During the first half of 2018, I had the pleasure of documenting the stories of the people who lived and worked in our South West during the timber milling era.
I chatted with men and women who grew up and worked in remote timber towns and challenges they faced, foresters who were at the forefront of incredible changes in technology with documenting and recording the large database of information about our forests, the near-death experiences of former loggers and the change in logging tools, timber managers who witnessed first hand the timber industry’s rise and fall in one lifetime and those who fearlessly fought to preserve our forests.
The stories and photographs are part of the new State Timber Museum, which was launched in August 2018. There’s an audio booth, where you can sit and listen to edited versions of the audio interviews I captured along the way.
The exhibition also features forest soundtracks I recorded while camped out at the Warren and Donnelly forests. The soundtrack in the forest memorial is a favourite (it was recorded in the Warren National Park at sunset).
The project was quite close to my heart, as my father’s family moved from Scotland to Manjimup in the late 1940’s to work in the timber industry and my father was born in Manjimup.
It has certainly given me an appreciation for the hard yakka and determination of the generations before me.
If you haven’t paid a visit to this part of the world, I highly recommend it.
UPDATE! The State Timber Museum won a 2019 MAGNA Award (Museums and Galleries National Awards) for best Permanent Exhibition. It was an incredible team effort. Congratulations to all involved!
