A history of forestry in Australia

Abstract

Forestry is the wise and sustained fostering, production and use by people of the many values, benefits and products of forests. The development of forestry in Australia in this sense, from first settlement by Europeans in 1788 to the end of the 1970s, is outlined in this book. At political federation in 1901, the State Governments retained responsibility for, and authority over, the forests within their borders. However, the powers they ceded at Federation and since have enabled the Commonwealth Government to increase its influence over the whole forestry sector. The federal system of government has thus complicated what might otherwise have been a simple history of forestry in each state, and, in keeping with these circumstances, A History of Forestry in Australia is structured around the development of forestry in each state, the role of the Commonwealth, and Commonwealth-State integration. Until the 1 960s, few people outside the forestry profession or the forest-based industries were particularly interested in forestry in Australia. Most people tended to take forests and forestry projects for granted. But, with the wave of concern for 'conservation of the environment' which began to gather force around that time, many people began to take a critical, personal interest in the forest estate, its management and managers. Therefore, Dr Carron pays extra attention to some of the more controversial public issues of the 1970s. A History of Forestry in Australia has been written with a number of aims. One is to provide the professional forester and student with a history of Australian forestry. At the same time, it is directed beyond the profession - to historians, politicians and conservationists, and all people with an interest in the historical development of this important land use.