Because the forestry profession is far from simple and the work highly variable, I have tried to describe what a forester does by outlining the development of the profession in Australia. In Part 1, I outlined the broad principles of forestry and the development of the forestry profession up until WWII.… Read more
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 jarrah forests.… Read more
After a recent tour of the south-west forests during our travels around Australia, I saw karri forests chocked with fuels and I wanted to write about fire management, or lack of. I struggled, however, to conjure the words that would convey the essence of the problem. I realised that no matter how much I tried, I didn’t have “the sap of karri trees running through my veins”.… Read more
While I stayed at Walpole, I read about a local forester named John “Jack” Henry Rate. Jack was the first forester in the area and has a tree, lookout, road and a forest block named after him. I had never heard of him before, and I thought he should be more widely known with that many accolades, particularly in the forestry profession.… Read more
