Timber railway lines of Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
associated with the timber and firewood industries is as old as the mainline railway system of the former Western Australian Government Railways
Western Australian Government Railways
Western Australian Government Railways was most common name of the Western Australian government rail transport authority from 1890 to 1976. It is, in its current form, known as the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia....
system.
Timber railways
There is a range of terminology related to the timber railways - they have been known as logging railways, timber trams, and other names as well. The dominant feature is the mobility or easiness of moving the lines from one area of forest to another - and in the early years the relatively primitive state of the lines. The dominant feature is the narrow gauge, and lightness of the locomotives, relative to permanent railways. In Western Australia, to allow for interchangeability of rail stock with the government rail system, a lot of the lines were 3'6" gauge, however the weight of the rails was usually much lighter than mainline steel.Timber industry
The timber industry relied predominantly upon the JarrahJarrah
Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...
forests of the Darling Range and the Karri
Karri
Eucalyptus diversicolor, commonly known as the Karri, is a eucalypt which is native to the wetter regions of south west of Western Australia.-Description:...
forests of the Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
region.
It had stages of development, depending upon government policy and support. The 1880s and the development of government railways assisted the industry, as well various levels of demand for Jarrah and the other timbers. Also various labour issues in the industry, and external forces required re-thinking of the industry long before concern for over-logging and forest destruction in the later 20th century
In many cases- timber/sawmilling/logging companies were family businesses, and as a consequence operations continued over time through family relationships, which in turn had effect on timber railway operations as well.
Timber companies
- Millars Empire
- Jarrahdale Jarrah Forests and Railways Limited (Mill at JarrahdaleJarrahdale, Western AustraliaJarrahdale is a small historic town located 50 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Range. Jarrahdale is a descriptive name, derived from its situation in some of Western Australia's best Jarrah forest...
) - M.C. Davies Karri and Jarrah Company Limited (Mills at KarridaleKarridale, Western AustraliaKarridale is a small township in the south-west of Western Australia. Its postcode is 6288 and is located just north of Augusta and south of Margaret River between Caves Road and Bussell Highway. A newer township was built a short distance north east of the original Old Karridale following fires...
, BoranupBoranup, Western AustraliaBoranup, Western Australia is the site of a large coastal dune blow out known as the Boranup sand patch as part of the Boranup beach, and the site of a former M.C. Davies timber company mill....
and Jarrahdene) - Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests LimitedMillars Karri and Jarrah Forests LimitedMillars - common name, of Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited 1902 was a Western Australia timber company.In 1902 an amalgamation of Western Australian timber companies saw Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited formed from:...
(Mills at DenmarkDenmark, Western AustraliaDenmark is a town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2006 census, Denmark had a population of 2,732.-History:...
, YarloopYarloop, Western AustraliaYarloop is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. At the 2006 census, Yarloop had a population of 545.-History:...
and Mornington) - Canning Jarrah Timber Company
- Gill McDowell Jarrah Company (Mills at WaroonaWaroona, Western AustraliaWaroona is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Pinjarra and Harvey. The town is the seat of the Shire of Waroona. At the 2006 census, Waroona had a population of 1,864.-History:...
and Lion MillMount Helena, Western AustraliaMount Helena is a rural suburb on the outskirts of Perth in Western Australia, some 35 km from the city, in the Shire of Mundaring. Its population in 2005 was approximately 2,400 people.-History:...
) - Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company
- Jarrah Timber and Wood Paving Corporation (Mills at WorsleyWorsley, Western AustraliaWorsley is a town in Western Australia located in the South West region near the town of Collie. The town is part of the Shire of Collie.The town's name comes from the Worsley river, a tributary of the Collie river, that is located nearby. The origin of the name is thought to be from the Worsley...
) - Imperial Jarrah Wood Corporation (Mills at Newlands and QuindalupQuindalup, Western AustraliaQuindalup is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia. It is situated along Caves Road between Busseltonand Dunsborough on Geographe Bay. At the 2006 census, Quindalup had a population of 1,015....
