 12 August 2022 / Leave a Comment

The discovery of gold in Western Australia’s eastern interior in the 1890s was telegraphed around the world. People flocked to the new fields in the arid interior of the colony. While the focus was on making a fortune from the gold, there was hardly any precious, clean water, and very soon, many people were more …

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A tale of the Goldfields Woodlands where ideology triumphs professionalism, experience and history

5 August 2022 15 August 2022 / 4 Comments

“Think of forests of WA and you picture the green south-west; think of Kalgoorlie and you conjure thoughts of gold, not trees. But the green and gold are inseparable. The trees that kept the hearts of the mines pumping were cut from native woodlands miles from the goldfields and hauled along specially constructed bush railways”. Cliff Winfield …

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What does a forester do? (Part 1)

29 July 2022 2 August 2022 / 4 Comments

Over the years, when meeting people at dinner parties, bar-b-ques, or other social events, I was often asked what I did for a living. After I replied I was a forester, most people would then ask, “what does a forester do”? This is not surprising as forestry is a relatively new profession in Australia and …

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How the Emu Bay port played a pivotal role in the development of the Van Diemen’s Land Company

22 July 2022 22 July 2022 / 7 Comments

When the Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL Co.) owned and opened up their land grants in north-west Tasmania, the Emu Bay port was crucial in developing the area and the company’s fortunes. In my book “Fires, Farms and Forests”, I focussed on the development of the VDL Co.’s estates, principally Surrey Hills. This blog focuses …

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Even more war stories – how Australia came under attack from air raids during WWII

8 July 2022 8 July 2022 / 1 Comment

My previous war story blog provided details of the bombing of Darwin and the subsequent battles against the Japanese in the Coral Sea and Papua New Guinea. After the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, the Japanese carried out further air-borne attacks across northern Australia. In total, between March 1942 and November 1943, the Japanese flew …

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Ignoring the legacy of active management to create a “wilderness”

1 July 2022 1 July 2022 / 2 Comments

Introduction The south-west forests of Western Australia have a rich history in timber utilisation, being one of the longest traditional industries in the state. Several timber towns that housed the timber workers and their families were established in the Darling Range close to the newly constructed Perth-Bunbury-Bridgetown railway line to utilise the timber from the …

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