Tamboritha Road Project

M McKinty

The Engineering Branch of the Forests Commission commenced construction of the Tamboritha Road in January 1959. It extends some 36 kilometres from Licola up the Wellington River valley to the Tamboritha Saddle.

 
vfh0173 Tamboritha Bennison road map ed

Tamboritha-Bennison Road (from Road Opening Brochure)

 

The road was built to provide access for the Heyfield group of sawmills to timber stands around the Bennison Plains and in the heads of the Carey and Moroka Rivers. Funding of the road was contingent on the Heyfield sawmillers sharing the cost of extending the main road system above the Tamboritha Saddle to the Bennison Plains and beyond. The secondary roading was undertaken by the sawmillers.

The first logs were carted down the Tamboritha Road in November 1961 and it was officially opened on March 14th 1963. A brochure describing the project and setting out the proceedings for the opening day was produced, as well as a short (silent) video of those proceedings (see below).

More details about the project are available on this website in 'The Heyfield Story', and this article by Geoff Kennedy has photographs of the construction operations.

 

See also the video below available via YouTube

 

 

vfh0339ed.jpg

Plaque re Opening of the Tamboritha Road
About 1976
Photo: N Cox

 

 

Building Infrastructure

More Infrastructure

related to Nurseries, Firebombing Bases, Camps and Firetowers

Fire Tower List

McHugh - Forest Camps

A History of the Macedon Nursery

Mal McKinty

Malcolm graduated from the VSF in 1965 and achieved a Master of Environmental Science in 1992.

His postings with the Forests Commission have been in hardwood forest management in Nowa Nowa (briefly), Bendoc, Lal Lal (briefly) and Orbost; then as Assistant District Forester at Toolangi and Mansfield. From late 1978 to 1994 he was a Senior Research Officer with the Land Conservation Council and towards the end of that period took secondments with the Land Protection Division and the Forest Environment Section. From 1994 to 1998 he was Senior Planner with Forest Management Planning. Early retirement allowed him to take a two-year position (under the auspices of Australian Volunteers International) at the Bulolo University College (Forestry School) in Papua New Guinea as the Senior Technical Instructor for fire protection and forest management. Back in Victoria in 2000 he undertook contract work for a few years writing policy and reports and editing material for various Government agencies; and land-use studies for a private company. And he owns a Subaru Forester.

Mal McKinty

Malcolm graduated from the VSF in 1965 and achieved a Master of Environmental Science in 1992.

His postings with the Forests Commission have been in hardwood forest management in Nowa Nowa (briefly), Bendoc, Lal Lal (briefly) and Orbost; then as Assistant District Forester at Toolangi and Mansfield. From late 1978 to 1994 he was a Senior Research Officer with the Land Conservation Council and towards the end of that period took secondments with the Land Protection Division and the Forest Environment Section. From 1994 to 1998 he was Senior Planner with Forest Management Planning. Early retirement allowed him to take a two-year position (under the auspices of Australian Volunteers International) at the Bulolo University College (Forestry School) in Papua New Guinea as the Senior Technical Instructor for fire protection and forest management. Back in Victoria in 2000 he undertook contract work for a few years writing policy and reports and editing material for various Government agencies; and land-use studies for a private company. And he owns a Subaru Forester.