Introduction The summer of 1933-34 was very dry across most of Australia, including Tasmania. It began a pronounced drought period that lasted until early 1939. Victoria had significant bushfires in 1932. “Red Tuesday” on 19 January saw many fires in almost every part of the state, particularly West Gippsland, where nine people died. In the Dandenong …
Over the years, rabbits have generated considerable interest in Tasmania. No wonder, for such a small state, it was estimated there were 40 million of them running around in 1953 just prior to the introduction of myxomatosis and large-scale poisoning using 1080. According to Richard Hilder, wild rabbits were first seen on the north-west coast near …
Foresters who have spent most of the working career in the bush will have numerous stories about encounters with our native fauna. The most dramatic and scary usually involve snakes. Despite spending a lot of time walking in the bush, I still have a fear of snakes. If I see one early in the morning, …
This month’s blog is by Allan Jamieson. Most of you would know Allan from his time working with APPM as a chemical engineer at the pulp and paper mill in Burnie, and as the inaugural manager of the new research unit set up by North Forest Products in Ridgley in 1993. Allan is also the …
