Melbourne, Thursday 2 February 1939

[Mr. Gowans] Where are your grazing interests?
I have four farms around the Moe district and grazing licences out in the area behind Willow Grove, between here and Tyer's River. The grazing licences are obtained from the Lands Department.

Were any of your properties damaged by fire during January of this year?
I had one store burnt at Noojee.

Did the fires pass through the areas that you are using for grazing?
They passed through the bulk of them.

I understand that you have certain views about the causes and prevention of fires in this area. Will you give these views to the Commission in your own words?
In introducing myself I want to say that I have sixteen stores throughout Gippsland. I am the Managing Director and the biggest shareholder. Our interests stretch from Bairnsdale to Trafalgar. I have been in Gippsland for 30 years, living on the fringe of this area. We have stores at Erica and Noojee also.

I would like to make it clear that despite anything I may say here, I have no personal animosity against the Forests Department. As a matter of fact, I know the big majority of the Forests Officers personally and I think that they comprise as fine a body of men as we have in our public service.

I have no complaint to make in regard to them as public servants at all; it is only that they are so keen that they hate to see even a little gum tree destroyed and that is where we think differently from them. I believe that a lot of the fires around this area on the bad day in January were due to the fact that so many farmers had failed to burn off and protect their own properties. They did not burn off because they were afraid of the Forests Commission coming down on them.

Everybody used to burn off many years ago; we would meet a few of our neighbours and say 'What about a fire'. We would get together, burn off, and protect each other, our fences, and so on. There was no danger, and no trouble was caused. Nowadays, if we want a fire we nick out in the dark, light it, and let it go.

We are afraid to tell even our next door neighbour because the Forests Commission is so definitely opposed to fires anywhere, that we are afraid to admit that we have anything to do with them. As a result, the bulk of the farmers do not burn their land. During the last week up to January 13th when fires were coming from different quarters they realised at the last minute that they had to burn to save their property and their lives.

A lot of people burnt protection breaks out in this country at the last minute, and, of course, those firs went back into the forest where they all met in one huge fire.

One result which comes from lighting fires in that way is that people will not stop to put them out in order that they should not be charged with lighting them illegally. On a bad day you cannot put the fire out once you light it. You just let it go.

[Questions about sources of fire]
The last big fires in 1926, 1932, and in January this year that have affected Erica and Noojee have come principally from the west and north-west. None of our serious fires come from the east. In regard to the problem of protecting the good forest country, that is, the good ash country, I consider that a big break 20 or 30 miles long should be constructed.

At the present time the Forests Commission puts little breaks 9 ft. wide through the forest. They call them fire breaks but we would not call them by that name at all. They may be all right as tracks but definitely they are useless as fire breaks. Mr. Barling and Mr. Demby were trapped in one of those fire breaks and it has proved that they are only a menace to human lives.

In my opinion a big break should be constructed north of the Thompson River, just below the good country. It should be about 5 chains wide and should be definitely cleared.

In regard to the good mountain ash country, of which I was speaking previously, and which I suggest should have big breaks around, I would not allow any sawmilling inside that area. I think that nowadays with modern transport and good roads, sawmills ought to be concentrated in to special towns. The logs could be hauled along good roads which would have to be constructed out of the forest country into those towns.

[The Commissioner] What would be the advantage of that?
In the first place the conditions under which the average sawmill worker lives are not ideal. They are just in small wooden huts round the mills. Their school facilities for the children are very bad and the living conditions for the children are bad. We sometimes have to send the stuff into some of those mills by pack horse, or send it on the tram which takes the timber in...

Apart from the comfort of the settlers, what about the question of the safety of the mill workers and proprietors?
There would be no trouble there; they would not have to worry about their lives or about getting the people out of the bush in a time such as we experienced in January last.

I am not making the suggestion in connection with the poorer type of timber country, such as messmate country. I am talking particularly about the good ash country, which is worth doing something to save, timber that is worth hauling when you get it. The value of ash for kiln drying makes it ever so much more valuable than the messmate, therefore, the millers could afford to haul it and go to more expense to get that class of timber, because of its increased value.