General News
15 July, 2026
Capturing the history of the Heytesbury forest
A LABOUR of love documenting the history of how the Heytesbury forest became rolling green hills has been published after more than 40 years of research.
Author Peter Evans has released ‘Tramways to Timboon’ after decades of extensive research.
Mr Evans has long been fascinated with the field of forest history, beginning as a keen bushwalker before using the hobby as an avenue to explore the region’s rich human history.
He began the process of writing and researching for the publication following the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, joining the Light Rail Research Society of Australia (LRRSA).
Mr Evans participated in a number of trips with fellow members to visit the sawmill and tramway sites which had been uncovered from beneath the undergrowth as the devastating fires tore through the region.
He would go on to serve on the LRRSA Council since 1985 and was made an honorary life member in 2008.
Mr Evans is also a qualified engine driver and boiler attendant, has served on a number of heritage advisory committees and, in retirement, continues to publish widely on forest and industrial history.
He said his family connection to the south west had been part of his interest in the area.
“My mother came from Cowleys Creek, not far from Timboon, and my father came from Port Fairy, so I have my roots in the western district,” he said.
“I’ve been interested in forest history for a long time, and had started this book in 1983.
“I’ve written five books in the time it has taken me to finish this, so it’s been a bit of a labour of love.”
The book details the decisions and actions which would shape the future of the Heytesbury forest, which ultimately led to the opening of the Camperdown to Timboon branch line of the Victorian Railways in 1892, more than 100 individual sawmills operating and a wide variety of quarry operations.
“The first changes were the passing of the Duffy Land Act (Land Act 1862) which saw the first land being taken up in the 1860s around the fringes of the forest, mostly in the western half,” Mr Evans said.
“In the 1930s there was the Bailey Settlement Scheme and then the 1950s-1960s Heytesbury Settlement Scheme.
“What was once a primeval forest is now rolling green hills and a thriving dairy industry.
“The book outlines the processes and policies that we used, that used settlement and sawmills, as the tool for killing the forest.
“Other extractive industries that followed, such as the railway which was finished in 1892 – so the Timboon Railway and the tramways that served it were very important tools for removing a lot of that forest produce.”
Mr Evans said his research had uncovered a wide variety of interesting stories of those who lived in the region.
“There’s a lot of interesting stories,” he said.
“One of the ones I liked was Brighton Bill and his make Jack the Gooser, who operated a barge on Lake Corangamite.
“They were cutting fence posts in the Stony Rises and shipping them north up the lake to Foxhow for the use of the squatters that were starting to put in their stations up there.
“One of the things I found interesting was that most of the sawmillers turned out to be dairy farmers, and a lot of those families intermarried so a lot of them were related.
“The first sawmill started in 1855 and they’re still going in Colac at the moment, which is all on softwood after the end of hardwood milling in our native forests.”
‘Tramways to Timboon’ is available online through the LRRSA shop at lrrsa.org.au.