The Sylvanite
The Sylvanite was the official magazine of the Victorian Old Forestry Students’ Association. The Association was inaugurated in 1920 with the aim of preserving the school spirit, personal contacts and close friendships stemming from the years in the Victorian School of Forestry. The magazine was produced by the students of the School with input from the graduates as a means of maintaining contact between the foresters after graduation and with the hope of it also serving as a technical journal.
The magazine canvassed such issues as the relationship between the Forests Commissioners and foresters, pay schedules, matters of general and forestry interest, activities of the graduates as well as notes about the School and its current students. Relevant extracts from the 1927 and 1929 issues of the magazine can be found in the links below.
It is not certain yet when The Sylvanite ceased production but 1934 saw the publication of the first issue of The Victorian Forester which was replaced, in 1953, with the Victorian State Foresters Association Newsletter, as the means by which information about technical, social and other matters were disseminated to the forestry diaspora. Those more recent magazines are published in the Site Library of this website.
The articles from The Sylvanite of 1927, 1928 and 1929 listed below are available here.
- (Inter)State Forest Activities - 1927
- Tree Planting and the Science of Forestry - 1927
- A Man-size Job - 1928
- Destruction of Blossom by Birds - 1928
- Granton Kiln Seasoning Process - 1928
- Polyporaceae in Creswick Forest - 1928
- School Activities - 1928
- Some Mistletoe Notes - 1928
- VSF Camp Bendigo - 1928
- VSF Eucalyptus Oil Still - 1928
- Flora of the Werribee Gorge - 1929
- Pithy Pars - 1929
- Pollination of Eucalypts by Birds - 1929
- Timber or Cellulose - 1929



Tyalla
Tyalla was the name of the magazine produced by the students at the Victorian School of Forestry at the end of each academic year from 1960 to 1980.
The origin of the word Tyalla is explained in a letter written to the School by J. H. Willis of the Melbourne Herbarium in 1960, of which the following extract was printed in the 1961 edition.
"I like your choice of name, musical and simple. The aboriginal "Tyalla" appears in Brough Smyth's ABORIGINES OF VICTORIA. VOL. 2 1878, and is said to be the name of an unidentified species of mallee in the region of Lake Hindmarsh. I have scoured our Herbarium in the hope of locating the original "Tyalla" sample that Rev. Hartmann sent for determination to Baron von Mueller in the 1870's but apparantly it was never preserved. The name most probably refers either to Eucalyptus gracilis, E. oleosae, or E. incrassata".
The format of the magazine remained much the same throughout its life, and included a list of the Board of Forestry Education, the staff - both resident and visiting, visitors, a Principal’s report, academic results from the previous year and where the graduates of that year had been posted, a photo of the current graduating year, short bios on each of the students (in both The Sylvanite and Tyalla these were typical undergraduate student musings and need to be viewed from that perspective), reports on the various sports played by the students, and reports on activities such as fieldwork, excursions and the previous summer’s work. Generally there were also two to three contributions from staff, students and others which covered a wide range of topics related to forestry. The magazine was largely funded through advertisements from the forestry industry and these were interspersed throughout the magazine.
Relevant extracts can be found below, including Principal reports which give a feel for some of the changes and challenges over the years, reports on life and activities at the School, and articles which explored various facets of forestry.
