Forest Timber
Introduction
These photographs are taken
from an album presented to George Perrin, in 1891. George Perrin was the
first government appointed Conservator of Forests.
 The
Australian Seasoned Timber Company cut large amounts of hardwood timber
in the Mt Disappointment forests north of Melbourne in the 1890s. This
timber was treated and seasoned by the company and sold to furniture makers.
The company operated sawmills at Yarrawonga in Northern Victoria and Warburton,
east of Melbourne.However its main operations were in the Mount Disappointment
forests near Wandong, north of Melbourne. Here the Australian Seasoned
Timber Company worked two sawmills in the heart of the forest, known as
'Comet Mill' and 'Planet Mill'. These mills were surrounded by a network
of tramways which carried logs to the mill for cutting. These tramways
included a notorious section ironically called "The Bump" - a steep incline
with a winch to haul logs.
The Comet sawmill
expanded rapidly during the 1890s, processing 800 logs a month. At this
time Mt Disappointment was the site of some of the largest hardwood sawmills
in Australia. A thriving community developed at the Comet Mill. One hundred
men were employed and many of these had families. About twenty children
attended the mill's State School (no. 2799) after 1887.
 The
Australian Seasoned Timber Company's finishing and seasoning works were
located in the township of Wandong, north of Melbourne on the edge of
the Mt Disappointment forest. This seasoning plant treated messmate timber.
The Wandong seasoning works were established by a different company in
1889 and were one of the earliest attempts to season hardwood in Australia.
The Comet Mill closed
in 1902. The machinery was dismantled and sent to Western Australia although
the foundations of the mill are still evident among the tree ferns. The
Planet Mill site now lies under the Sunday Creek reservoir and no traces
are now left of the Wandong seasoning plant. Remnants of the tramways
can still be discerned near Wandong, although many were destroyed by fire
in 1982. Enormous sawdust heaps are the main remnants of the sawmilling
activities and are clearly evident in the forest.
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