Citation
History and Cultural Values of the Wellington Range, Mt Wellington Range Study, Part II. (Peter MacFie with DeGryse & Hepper – 208 Network) (29 pp), 1995
This was part of:
208 Network, Mt Wellington – Mountain Park Resource Inventory, Management Plan and Master Plan (1994)
Outline
This report was commissioned as part of a management plan for the Wellington Range in 1995. It had very specific requirements and a limited time frame but includes oral history interviews that will be added to this web page in due course.
Download PDF versions
Culture of Wellington Range I.pdf
Cultures of Wellington Range II.pdf
Excerpt
THE MOUNT WELLINGTON RANGE
To the north and south of the Mountain Park, communities made utilitarian use of the Range. Apart from Collinsvale, these areas did not develop tourism or formalised recreational interest in the Range. Structures remaining in these locations are usually related to resource extraction, particularly sawmills. Charcoal pits or kilns, and saw pits may also be expected. Oral reports suggest the remains of shepherd’s or hermit’s huts may also be occasionally found.
Significance
The Mt Wellington Range acted as a traditional resource for industries based in nearby communities, and in serving the building needs of Hobart. Extensive use of the timber resource of the Mt Wellington Range was made, with large scale and many small scale timber mills.
The mills above Mountain River and Crabtree to the south of Mt Wellington, and Collinsvale to the north, also produced timber for box cases to supply the fruit industry. In the Lachlan Valley, the Crown reserve supplied bush poles for the hop fields. Collinsvale also supplied charcoal for hop drying to hop-growers of the Lachlan area and beyond.
The Mt Wellington Range acted as a series of catchment areas for the five communities whose municipalities relied on mountain water; a function that still exists. The original Lachlan River scheme still supplies New Norfolk, and helps reduce the cost of water to the town.
The lack of formal recreational evidence in these areas should not be construed as complete lack of use by local communities for this purpose. Oral evidence suggests that walks, picnics and horse-riding were traditional.
Forest-shaped Communities.
The dominant feature, common to all zones, was the lengthy utilisation of the timber resources on the northern, southern and eastern flanks of the Wellington Range. The forests provided employment, whether sawing timber for homes or scantling, or shipping, or for boxes to carry fruit to the markets on the Mainland or overseas.
Evidence.
Evidence on the timber mills was drawn from oral knowledge, and Forestry Commission records. However the recent rapid turnover in the Commission staff and in the mills has resulted in a rapidly dwindling number of people with experience of the period. Field visits to verify these locations is essential, bearing in mind the continual movement of mills through a working forest.
Social Inter-linking.
The mountain communities were also inter-connected socially. Lads from Collinsvale occasionally walked up onto Collins Bonnet, crossing over the pinnacle (weather permitting) to hunt, and for social events at Mountain River.
End of Excerpt
To read more, download the PDF above.
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