Paul Barker


Joining the Victorian Public Service (VPS) as an Administrative Officer in 1964, Paul worked in several agencies before joining the FCV in 1982. Due to deteriorating health, Paul left the VPS in 2003 after an almost 40-year career.

Over his working life, Paul developed a knowledge and understanding of Victoria’s bureaucratic heritage, and the documents and systems that underpin its legacy. During his later career, and in retirement, Paul has assisted bureaucrats, authors, students, researchers, NGOs (including, importantly, the FCRPA) and others wanting to draw on this valuable historical resource. Paul continues to be an essential ‘go-to’ specialist for those interested in Victoria’s forest history.

The records below are available here primarily because of Paul's endeavours.

Forestry Records

The following documents and links provide information about, and access to, records relating to the Forest Commission Victoria and earlier agencies.

Forest History in Victoria: A Guide to Government Records 1836-1994, Heather McRae, Conservation and Natural Resources (1994). This guide directs readers to relevant publications, libraries, archives, and organisations for further information, and covers original unpublished records such as files, volumes, index cards, maps, plans, photographs, films and computer records, with a particular focus on records of the former Forests Commission of Victoria, 1919-87.

Note: this guide gives 240-250 Vic Pde as the location of many records which were transferred to the PRO in 2004. This is difficult to confirm from the new long VA 534 list of FCV records at PRO with new and possibly more correct or alternate names, and their VPRS nos. Until corrections can be done and the PRO fixes their website, any forestry researchers may seek help by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Public Records Office Victoria, Series VPRS 11563 - This series constitutes the general correspondence registered by the Department of State Forests (Forests Commission) during the period 1920-1983.

The FCRPA holds a number of documents at the Beechworth Museum.

 

 

Paul recovered the pre 1919 records, Peter Evans typed the original list and Paul did some further editing which has produced the list below.

In October 2022 Paul finished a more complete listing of FCV files for the period 1919 to 1937, and in December 2022 for the period 1938 to 1958. The files for 1959-1965 and 1966-1971 were completed by May 2023.

           

 

Where the hell are they?