Melbourne, Thursday 2 February 1939

If the Commissioner wishes, I will call evidence to prove that for many years, and probably right back to that time [1890], no fire has ever gone out of these watersheds, having started in them.

The only way to safely hold these areas for water supply purposes is to protect them as forests; to retain the forest, to encourage its growth and to do everything to re-establish the forest in those destroyed areas. The policy of the Board [of Works] [is] to absolutely exclude fire or any use of fire for cleaning purposes, except in connection with fire breaks.

To endanger the Mountain Ash forests on those watersheds is to actually endanger the supply of water, not of course to stop it, but definitely to limit it and decrease the usefulness of the particular area for water purposes. Now it has been said there is a clash of policy. There is no clash of policy in forestry as such, that is, the preservation of forests and water supply.

There is a clash between those who use forests for commercial purposes and those who control forests for water supply, because you cannot use the latter forests for commercial purposes and still have them.

[Mr. Gowans] Is there a clash between bodies?
There is not a clash between bodies, but between interests. It is the policy of the Board that for water purposes the forest must not be used for industry because of the risk of fire.

[The Commissioner] What does that result in?
That results in a forest just in its natural condition, as it was before.

Do you go in for thinning in your forests?
No, we do not artificially establish any condition in the forest that is not natural.

You let all the scrub and growth grow?
In the natural forest there is not much scrub. I can show you forests in which there is not much scrub and in which you can ride uninterruptedly without trouble. I am not going to suggest the forest floor is clean by any means; but it does not carry dogwood scrub and this other kind of bush which normally follows after fire.

We have parts of our areas where there is such scrub, and we will not attempt to deny it. There are parts to which fires have had access and we have put them out. In those parts I have no doubt you would find bracken and dogwood.

It is our experience that if fire is excluded that kind of bush will gradually revert to the cleaner type of bush.

[Mr. Gowans] Is that your hope?
We do not have to hope.

[Mr. Kelso is then questioned about firefighting]

I would suggest the type of organisation would [need to] be such as you would use if this country was invaded by an enemy – real centralised organisation.

I believe the Bush Fire Brigades are exceedingly valuable, but they are not centrally organised. It is like Julius Caesar invading Britain; he had an easy job because he fought the British tribes one by one. The Bush Fire Brigades are like the British tribes were at that period; they have no centralised organisation to enable them to shift the whole personnel to areas where they are needed immediately.

Read more about how Victorian bushfires threaten Melbourne’s water supply in the Aftermath Section