Timber Towns and Forests

This tour provides us with a lovely day out in autumn or spring when the forest is at its best.

The timber industry was important to the economy of Western Australia from the late 19th century until the 1950s. The South West of the state had many small mill towns scattered throughout the magnificent forests which supplied timber for export, for developing Western Australia's infrastructure (railways and bridges) and for building and furniture making. Jarrah became known all over the world as a timber of strength and durability and was even used to build roads in London and Shanghai.

We first travel to Dwellingup, a pretty town surrounded by jarrah and marri forest, with a tragic history. It was established in 1910 as a significant timber centre with a satellite of small mill towns. The mills produced jarrah railway sleepers and other wood products for export. During the Second World War, the area housed a prisoner of war camp for Italian and German prisoners. In the summer of 1961, a severe bushfire burnt out thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed the satellite mill towns and most of Dwellingup. Only Dwellingup was rebuilt. It now contains an excellent Forest Heritage Centre, which we will visit after a drive through the forest, stopping for morning tea at the site of one of the burnt out mill towns.

Our visit to the Forest Heritage Centre will allow you time to also go for an easy stroll to a reconstructed woodcutters hut in the forest. Then it is on to Yarloop for lunch. After lunch you can visit the Yarloop Workshop Museum, which has been declared a heritage site. The workshop was established in the early 1900s to cater to the needs of timber workers and mills. As well as a saw doctor's shop, it contains an extensive array of tools used in the timber industry, steam locomotives and generators.

After our visit to Yarloop, it is off to Mandurah and then home.