) - Swan Saw Mills
- Wilgarup Karri and Jarrah Company
- Sussex Timber company
- Jarrahdale Jarrah Forests and Railways Limited (Mill at Jarrahdale
- Bunning Brothers
- State Saw Mills, PembertonPemberton, Western AustraliaPemberton is a town located in the South West region of Western Australia, named after the early settler Pemberton Walcott. It is the home of the karri tree, the largest tree in Western Australia and the third largest hardwood tree in the world...
- Railway Department Mill, BanksiadaleBanksiadale, Western AustraliaBanksiadale is a locality and former town in the Peel region of Western Australia north of Dwellingup. Its local government area is the Shire of Murray.-History:...
- Adelaide Timber companyAdelaide Timber companyAdelaide Timber company was a family saw mill company that had timber mills, and timber railway lines across a number of locations in Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Australia as part of the Shepherdson family business:...
- Kauri Timber Company
- W.A. Timber CompanyW.A. Timber CompanyW.A. Timber Company was a syndicate of Victorian investors granted a timber concession of 181,500 acres on Geographe Bay in the south west of Western Australia in 1870....
- Perth Firewood Supply Company
- Whites Mill/Honey and Company
- Whittaker Brothers
- Buckingham Brothers
- Sexton and Drysdale/Vincent Brothers
Firewood Industry (Goldfields Woodlines)
- Kalgoorlie Woodlines were lines that spread throughout the Eastern GoldfieldsEastern GoldfieldsThe Eastern Goldfields is a figurative area used in speech to describe a region of Western Australia.-Name:The name is derived in two parts from, Eastern in relation to its location from Perth and Goldfields as the name suggests comes from the mining of Gold in the region...
of Western Australia - in all directions from the centre of the Kalgoorlie-BoulderKalgoorlie, Western AustraliaKalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
region. Commonly known as the woodlines they sustained a population of railway and timber workers in mainly temporary railway networks that moved regularly from the early twentieth century to the 1960s.
Companies
The main companies were:-- The West Australian Goldfields Firewood Supply Ltd (WAGFS) formed in 1899 at Kurrawang and moved to Lakewood in 1937.
- The Lakewood Firewood Co. Pty. Ltd (LFC) which took over the WAGFS on 12 August 1948. The LFC was owned by a conglomeration of various firewood customers in the Kalgoorlie region. Operations ceased and the last train of firewood was delivered on 22 December 1964.
- The Kalgoorlie and Boulder Firewood Company formed in 1902 Broad Arrow later to Lakeside and part of the 1919 combine
- The Westralia Timber and Firewood Company worked between 1902 -1920 at KanownaKanowna, Western AustraliaKanowna is a ghost town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. It is located about 20 km east of Kalgoorlie.After the discovery of gold in the area in 1893, the townsite was gazetted in 1894...
later to Kurramia (aka B.T.Henderson’s Tramway) - The Lakeside Firewood Companies was the combination of the latter two businesses and existed for a short time between 1919–1924
Woodline strike
A significant event in the woodlines history that affected the region was the industrial action that became the Woodline strike between the 1st of July through to 14 August 1919 over the attempt at post war reduction of wages for workers. The strike brought the goldmines of Kalgoorlie to a standstill as a result.(Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper stories reported the event)Main reference
- Gunzburg, Adrian and Austin, Jeff (2008) Rails through the Bush: Timber and Firewood Tramways and Railway Contractors of Western Australia Perth, W.A. Rail Heritage WA. ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7
Further reading
- Fall, V. G. (1972) Cargoes of jarrah. History of the jarrah timber trade in W.A. and of the ships which carried jarrah cargoes. Includes a detailed account of one voyage of the Monkbarns. Early days, Vol. 7, pt. 4 (1972), p. 39-65