Melbourne, Thursday 2 February 1939

The hoarding of scrub for a number of years in forests and on private property adjoining forests will always cause disasters to forests and to farmers … The Forests Commission blames the landholder, while the landholder blames the Forests Commission. Narrow breaks are of no use in a severe fire, as was proven in Toolangi when the late Mr. Demby lost his life.

It is only in recent years that fires from forests have become serious, because bullock team drivers and paling splitters who lived in the forests burned to protect their teams and their palings. What chance would man or beast have to live under present forest conditions?

The greater the period between fires, the greater the disaster to the state?
Feeling is very strong against present day forestry methods by people who have lost their all by fires coming down on them from national parks and forests reserves.

Growth should not be allowed to accumulate for ten years, as has been done in the past in both Forests Commission and Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works country. The forestry men realise that it is so dense that you cannot poke a stick into it.

Any area within a few miles of Healesville covered with scrub you could not walk through. I have tried to get down fishing - with a permit - but I could not get down to the river. Anyone who has been in that country knows all about it.

You cannot walk across the bracken, and other scrub that is 15 feet to 20 feet high. I have lived here for practically 50 years and I have gone through the bush on shooting trips for miles.

We know that the forest was in a dirty, filthy condition. I say that without fear of contradiction, and it was said here today that the forest was in good order. I might say that some years ago I was fined for lighting fires in the forest on a mistake.

It is just as well to tell you that I have had a fair amount of experience. I was convicted. There was only the one conviction. I got permission from the forest officer to cut scrub. I was doing a contract here from Myer's Creek on to Toolangi for the Country Roads Board and I had permission to fell this timber in the forest and burn it at night.

I did the burning and one or two days later the fire got away. There was the whole gang that was on contract and we worked on the fire for five or six days. I was brought before the Court and fined 5 pounds for lighting a fire.

[The Commissioner]: Did you call your gang off then?
I said it would be the last fire I would put out.

Speaking as one who has been burnt out, as soon as there was a bit of smoke, Mr. Demby was down on you. They are frightened to burn when they consider it is safe. They have no way of getting out of burning now except putting a fire in and letting it go. It is my opinion that that is how a good many of the fires are started.

You mean they will not control them?
They let them go. They are not working in with the Commission. That is because they are frightened of prosecution. The fines have been heavy lately on people boiling a billy on the side of the road, but it is the fires back in the bush country where the damage is supposed to come from.

It is only senseless disaster that people are getting pulled up for burning in places where it is practically safe.

The fines are heavy and it is going to turn the people against them.