Karri Forest Logging
black white landscape photography
This page was originaly called “Threnody”, but has changed to Forest Logging for web clarity
Threnody noun (song of) lamentation esp. on person's death [f. GK threnoida threnos wailing, oide ode] (OED)
I settled in Quinninup in the Australian karri forest intending to work with black & white photography in a contemplative manner. However, I quickly realised the truth of the destruction to the local karri forest. The result was that much of my black and white photography for the following ten years was documentation of the destruction and defense of the small remnants of the once magnificent south west karri forest
Gardner 08 State Forest, January 1999
The tree really was that big. The dimensions are; widest diameter 4.07 metre, circumference around butresses 14.03 metres
The timber turned out to be "useless" and now lies on the forest floor. I have heard that a video recording was made of Wayne Crombie-Wilson felling the tree
Regarding the logging of Gardner 08 State Forest, Peter Beatty, CALM Planning Officer for this block stated "This [Gardner 08] was the most ancient and pristine area [of karri forest] we had. We decided to log it because the timber industry was locked out of Jane and Giblett Forests by protests."
Boorara Karri Forest was clearfelled (clearcut) in 2000 by the Western Australian Government and timber industry against determined protest by local environment groups. During the Boorara logging a log truck driver pointed to his loaded truck on the edge of Borrara Forest on 15th March 2000 and said "Photograph these, you will never see their like again", he was right
THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
IS CONTINUING THE DESTRUCTION
15th February 2009
The Madness Continues
With global warming running away and changing our land to a more fireprone environment the stupidity of ancient forest logging continues
Pemberton, 30th January 2009 © John Austin 2009
Pemberton, 13th February 2009 © John Austin 2009
8th June 2008
LOGGING TO EXTINCTION
Logging to extinction of the south west karri forests of Western Australia continues. These two photographs were taken 3 minutes and 10 seconds apart, according to the camera's EXIF data
Both were taken in the main street of Pemberton, a dreary little south west Western Australian town dominated by a timber mill
Clearfelling is continuing in Western Australian karri forests, despite the promises made prior to the 2001 Western Australian election. The 2001 WA Labor Government's claim that logging has ceased in old growth karri forest is based on the WA Department of Environment and Conservation DEC reclassification of the remaining ancient karri forest, or anything else that contained big trees, as "two tier", making it available to the WA Forest Products Commission FPC for clearfelling
The new national parks largely consist of "non-production", poor quality, forest and clearfell areas. The non-production forest often contains greater biodiversity than tall canopy forest, but tall canopy forest is needed for a balanced conservation system. Re-generated orest is an even aged monoculture plantation. Regen has the visual excitement of Regency wallpaper
I have ceased black and white photography of karri forest devastation. To be constantly faced with the destruction of my local environment is to suffer
Images copyright John Austin and Rae Starr