Historical information

The goldfields resulted in the almost complete denuding of trees for access to the gold bearing land, for firewood and for the tanning industry. The need for wood further increased with the advent of deep quartz mining that required timbers for shoring up the shafts and tunnels. At some point in time it became necessary for timber to be carted long distances to fulfil the need. Between 1878 and 1884, the government set up 5 nurseries to try and rectify the shortage of native softwoods and encouraged the growth of State plantations and the thinning of trees to encourage growth of those remaining.
1907 - Creswick School of Forestry and Forest Management was started
1919 Establishment of the Forests Commission and the planting of many pine plantations
1924 Establishment of the first fire spotting towers
Forest management tasks became a main project for "Susso" recipients during the Great Depression and again for internees during WWII.

Physical description

An 8 page document by David Bannear about the various industries of the Bendigo Goldfields and their effects on terraforming the local environment