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Cutter’S Licence Termination Threatens Historic Railway

The last of Gippsland’s railway sleeper cutters has provided his last railway sleeper, at the expense of historic icons such as the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, unless the State Government intervenes.

By Peter Hall - 9th June 2006 - Back to News

Gippsland MP Peter Hall has called on the State Government to restore a timber licence to Mr Ron Aucote of Bruthen, whose licence was terminated this week.

Mr Hall told State Parliament the Walhalla Goldfields Railway relies on Mr Aucote’s skills to provide sleepers and his inability to do so would impact adversely on the further development of the railway.

"The Walhalla Goldfields Railway is a re-creation of the historic railway line," he said. "It has been re-created to connect an area from the Thomson River, where there is a small station called Thomson station, into Walhalla.

"It has been an engineering feat to recreate the railway line, at great expense. Both the state and federal governments and the local community have put a lot of money into the recreation of that historical railway."

Mr Hall added there are plans to extend the railway line from Thomson station to Boola Road and eventually back to Erica.

"They require, to complete the historic railway, yellow stringy-bark for both timber construction and for sleepers.

"That is where Mr Aucote comes into it. He is 70 years of age, having left school when he was 13, and has been cutting sleepers in the Bruthen area for 56 years, being the last of the 240 registered sleeper cutters there once was in Bruthen."

Mr Hall said Mr Aucote had already supplied Walhalla Goldfields Railway with 3000 sleepers and also provided a lot of the timber for the Puffing Billy track. He also supplied 600 metres of railing for the mountain bike track for the Commonwealth Games facility.

Mr Hall pointed out that the sleeper cutter harvests stringy bark selectively and does not clearfell.

"But since VicForests took over the operation of commercial forestry in 2004 Mr Aucote has been on a limited tenure, and it appears that his licence to harvest any yellow stringy-bark in the forest of East Gippsland is now terminated, which would be at the expense of places like Walhalla Goldfields Railway."

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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