A history of forestry education in Victoria, 1910–1980

Abstract

Summary In 2010 it will be 100 years since the School of Forestry Creswick opened and accepted its first student intake. It is timely that in its centenary year the history surrounding the creation of Creswick as a centre for forestry education in Victoria is examined from the perspective of the development of forestry studies in a tertiary environment. This paper examines some of the events, issues and personalities that shaped forestry education in Victoria from the school's commencement in 1910 up to 1980 when The University of Melbourne and Creswick School of Forestry courses combined within the university sphere. Early issues surrounding the choice of Creswick as the school's location and the move to establish the Australian Forestry School in Canberra and its impacts on Creswick and state-federal relations are discussed. Personalities and events involved in shaping forestry education at the time included C.E. Carter and Dr Frank Moulds, both Principals at Creswick, Charles Lane Poole, Principal of the Australian Forestry School and John Chinner, head of forestry at the University of Melbourne, and the organisational and political context in which they operated. Links between Creswick School of Forestry and the University of Melbourne began at the school's establishment when A.J. Ewart, Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Examiners to oversee the science-based curriculum, ensuring it met university standards, and culminated in 1980 when the courses at the two institutions were combined. Reflections on the major issues discussed assess these issues and events as potential major factors that significantly affected forestry education in Victoria.