Milling for Gold
Sawmills and Timber
Like the churches of the Central Coast, many sawmills moved across the landscape following the timber cutters and splitters as they did their work. These were called ‘spot mills’. Most often in the late 1800s the mills would be built in a new timber stand as the trees were felled and processed around the Riana and Loongana areas. They would then move on to the next stand. As the timber operations grew, larger sawmills were built and powered by water and steam.
In West Ulverstone the longest-lasting local sawmill belonged to Edward Hobbs (1868–1936). Built in 1904, it was one of the first properties to use electrical power in the 1920s when the West Ulverstone power station was built. The power station would take some of the offcuts from the mill to use as fuel. Other offcuts would be gleaned from the waste piles and used by people to build their houses. Steam was also used throughout the processing of timber into planks, weatherboards, and tongue-and-groove. The mill was in use for around 80 years.
The clearing of land for early farming meant that the great forests of the Central Coast were rapidly cut down. It was timber suitable for splitting into palings that was prioritised — the rest was ringbarked and burned. By the 1940s the lack of timber variety and volume became apparent, and the forestry service started plantation sites of needed timber. The first plantations were in Kindred and Castra.
There were 40 sawmills on the North West Coast in 1955. Today there are only a few small mobile sawmills. Veneers are made west of Burnie and the woodchip piles on the port, starting from 1968, are still towering over visitors. The forestry industry continues to be a source of both environmental concern and of economic importance to the region. Eucalyptus trees take around 80 years to grow to milling size, though radiata pines are often harvested around the twenty-year mark. While plantations continue to be important, there are growing moves to regenerate native forests around the Central Coast to restore habitat for Trouwerner’s native species.
