A transcription of a magazine article outlining the history of Feiglin's Sawmill near Marysville in Victoria. The article was originally published in the Mansfield Historical Society Magazine in November 1985. Feiglin's Sawmill (later the Narbethong Timber & Trading Co.) was a cornerstone of the regional timber industry on the Acheron Way in Narbethong, just outside Marysville. Following the devastating 1939 Black Friday bushfires, sawmill owners expanded into the region to salvage dead timber. Feiglin's was established in the Acheron Valley, employing local mill workers who lived in a small settlement of four-room cottages on Withers Lane. By 1956, the broader Marysville area was a bustling timber hub with numerous mills, including Feiglin's, processing over 56,000 cubic metres of timber annually and supporting livelihoods for roughly 1,000 people.Black Saturday: The 2009 fires decimated the forest and completely destroyed the Narbethong Timber & Trading Co. (formerly Feiglins).A transcription of a magazine article outlining the history of Feiglin's Sawmill near Marysville in Victoria.marysville, victoria, australia, narbethong, feiglin's sawmill, archeron way, 1939 black friday bushfires, acheron valley, narbethong timber & trading co., 2009 black saturday bushfires, mansfield historical society magazine november 1985, mr. j. feiglin

A document outlining a few general timber facts and the histories of a few of the sawmills in and around the Marysville district that have been garnered from a variety of sources.A document outlining a few general timber facts and the histories of a few of the sawmills in and around the Marysville district that have been garnered from a variety of sources.marysville, victoria, australia, narbethong, cambarville, marysville buxton road, reverend george edwards, cross cut saw, peg and rake, mountain ash, william iram, fisher's creek, john macdonald, robert percival paulson, david miller grierson, thomas jewry, knott's sawmill, dom dom, james alexander marchbank, william rae, black spur, harry oxley snr, don frood lovett

Geoff Evans was the third generation to run Evans Brothers Sawmills that operated from the northern end of the Echuca Wharf from 1923 to 1983. His grandfather Richard James Evans orig. of England, settled in Victoria at a young age. He first worked as a butcher and later cut firewood in the Heathcote and Bacchus Marsh area. ‘R.J.’, as he was known established a sawmill at Barmah in the 1890s, before relocating to this site in 1923. It became known officially as the Evans Bros. Echuca Red Gum Sawmill. This site proved more economical due to its position at the railhead. Paddlesteamers towed barges carrying the logs from the surrounding forests to this mill. The Steamers that were owned by the Evans family were the Edwards (built 1875) and the Melbourne (built 1912). The Edwards was the main towing vessel. Outrigger barges at this mill were the Impulse (1885), Alison (1907), Clyde (once a paddlesteamer, built in 1884). Insider barges at the mill were old wool barges with iron topsides, the J.L.Roberts (1894), ADA (1899) and the Whaler which was of wooden construction. The Evans Mill cut both red gum and Murray pine. There was a main mill for the red gum and a second one for the pine on this site. Two new Marshall steam engines had been purchased by the family, one was used in the P.S. Edwards and the other for the Barmah mill and later this site. The Evans Bros. Mill was very much a family concern with it being owned and operated firstly by R.J., then his son Frederick. R. Evans and later grandson Geoff Evans. The mill employed 18 workers and operated until the 1980s, only briefly was it in the hands of other owners before the construction on part of the site of a tourist-oriented building known as the Red Gum Works which eventually made way for the Port of Echuca Discovery Centre in 2014.Knowledge of the redgum timber milling industry and associated mechanisms such as log slips is scant with little photographic representations to be found. The industry created alongside the Murray River in various places was very unique given the nature of red gum not floating and ingenuity and making use of local resources was required. Geoff Evans had firsthand knowledge of much of this process and how the Echuca Wharf area used to be in past decades. Geoff was also a popular musician and mayor of Echuca so had much knowledge of the local history and community.Digital recording of oral history interview with Geoff Evans of Evans Brothers Sawmill Echuca. evans bros, evans bros saw mills, evans' sawmill, geoff evans, log slip, log skid, p.s. edwards, p.s. melbourne, impulse barge, allison barge, clyde barge, j.l. roberts barge, ada barge, whaler barge, murray pine, redgum, marshall engines, r.j evans, f.j. evans, discovery centre, p.s. marion