This page will provide access to historical maps as they become available. These maps will also be connected to articles when appropriate.

This map is based solely on information generously provided by Mike McCarthy, who is a member of the Light Rail Research Society of Australia and the author of several books related to Victoria’s history of sawmilling, and the use of tramlines to move sawlogs to mills and sawn timber to market. It has been prepared by digitizing four maps provided by Mike. All of the maps overlap to some extent, and the image below shows the areas of each map from which data have been extracted.

There are about 61 sawmill sites and approximately 420 km of tramline shown on this map as a whole. The map by map breakdown is:

• Erica - 28 sawmills & 318 km of tramline - of which the FCV owned 25 km, sawmillers 164 km, and those associated with mining and Walhalla and the adjoining settlements total 129 km.
• Gould - 13 sawmills & 43 km of tramline.
• Tanjil Bren - 16 sawmills & 30 km of tramline of which the FCV owned, but did not operate, about 5.5 km. The remaining lines were owned by sawmillers.
• Thomson - 4 sawmills & 29 km of tramline of which the FCV owned about 20 km.

Post 1939 Recovery & Salvage
FCV Sawmills
The FCV's Erica Tramline
Tramline Photo Gallery

This map is based solely on information generously provided by Mike McCarthy, who is a member of the Light Rail Research Society of Australia and the author of several books related to Victoria’s history of sawmilling, and the use of tramlines to move sawlogs to mills and sawn timber to market. It has been prepared by digitizing eight maps provided by Mike. The maps overlap to some extent and the image below shows the areas of each map from which data have largely been extracted.

There are about 446 sawmill sites and approximately 1247 km of tramline shown on this map as a whole. The map by map breakdown is:

• Gembrook - 88 sawmills & 200 km of tramline.
• Longwarry - 40 sawmills & 120 km of tramline.
• Neerim - 29 sawmills & 102 km of trmaline.
• Noojee - 36 sawmills & 118 km of tramline.
• Powelltown - 131 sawmills & 395 km of tramline.
• Warbuton - 52 sawmills & 169 km of tramline.
• Warragul/Hillend - 70 sawmills & 143 km of tramline

Powelltown Forests
A Walk into History

There are two maps in the pdf that is available. One is on an Open Street Map base and the other on a Google Hybrid base. Both have been prepared, with permission, from information contained in:

This map combines Mike McCarthy's data from the above Erica, Tyers etc. map and the West Gippsland Plus map. Where dates are available, the five year periods within which a sawmill existed on a given site have been used to classify sawmill locations through time. A sawmill that existed for one year only will still be shown as present in the relevant five year period.

This map is based upon tramline data prepared by Colin Harvey, and other locations from a 1970 FCV Map prepared by M Wade. Have confidence in the tramline routes, but the sawmill location information needs to be checked. It is however, useful as an indicator of the extent of timber harvesting in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

See also: Mount Disappointment Forest

This map has been derived from an FCV map produced in 1939. The map provides an indication of the extent of the fires across the State during the 1938/39 fire season. Given the scale and the limitations that would have been inherent in producing the original map, DO NOT expect this map's boundaries to be accurate enough to use at a local level.

See also: The 1939 Fires.

With a lot of assistance from many FCRPA Members, the map below shows the location, as best we know them, of Victoria's forest nurseries from 1872 onwards.

See also: Forest Nurseries

This map is based upon the original maps and notes of JA McKinty, and it covers his reconnaissance work of 1940 and 1941 in what would become the FCV's Heyfield District.

See also: Jim McKinty - Forest Assessor

This map is connected with this story about Heyfield from the 1940s onwards.

With a lot of assistance from Bryan Rees, the map below shows the location of past and present firebombing bases.

See also: Firebombing

You will find an excellent site about Fire Towers here

This map is intended to show historic forestry locations (camps, towers,roads, offices etc) with popup photos, but it is still in development. The firebombing bases in this map do not reflect the latest information in the map above. New location information will be added as it is prepared.

Barmah - Access the Map

Central Highlands 1965 - Access the Map

Gembrook 1979 - Access the Map

Grampians 1981 - Access the Map

Macalister River Watershed 1959 - Access the Map

Toolangi 1980 - Access the Map

Whipstick 1979 - Access the Map