yo Hardy, The Forests of Viotoria. [vol^xxxii 



rail fences and slab huts the fissile wood oi the same species, 

 and the tougher wood of the lowland form oi E. viminalis, 

 and probably that of E. rubida, supplied abundant material. 

 The colloquial " logs " is a term almost forgotten, but was 

 appropriate in the days when the prisons were made of young 

 tree-trunks laid horizontally. 



The ever-increasing demand for firewood soon made itself 

 evident in the disappearance of the stunted forest oi eucalyptus 

 close at hand, chiefly E. viminalis, E. rostrata, E. paludosa, 

 and E. melliodora, and. later, those further afield, such as 

 /:. elceophora, E. obliqua, Banksia marginata, B. integrifolia, 

 Exocarfius cupressiformis, Casuarina stricta, and ('. suberosa. 

 Long before the clay beds were opened up, the lava which tilled 

 the old Yarra Valley was drawn upon for the easily-obtained 

 basalt (bluestone) for more substantial dwellings, and examples 

 oi this type are still to be found about Melbourne. Bui 

 wattle-and-daub. slabs and bark, and bluestone were only oi 

 temporary efficiency, so the exploitation oi the clay beds and 

 of the highland forests almost simultaneously began to cope 

 with the growth oi a city which, in half a century or there- 

 about, re&ched a population of half a million, and an area oi 

 about 145 square miles, to say nothing of the growth oi su< h 

 provincial cities as Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo. The firsl 

 pier (at Williamstown) was a rough stone structure, boulders 

 from the decomposing lava surface being used, as more 

 readilj obtained than timber. 



The mention oi piers leads us to remembet the speculation 

 as to the identity oi old wrecks scattered along the Victorian 

 coasl and the Strait islands, which gave rise to the idea that 

 richly-freighted vessels from the Spanish main were still 

 awaiting salvage. The timbei oi such as I have examined. 

 however, looked suspiciously like Australian hardwood, and 

 compared mosl nearrj with Eucalyptus obliqua and Eucalyptus 

 globulus. < M the 40 ships trading between New Zealand ami 

 America in 1853, in sealing and whaling products, &c, and 

 comprising French, British, and American, 20 were <>i New 

 World origin, and averaged ;.: ; tons: and so various 

 male ash, &c, may have been found about the coast. 



Small vessels were buill in Tasmania, probably oi Hluon pine, 

 Dacrydium Franklinii, 01 Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus, foi 

 i-Strail trade, and il ecordi d thai prioi to [846 a small 

 vessel named thi Tea •< was buill on the Yarra. She was ;i 

 {o-ton ■. • 1 I. and was made oi the Rivei Red Gum, Eucalyptus 



With the extension oi railways, the building "i piers and 

 bridges, the growth oi tl tern, and the need oi 



abundant prop timbei foi th< min< and dabs foi retaining 



