1947 History of Research Work in Forestry and Forest Products in Australia and PNG. (Extracts article by G Rodger Unasylva Vol 1 # 3 Nov-Dec 1947 FAO) Research in forestry may be said to have been carried out from the earliest days of Australia's settlement, although in the beginning it consisted largely of systematic botanical investigations and experiments in the development of exotic trees. About 1919 the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry formed the Forest Products Laboratory. The activities of this institution, which were confined to chemical investigations, laid the foundation for the establishment of the tannin-extraction industry in Western Australia and of the Australian pulp and paper industry in the eastern states. Much of the work of the original laboratory was done in co-operation with the Western Australia Forests Department; and when in 1926 the Institute of Science and Industry was replaced by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, this co-operative work was continued without a break, although there was a lapse of three years before the new CSIR Division of Forest Products was created. At the eighteenth meeting of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Perth, Western Australia, in 1926, the following resolution was passed: In the opinion of the Council there is need in every State of Australia for more systematic investigation of those Forestry problems which come under the heads of Silviculture and Forest Management. A central coordinating authority is necessary if this work is to be carried out satisfactorily. The Council suggests that the Commonwealth Government having established an Australian Forestry School might with advantage extend the scope of the work by embracing general research into Forestry problems. The Commonwealth Forestry Bureau was established at Canberra ACT in 1927, and it was decided that in addition to its other functions the Bureau should undertake responsibility for initiating and carrying out investigation and research in three main divisions of forestry: silviculture, forest management, and forest protection. In 1928 initial steps were taken to institute forestry research under the Commonwealth Forestry Bureau by the appointment of research scholars in silviculture, management, and forest engineering. These research scholars underwent a short course of training at the Australian Forestry School, Canberra, before proceeding abroad for more advanced studies. On the completion of their course abroad they returned to Australia and were engaged in various branches of forestry research work. The Bureau received parliamentary sanction in 1930 by the Forestry Bureau Act No. 16. The field research work suffered severely as a result of the depression years. Of the initial staff of four officers, three were lost to other services. For several years, the work was carried on with the assistance of the staff of the Australian Forestry School. In 1935 the national recovery made an extension of the work possible and in 1937 a staff of three qualified men and five assistants was engaged on research work.
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