Principal Reports
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Principal Reports
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Principal's Report 1960
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1961
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1962
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1963
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1964
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1965
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1966
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1967
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1968
W. Litster
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Principal's Report 1969
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1970
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1971
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1972
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1973
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1974
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1975
A. R. Eddy
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Principal's Report 1978
Dr. J. Edgar
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Principal's Report 1979
Dr. J. Edgar
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Principal's Report 1980
Dr. J. Edgar
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Principal's Report 1960
Life at VSF
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Life at VSF
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1916/18 - The School
CS Elliot
Tyalla 1974 -
1927 - School Editorial
The Sylvanite 1927
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1929 - The School
The Sylvanite 1929
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1960 - School Activities
Fieldwork. D McKittrick and R Fulton
Excursions. P Lawson
Broadford Assessment. A Heislers
The Glasshouse. M.Gardiner
Tyalla 1960 -
1960 - The Past 50 Years
IK Smith
Tyalla 1960 -
1961 - School Activities
Excursions. P Lawson
Field Work. B Fry
Christmas Vacation Assessment. B Vernon
Tyalla 1961 -
1961 - The School
DS Thomson
Tyalla 1961 -
1962 - School Activities
Excursion Notes. G Wright
Field Work. S Rowley
Summer Vacation Camp. FP Lawless
Sirex Rearch. P Sheehan
Tyalla 1962 -
1963 - Our Weekends
M D Clark
Tyalla 1963 -
1963 - Reminiscing
D Buntine
Tyalla 1963 -
1963 - School Activities
Excursion Notes. R D Spencer
Field Work. M Zelman
Koala Park and St Georges Lake. I Kennedy
Tyalla 1963 -
1964 - Creswick
R Youl
Tyalla 1964 -
1964 - School Activities
Excursion Notes. JH Taylor
Field Work. PJ Young
Merriang Vacation Camp. M Clark
Tyalla 1964 -
1964 - The School Bush
G Waayers
Tyalla 1964. -
1965 - School Activities
Excursion Notes. TK Rouse
Field Work. MD Wade
Debating. C Muller
1964 Social. R Borschmann
Summer Camp at Rennick. PL Connell and RJ Hill
Tyalla 1965 -
1966 - And Further Afield
Excursions, RM Fyfe
Tumut 1965, I Hemphill
Vacation Work at Matlock, KG Rubeli
Poplars in Australia, H Bond
Tyalla 1966 -
1966 - School Fieldwork
I Leversha.
Tyalla 1966 -
1966 - School Notes
Tyalla 1966
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1966 - The School
RM Fyfe
Tyalla 1966 -
1967 - Circumspice & School Notes
Tyalla 1967
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1967 - Fieldwork
J Harris
Tyalla 1967 -
1967 - Our Grounds
Peter Fagg
Tyalla 1967 -
1967 - What Happened to George?
Tyalla 1967
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1968 - School Activities
The Arboretum. R Hateley
Fieldwork. I Brilliant
Excursions 1968
Summer Vacation Camp. G Suckling
Tyalla 1968 -
1968 - The Experiences of a Junior
G Barnes
Tyalla 1968 -
1969 - Easter Walk
JD Kellas
Tyalla 1969 -
1969 - School Activities
The School Grounds. B Ward
Field Work. I Hastings
Summer Camp. B Ward
Tyalla 1969 -
1970 - School Activities
Grounds and Museum. R Penny
Fieldwork. P Baulch
Summer Camp. T Ritchie
Tyalla 1970 -
1970 - The School in Retrospect
G Barnes
Tyalla 1970 -
1971 - School Activities
Field Work. J Chalmers
Tyalla 1971 -
1971 - Why Teach Chemistry and Physics to Foresters?
RR Marshall
Tyalla 1971 -
1972 - School Activities
Excursions. D James
Fieldwork. J McDonald
The VSF Herbarium. J Walls
Tyalla 1972 -
1973 - School Activities
Fieldwork. R Caddell
Tyalla 1973 -
1974 - A Man's Career
KG Harrop
Tyalla 1974 -
1974 - Student Council Report
G Rowland
Tyalla 1974 -
1975 - School Activities
St. Georges Lake. P Devonshire
Koala Park. G Morgan
Tyalla 1975 -
1976 - "What makes a good Forester"
T Morrison
Tyalla 1976 -
1976 - Ecology and Forestry
G Featherston and I Long
Tyalla 1976 -
1976 - School Activities
Koala Park. R Harper
St. Georges Lake Scenic Reserve. G Esnouf
Tyalla 1976 -
1976 - Student Council Report
A Buckley
Tyalla 1976 -
1976 - VSF, Females and Forest
A Coleman
Tyalla 1976 -
1977 - Forestry and Education: A comparison between VSF and Melbourne University
R Runnalls
Tyalla 1977 -
1977 - Memories of Creswick
R Youl
Tyalla 1977 -
1977 - School Activities
St. Georges Lake Scenic Reserve. M Poynter
Eaton's Dam: a fire-scarred environment. E Ferguson
Tyalla 1977 -
1977 - Student Council Report
G Featherston
Tyalla 1977 -
1977 - The Beginnings of Forester Education in Victoria
R. G. Orr
Tyalla 1977 -
1978 - Is there an end to this education?
