"A little world apart...": domestic consumption at a Victorian forest sawmill.

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Previous studies of forest-based sawmilling in Victoria have focused on steam technology and timber tramlines. The material culture and social history of mill camps, however, has been largely neglected. Survey and excavation conducted by the author at Henry s No. 1 Mill in 1997 and 1998 sought to expand the scope offorest history. Henrys Mill operated between 1904 and 1928 in the WestBarwon watershed in south-west Victoria. Its isolation meant that around 100 people lived permanently on site. The mill settlement featured huts and houses for mill workers and their families, along with a school, store and post office. This paper outlines the main results of fieldwork and uses material evidence to examine aspects of domestic consumption at the site. Reuse and recycling is identified as an important part of mill life. The paper concludes with a discussion of the physical isolation of Henry s Mill and the ways this was overcome by workers and their families.