"The past is never fully gone. It is absorbed into the present and the future. It stays to shape what we are and what we do."
Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia, Inaugural Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture, August 1996.

 

Site Library

An on-line library of historical documents and publications is available to view and download, however please respect any copyright that may apply. Whilst the collection is extensive, it is by no means complete, and is continually added to as documents are discovered in various archives and personal collections. Contributions to the collection are most welcome, and arrangements can be made by contacting the Site Editor.

For ease in searching the library, documents and publications have been thematically grouped. Please take the time to look at the Collection notes, where provided, as they provide a brief background and historical context.

The "Carver Papers", acquired in May 2022, are available at the bottom of the page. You will find some of the documents in the Carver Collection are duplicated by papers collected and made available before the "Papers" came into our possession. If there are documents produced by the Victorian Parliament that you think may be useful, but they are not available on this site then use the link below.

 

Here is a Red Gum Bibliography compiled by Barrie Dexter in 2022.

 
Annual Reports


 
 
FCV Bulletins


 

 
FCV Forest Research Reports
Collection notes
Index

 
FCV & Other
Fire Research Reports
Collection notes

 
FCV Technical Papers
Collection notes
Index

 

 
VSFA Newsletters
Collection Notes
Index


 
Public Land Forestry & Fire




 
Private Land Forestry/Tree Growing/Advice

Warning


 

 
The Carver Papers

This collection of historic forestry documents was put together by ME Carver. "Carver’s papers, Forestry in Victoria 1838-1919 are considered by some historians as the authoritative source. Maurice Carver was a clerk in the Forests Department where, in the late 1920s, he was given the task of destroying ‘inactive files’. This task may have led him to compile his history. He indexed reports, gazette references and other documents up to 1919 and provided an overview. He produced staff lists for 1908 and 1917, but did not include nursery and plantation staff as these staff were neither listed nor counted by the Public Service." ( See: VSF Origins, G Fahey)

What is available through this site are separate packages which cover the entire collection. When you access the documents you will find a file called Carver Volume Index.pdf which has been extracted from the papers to help you find your way quickly. Volume E contains an extensive Index covering all Volumes but also, and perhaps more importantly, Carver's own summary of the documentation he has put together. It is a good place to start.

The availability of this digital copy of Maurice Carver’s five-volume set of "Forestry in Victoria 1838 - 1919" on this website has been made possible
thanks to the advocacy of Paul Barker and the management of Julie McCormack of the Public Records Office, Victoria.