B G. Fry
Tyalla 1978 -
1978 - School Activities
The new Arboretum. F Hamilton
Fieldwork Report. B Wehner
Tyalla 1978 -
1978 - Student Council Report
F Cumming
Tyalla 1978 -
1979 - School Activities
Fieldwork. G Saunder
Tyalla 1979 -
1979 - Student Council Report
G Hedger
Tyalla 1979 -
1980 - Student Council Report
Author Unknown
Tyalla 1980
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1916/18 - The School
Forestry & Related Articles
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Forestry & Related Articles
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A Recreation Study in the Grampians
J. Chalmers, Tyalla 1970
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Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife: Conflict or co-existence?
G. C. Suckling, Tyalla 1975
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Apiarism in Victoria
G. Squires, Tyalla 1964
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Ballarat Paper Mills
I. K. Smith, Tyalla 1961
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Barmah Forest
G. Waugh, Tyalla 1965
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Bat Banding in Australia
P. A. Meyer, Tyalla 1963
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Birds of the Messmate Forests
R. Cowley, Tyalla 1960
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Bonsai - Beauty in Miniature
K. Ritchie, Tyalla 1965
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Burnie Forests
M. D. Wade and T. L. Sloan, Tyalla 1964
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Computers and Forest Management
R. G. Orr, Tyalla 1973
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Duck Shooting - Detrimental or not?
I. Hastings, Tyalla 1969
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East Gippsland Excursion - 1966
J Harris
Tyalla 1967 -
Firefighting Cape Otway
T. Ritchie, Tyalla 1969
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Flora Fauna and Fire
H. Krans, Tyalla 1968
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Forestry and Man
N. J. McCracken, Tyalla 1962
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Forestry and Wildlife
A. Heislers, Tyalla 1972
Addendums include Habitat Type Mapping by K. Monk and Koala Inventory by E. Waller -
Forestry in Gippsland in the Late 1930's
G. L. Morrison, Tyalla 1962
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Koetong Plantation
I. Lelliott, Tyalla 1963
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Land Conservation Council
J. H. Taylor, Tyalla 1971
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Mt. Beckworth Forest Reserve
T. K. Rouse and M. McKinty, Tyalla 1964
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Multiple use in National Parks and 'other' Parks in Victoria
I. C. A. Weir, Tyalla 1975
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Notes on (Inter)State Forest Activities
Author Unknown, The Sylvanite 1927
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Notes on the Flora of the Werribee Gorge
J. H. Willis, The Sylvanite 1929
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Other Stories - 1967
The Passing of Steam, J Nankervis.
A Trip into Papua-New Guinea, R Rawson.
The Australasia Mining Disaster, EJ Semmens.
A Chronological Account of My Adventures in Van Diemen's Land - May 1967, KG Rubeli.
Tyalla 1967 -
Phasmatid Control
P. Bray and P. Muller, Tyalla 1965
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Pithy Pars
Author Unknown, The Sylvanite 1929
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Plantation Establishment at Lower Glenelg
J. Cahill, Tyalla 1964
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Preserved Fence Posts
H. J. Kosmer, Tyalla 1960
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Private Forest Practices in South Australia
G. Morrison, Tyalla 1961
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Recreation in southwest Tasmania
J. Miller, Tyalla 1980
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Sherbrooke Forest Park
H. Krans, Tyalla 1965
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The Broadford Fire
P. J. Greig, Tyalla 1964
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The Creswick Research Station
J. G. Edgar, Tyalla 1970
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The Pollination of Eucalypts by Birds
H. Payne, The Sylvanite 1929
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Thinning stands of Eucalyptus regnans
N. Seymour and L. Pope, Tyalla 1963
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Timber or Cellulose
Author Unknown, The Sylvanite 1929
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Tree Planting and the Science of Forestry
R. Dalrymple-Hay, The Sylvanite 1927
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Tropical Forests: A cause for concern
A. Taylor, Tyalla 1980
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Vacation in the Otways
T. Ritchie, Tyalla 1968
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Victorian Satyridae
P. Meyer, Tyalla 1962
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Water Catchments (1960)
H. J. Kosmer, Tyalla 1960
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Water Catchments (1963)
G. W. Hollingsworth, Tyalla 1963
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With Steam and Shovel
E. G Stuckey, Tyalla 1973
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A Recreation Study in the Grampians