Rod Mackenzie
Former Minister
Conservation, Forests and Lands

Historical Perspective:

1. Pre European Settlement the Otways and Heytesbury, Gippsland were extensive, almost state wide forests.

2. Much of this forest hinterland was not penetrated by the indigenous people, aborigines, except via the coast.

3. The major impacts commenced in 1836 when the NSW Government passed an act allowing squatters to occupy land for $10 per year.
By 1844 almost 3/4 of what is now Victoria was in squatters hands.

4. This marked the beginning of the destructive exploitation of Victoria's forests, where extensive clearing was carried out to provide more and more pasture for sheep.
Trees were simply ring-barked in the belief that this would allow more grass to grow.

5. In July 1851, Victoria was proclaimed a separate colony

6. As land petered out, the Dandenong's and the Otways were opened up to selectors.

7. Significant major bushfires occurred in 1886, 1898, 1906, 1913,and 1919, when 48,600 hectares were devastated. Most of these fires were deliberately lit.

8. Timber was cut, not only by squatters but by timber splitters and saw millers under a system of licences without any restrictions on quantity and enormous wastage occurred.

9. The indifference of the farmers was shared by governments. It was not until 1879 that local Forest Boards were formed and a State Forests and Nursery Branch was formed under the Department of Lands.

10. In the latter part of the century, some concern was felt by a few. Several Forest Bills were read in Parliament in 1879, 1881, but lapsed. Another unsuccessful attempt was made in 1892.

11. In 1907, a Forests Bill was introduced, passed and finally proclaimed in February 1908. This act laid the foundation for sound forestry practice but no resources were made available to implement them.

12. In 1910, the School of Forestry was opened in Creswick.

13. The Vic. Forest Commission was established in October 1919, under the Forest Act 1918. This marked the beginning of a new era. However, the demands on forest areas by developers and land holders was still high. Pastoralists deliberately set fire to forest reserves to lower the prime land value.
The Forest Commission also established pine plantations, particularly during the 1920-30's depression when pine plantings were made on deserted Otways dairy farms.

14. Black Friday. In January 1939 Victoria's worst fire on record burnt out 1,364,140 hectares of forest, took 71 lives, 61 sawmills, many small towns and countless livestock. The fires were deliberately lit.

15. Following the fires a massive salvage operation was conducted extracting 4,500,000 cubic metres for timber and pulp up until 1950.

16. In 1934 the first woodchip/pulp mill was established in Maryvale, Gippsland.

17. The Save the Forests campaign was begun in 1944 by concerned citizens and parliamentarians to impress on Victorians the need to conserve forests. Some 50 organisations were involved with 300,000 members.

18. The Soil Conservation Authority was established in 1949.

19. In 1956 some 42,500 hectares of Heytesbury Forest (near Simpson in Southern Vic.)were cleared for dairy farms.

20 In 1959 the Forest Commission issued a consolidated set of principles to be followed by prescriptions for multi-use forest management.
The majority conclusions of a 1960 inquiry by the State Development Committee into use of timber resources in watersheds, substantially endorsed the long-standing policy of controlled logging, based on established silvicultural practices.

From 1964, experiments in aerial sowing of logged areas were proving successful and by 1967, it had become accepted practice.

21. The period 1960-1970 saw the introduction of more heavy machinery and the opening up of more areas. An advantage was better fire access.
In 1969, controversy over the establishment of agriculture, led to the formation of the Land Conservation Council. By 1981, they had prepared final recommendations for 70% of all public land.

22. In 1982, a Labor Government was elected after 27 years of conservative rule.
The Forest Commission was timber production oriented.
There were many difficulties in introducing change. Legal and contractual agreements were laid down.
The Government had a strong policy on unemployment.
There was a lack of resources for research.
There was no long term plan and limited information on the actual resources.
A "them and us" attitude existed between the FCV and the Conservation movement.
The timber industry union had a strong influence on the Labor party.

23. In 1983, the Ash Wednesday fires burnt37,000 Ha of the Otway forest and 192,000 across the state.

Over this period, the Labor government established the following: