AUSTRALIAN FORESTERS in PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1922-1975 ` PNGAF MAGAZINE ISSUE # 9B-5B4D7 of 25th Oct 2023. AUSTRALIAN FORESTERS in PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1922-1975 FOREST MANAGEMENT. J. L. d’Espeissis B.Sc (W.A.), B.Sc For. (W.A.), M.A., Dip For. (Canberra). 8/12/1909-7/4/1922. Eminent TPNG Forester, John (Jean) d’Espeissis 1938 - 1939.
Editor R B McCarthy1 2023
1936. John (Jean) d’Espeissis in front of the Harvey weir, and he on his way to continue a two-year (1935 - 1937) soil sampling survey of forestry land, during which he spent most of his time camping in a tent. The car is a Singer, and he has everything on board including his dog. At this stage he was a probationary officer with the W.A. Forestry Department. By 1937 he was a confirmed Forestry Officer in charge of the project.2
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District Forester TPNG 1963-1975. Source: Son John d’Espeissis 13/9/2023.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS “FORWOOD”
page 3
Early History
page 4
Australian Forestry School
page 6
WA Forests Department
page 11
TPNG Forests
page 12
Fiji
page 25
Fifth British Empire Forestry Conference
page 39
Return to WA Forests Department
page 46
Retirement
page 47
Naturaliste Downs
Sequel Eagle Bay Brewing
page 50
ACRONYMS
page 51
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“FORWOOD” John (Jean) d’Espeissis (TPNG 1938-1939) was the second Australian forester appointed to go to PNG in 1938 with Director Jim McAdam3. In 1937, in TPNG, there was a sudden interest in log export, which caused the Administration to revise its legislation and consider the establishment of a forest service. In 1938, John d’Espeissis resigned from the Western Australian Forest Department to join the TPNG Department of Forests (controlled by the Federal Government). From John d’Espeissis’ son’s research of his father’s notes of 1938, 4 work activities of d’Espeissis and McAdam have been clarified. In 1938, John resigned (Forestry Dept W.A.) to go to New Guinea. Jim McAdams and he were the first permanent forestry officers appointed to the forestry of NG. Jim who was a year before him at AFS was the senior, but he remained behind to get married and arrived six months later. In the meantime, John managed to get adopted the new forestry legislation for the Territory based on Lane Poole’s Act for W.A. While John d’Espeissis remained in Rabaul at HQ Jim McAdam went to Wau on the mainland to develop the Hoop Pine areas in particular.” He goes on to say in the hand written notes, “In 1940 John d’Espeissis resigned to join the British Colonial Forestry Service as Assistant Conservator of Forests Fiji. (He had been there as a teenager and wanted to return.) Once again, John d’Espeissis succeeded in using the W.A. Forest Act as a model for the new legislation there. The above clarifies the relevance of John d’Espeissis work in the further development of TPNG
forest legislation. This work was published in Australian Forestry in 1940.5 With the intervention of WW2 into TPNG, causing all civilian administration to cease, in 1940, John joined the British Colonial Forestry Service in Fiji as Assistant Conservator of Forests. During WW2, John’s role was to organise the supply of timber in Fiji, for the American forces based there - a role which he wryly said had nothing to do with conservation. In 1947, in what was the highlight of his forestry career, John was appointed a delegate to represent Fiji at the Fifth British Empire Forestry Conference held in England. In 1948 John and his family returned to the Western Australian Forestry Department and became the District Officer at Pemberton jointly in control of the South West forests. In 1950 he bought land at Cape Naturaliste and in 1951 he retired from the Forestry Department to start a career in farming.
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PNGAF Mag Issue # 3 of 3 Non 2020. Jim McAdam MM, First Director Dept of Forests TPNG. Personal communication John d’Espeissis (son of forester John d’Espeissis) 29 th Sept 2023. 5 J L d’Espeissis 1940 Australian Forestry Volume 5, 1940 Issue 1. The Timber Industry in the Territory of New Guinea. Pages 33-36. 4
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Early History6 John (the English equivalent of Jean which he always used) Lancelot d’Espeissis was born in Sydney in 1909, to Jean Marie Adrian d’Espeissis and Laetitia Ellen d’Espeissis (nee Wyndham). Primary and Secondary Schooling John was educated at Guilford Grammer School, apart from two years when his family moved to Fiji. Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an independent Anglican co-educational primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Tertiary Studies Upon matriculating from Guilford Grammer School, John was one of two students from Western Australia selected for a Forestry Department scholarship to undertake tertiary studies for a B.Sc., Forestry degree. Students spent their first two years undertaking science subjects at a University within their own state followed by the final two years in residence at the Australian Forestry School Canberra to complete their Diploma in Forestry. John spent the first two years of a B.Sc. Forestry degree at the University of Western Australia.
John d’Espeissis early student days. Source d’Espeissis family album.
6 Personal communication Astrid d’Espeissis 12 th Sept 2023 on behalf of the d’Espeissis family.
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Western Australian 1st April 1933 page 16 Article from Trove re graduation from University of Western Australia re Bachelor of Science.
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Australian Forestry School Canberra Studies. 1933 & 1934 The Australian Forestry School was established as part of the Commonwealth Forestry Bureau as a national scheme to train foresters at the university level. It was based in the University of Adelaide and led by Norman Jolly for its first year in 1926. It moved to its new building in Canberra in 1927 and was led by Charles Edward Lane Poole as Acting Principal until 1944. The school provided two years of study of forestry subjects for students who had completed two years of study in their state universities. After the Second World War, enrolments increased under the direction of Maxwell Jacobs. In 1965, it became the Department of Forestry at the Australian National University opened in 1965. The school was adjacent to what are now known as the Westbourne Woods Arboretum and the Yarralumla Nursery, which had been established in 1913 by Charles Weston, the Federal Capital Commission's first officer-in-charge of the Afforestation Branch. These areas served as outdoor laboratories for some of the Forestry School students' studies and there was an annual camp to extend practical training in a different state each year. Australian Forestry School 2013. Photo credit Dick Passauer.
Forestry House 2012. Residential Quarters. Photo Credit John Pratt.
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John was in the 1933 year at AFS, graduating in 1934.
Australian Forestry School 1933. Classes of 1932 and 1933. Source Dr Gary Bacon. Class of 1932 William BAULMAN (NSW), George BOYD (NSW), Edward Kenneth COX (Tas) John Mervyn FlELDlNG (Q), James FREEMAN (VIC), John Maxwell GILBERT (Tas) Hans Larns GLOE (WA), Cecil HALEY (Q), Benjamin Bernard HARRIS (NSW), James Bannister McADAM (Q) - awarded Schlich Medal, David William SHOOBRIDGE (Tas), Jack THOMAS (SA). Class 1933 Douglas Hurtle BEAN (NSW), Paul Bevis CASSON (?), John Lancelot d‘ESPEISSlS (WA), 7
Cecil Bernhard KAY (SA), John Hayes KLUVER (Q), Leslie Gordon MclVER (NSW), John David RICHARDS (Q), Arthur Herbert RUTTLEY (NSW), Pascoe David TEAGUE (NSW). AFS Student Activities
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Western Australian Forests In 1935, John d’Espeissis started as a probationary officer with the Western Australian Forest Department working on a soil sampling project east of Harvey. By 1937 he had been confirmed as a Forestry officer and oversaw the project.
The photo is taken in front of the Harvey weir. John is on his way to continue a two-year (1935 - 1937) soil sampling survey of forestry land, during which he spent most of his time camping in a tent. The car is a Singer, and he has everything on board including his dog7. By 1937 he was a confirmed Forestry Officer in charge of the project.
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Photo credit Son John d’Espeissis 13th Sept 2023. 11
Territory of Papua and New Guinea (TPNG) In 1937, in TPNG, there was a sudden interest in log export, which caused the Administration to revise its legislation and consider the establishment of a forest service. In that territory, there was a mill at Waterfall Bay and mission mills also at Finschhafen, Alexishafen and Marienberg. Mills had also started at Bulolo and Wau, having been flown in from the coast. Sawn and milled timber, however, was still being imported from Australia and the Philippines. In 1938, Jim McAdam MM, arrived in New Guinea in 1938 to initiate the new Forest Service together with John d’Espeissis who resigned from the Western Australian Forest Department to join the TPNG Department of Forests (controlled by the Federal Government). From John d’Espeissis’ son’s research of his father’s notes of 1938, 8, work activities of d’Espeissis and McAdam have been clarified. In 1938, John resigned (Forestry Dept W.A.) to go to New Guinea. Jim McAdams and he were the first permanent forestry officers appointed to the forestry of NG. Jim who was a year before him at AFS was the senior, but he remained behind to get married and arrived six months later. In the meantime, John managed to get adopted the new forestry legislation for the Territory based on Lane Poole’s Act for W.A. While John d’Espeissis remained in Rabaul at HQ Jim McAdam went to Wau on the mainland to develop the Hoop Pine areas in particular. He goes on to say in the hand written notes, that in 1940 John d’Espeissis resigned to join the British Colonial Forestry Service as Assistant Conservator of Forests Fiji. (He had been there as a teenager and wanted to return). Once again, John d’Espeissis succeeded in using the W.A. Forest Act as a model for the new Fiji legislation. The above clarifies the relevance of John d’Espeissis work in the further development of TPNG
forest legislation. This work was published in Australian Forestry in 1940.9 John was the second of two permanently appointed forest officers in New Guinea. He was stationed in Rabaul East New Britain. National Archives /Trove Item ID, A518, 852/1/671, New Guinea Staff - J L d'Espeissis - Forest Officer. Access status: Open, Location: Canberra, 1937 - 1940, 108419 An article in the Cairns Post Friday 11th February 1938 page 14, describes McAdam and d’Espeissis spending time with the CSIRO Division of Forest Products Melbourne prior to travelling to TPNG.
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Personal communication John d’Espeissis (son of forester John d’Espeissis) 29 th Sept 2023. J L d’Espeissis 1940 Australian Forestry Volume 5, 1940 Issue 1. The Timber Industry in the Territory of New Guinea. Pages 33-36. 9
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John undertook botanical collections to identify and record species of trees suitable for economic milling. TPNG Botanical collections by John d”Espeissis 1938
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J L d’Espeissis 1940 Australian Forestry Volume 5, 1940 Issue 1. The Timber Industry in the Territory of New Guinea. Pages 33-36. 15
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GERMAN NEW GUINEA 1883-1914 (AUSTRALIAN) NEW GUINEA (MANDATE L OF N) 1919-1945 (AUSTRALIAN) NEW GUINEA (TRUSTEESHIP U.N.)1946
DUTCH NEW GUINEA 1848-1962 WEST IRIAN (INDONESIA) 1962
BRITISH NEW GUINEA 1883-1906 PAPUA (AUSTRALIAN TERRITORY) 1906
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Snapshot of TPNG Forest Industry until the end of WW2.11 OPPORTUNISTS / ENTREPRENEURS- Cedar, Sandalwood and New Guinea Walnut. McAdam12 reported that with the arrival of the white man, it was found there was a scattering of valuable trees which were attractive to buyers elsewhere. Some attempts were made to float out easily accessible logs of species such as cedar. In the period from European contact and settlement in the late nineteenth century, to the outbreak of World War 2 in the Pacific, the timber industry was concerned mainly with speculative exploitation of cedar, sandalwood from around Port Moresby, and New Guinea walnut from New Britain and New Ireland13 and mission sawmills. The utilisation of the forests was mostly incidental to other activities like gold mining or agricultural plantation development. SACRED HEART MISSION NEW BRITAIN 1902-1928 Toriu River to Kurindal NB Mission labourers hauling a record Eucalyptus deglupta log on the Toriu River logging railway around 1910 with German missionaries supervising. Source PNG National Library photo 314 Historishes Bildmaterial our dem Archives des staatlichen Museums fur Volkerkunda Dresden.
View of the Toriu River Sawmill around 19021917. Source Michael Pearson PNG National Library photo 313. Source: Pioniere der Sudsee - Werden und Wachsen der Herz = Jesu Mission von Rabaul zum Goldenen Jubilaum 1882 1932. p117, 118, 132 & 177.
11 PNGAF Mag Issue # 9JW3 OF 19TH Nov 2022. PNG Woods. Phases of Industrial Development. 12
J B McAdam’ address to Papua and New Guinea Scientific Society’s annual report of 1952 “Forestry in New Guinea” 13 New Horizons 1973 Jacaranda Press.
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1905 ALEXISHAFEN SAWMILLING14 Donkey tram pulling logs over covered bridge at Bigges River. Source: SME Wagner ELC PNG Butaweng SM.
1913 MARIENBERG SAWMILL AND RAILWAY15 SVD missionaries established a station at Marienberg on the lower Sepik River in 1913.
Another SVD photo, caption German. M Pearson.
14 End of the Line - A History of Railways in Papua New Guinea Bob McKillop & Michael Pearson UPNG Press 1997 15 End of the Line - A History of Railways in Papua New Guinea Bob McKillop & Michael Pearson UPNG Press 1997
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Lifting a log from a raft on the Sepik River. Source: Fryer Collection.
Log on rail truck. Source: Office of Information and Extension Services, National Library and Archives at Waigani.
Log yard. Source National Archives Waigani.
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1920. Lack of Wood Preservation Treatments16. Throughout PNG’s history, there were no long-standing timber structures. This was because the sapwood of all PNG timbers and the heartwood of some PNG timbers are liable to attack by wood destroying fungi, boring insects, and termites. In addition, all untreated timber placed in saltwater is liable to attack by a variety of organisms collectively known as marine borers. There was an enormous need to develop wood preservation methods for PNG timbers. 1921 Aropokina Sawmill CM Sawmill
16 REF: PNGAF Mag # 9A of 15/3/71 p22
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1928 to Present. SACRED HEART MISSION Sawmill NEW BRITAIN17
Ulamona sawmill. Source: Ulamona Sawmill OIES Office of Information and Extension Services. Taken 1960s.
Sawn timber at Ulamona Mission sawmill in the shadow of Mount Ulawan (“The Father”) an active volcano. Source: Michael Pearson 1960.
Ulamona sawmill with large solid Kamarere log. Source: John Davidson 1978.
17 End of the Line - A History of Railways in Papua New Guinea Bob McKillop & Michael Pearson UPNG Press 1997.
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PNG Forest Products evolved from Bulolo Gold Dredging Limited that commenced operations in large scale alluvial mining in 1932. The Bulolo region was at the time one of the largest gold fields in the world. The development of almost inaccessible regions was pioneered with air transport. With the stimulation of gold discoveries, airfields for example were opened in the 1920’s at Salamaua, Wau and alter Lae. Aircrafts used ranged from Super Constellations on the external routes and DC-.3’s on major internal routes to small easily manoeuvrable aircrafts on small strips in rugged countryside. Timber baulks being flown out of Bulolo Wau. Source: Department of Territories 1959.
Junkers G31go VH-UOW – Guinea Airways at Wau airstrip. Source: PNGAA.
At Lae, a steam crane was used for loading the Junkers G-31s. Although there were roads in the Highlands, there was no road into the Highlands from the coast so even cars, such as the Austin 7 in the photo above, had to be flown in. This was by no means the smallest car to travel by air! The rail line ran from the loading area at the Lae aerodrome to the pier so cargoes could be moved easily to the aerodrome once unloaded from their ships.
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It was reported in the Western Australian newspaper Thur 9th Feb 1939, page 18, re applications for divisional forest officers in the WA Forest Dept following John’s departure to TPNG.
During his time in TPNG, John, with Jim McAdam were successful in gaining approval for new forestry legislation for TPNG. In 1936, the Timber Ordinance of New Guinea was superseded by the Forestry Ordince 1936. Responsibility for the administration and development of the forest resources of Papua New Guinea and control of its forest industry was vested in the Department of Forests under powers conferred by the Forestry (New Guinea) Ordinance 1936-62 and the Forestry (Papua) Ordinance 1936-62 and the Forestry Regulations as amended. Nearly all forest in PNG is grown on customary-owned land. The Department of Forests after 1945 had to create a forest concession system that catered for all parties i.e., landowners, government agencies and developers. For any timber to be harvested on an area, the State had first to acquire timber rights from the landowners before allocating the rights to a logging company. Prior to 1992, this was done through either the negotiation of a timber rights purchase or a local forest agreement. Since 1992, when a new Forest Act came into force, state acquisition of timber rights has been through the negotiation of forest management agreements between the PNG Forest Authority and customary owners. The Territory policy for the extraction of timber from customarily owned (‘native’) forests was developed over time through the mechanism of a ‘timber rights purchase’ (TRP) agreement, which was a way of purchasing so-called ‘timber rights’ from customary owners of forests, but not alienating the land. Virtually all logging companies in the territorial period were Australian-owned or Australian-based. Some of these did a degree of processing locally, but most timber was exported as round logs. The legal framework for forest exploitation had three main elements: Timber Rights Purchase (TRP). Under this arrangement the State acquired timber rights where customary owners were willing to sell. The State then issued a permit or licence to remove the timber on agreed terms and conditions, including the payment of royalties, a portion of which was passed on to customary owners. The TRP arrangement was intended for large-scale exploitation and was managed by the Department of Forestry.
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Timber Authorities (TA) could be issued, on payment of a fee, to enable any person to purchase a limited quantity of timber directly from a customary owner. Without a TA no one other than a Papua New Guinean could purchase forest produce from a customary owner. Fiji
Fiji Geography. Source Wikipedia.
With the intervention of WW2 into TPNG, causing all civilian administration to cease, in 1940, John joined the British Colonial Forestry Service in Fiji as Assistant Conservator of Forests. During WW2, John’s role was to organise the supply of timber for the American forces based there. A role which he wryly said had nothing to do with conservation. Domestic Production of wood 1939-1946. Units presumably in million super feet. Source Bennett18.
18 Bennett J.A. 2001 War, Emergency, and the Environment: Fiji, 1939-1946.Environment and History, Vol 7, No3 Aug
2001 pp 255-287.
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Timber Demand 1939-1946. Units presumably in million super feet. Source Bennett19.
In 1946, he met and married Jean Miller, A New Zealand nurse who had gone to Fiji to work in hospitals treating the wounded from the Pacific War. She was born in New Zealand in 1916 and died in 2005. They had four children.
19 Bennett J.A. 2001 War, Emergency, and the Environment: Fiji, 1939-1946.Environment and History, Vol 7, No3 Aug
2001 pp 255-287.
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20 Fiji Society of Science & Industry. Years 1945-1947 Vol 3. Issued Dc 1953. National Library of Australia nia.obj-
128413950.
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Fifth British Empire Forestry Conference In 1947, in what was the highlight of his forestry career, John was appointed a delegate to represent Fiji at the Fifth British Empire Forestry Conference held in England. The Western Australian on 23 Sept 1947 page 8 1947 highlighted the attendance of John d’Espeissis at the Fifth British Empire Conference Great Britain.
THE Fifth Conference21 of the forest authorities of the British Empire met in London on 16 June 1947, and continued its sessions until 19 July 1947. Sir Roy Robinson (now Lord Robinson), Chairman of the Forestry Commission of Great Britain, acted as Chairman of the meetings and D. Roy Cameron, Dominion Forester for Canada, was elected Vice Chairman. The conference was attended by more than 30 delegates from Great Britain, 71 from the overseas Dominions and Colonies, and representatives of special forestry organizations having their headquarters in England. A representative of the United States Forest Service
21 FAO. Unasylva Vol 1, No 3. Nov-Dec 1947.
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and two members of the Forestry and Forest Products Division of FAO attended by invitation.
Opening of the Empire Forestry Conference, London, 16th June 1947. (Photo courtesy FAO and Sport & General Pres Agency Ltd. London). The first Empire Forestry Conference was held in England in 1920 and succeeding conferences took place in Canada (1923), Australia and New Zealand (1928), and South Africa (1935). Plans for a conference to be held in India in 1940 were disrupted by the war. This unique series of gatherings, which periodically bring together senior forest officers from the widely differing parts of the British Commonwealth, has been most successful in promoting the development of good forest management. Opportunity has been provided for the personal exchange of views as well as for more formal consideration of reports and programs covering the widest variety of conditions and problems. Through the conferences a spirit of co-operation and mutual helpfulness has been developed. In addition, it has been found that individual conferences have performed a most valuable function in stimulating public interest in forestry questions in the countries in which they were held. Meetings of the Fifth Conference were held in London, Cambridge, and Oxford, and various forests and industrial installations in England and Scotland were visited. Arrangements were made to enable delegates who were especially interested in forest products to see as many manufacturing plants as possible. An important feature of the Fifth Conference was the presentation of a series of reports prepared by the forest authorities of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions, and the Colonies, which describe the part played in the recent war by the forests of the Commonwealth. These reports were prepared in accordance with a commonly accepted outline and reviewed all aspects of the forestry and forest products situation throughout the war years, including the establishment and operation of the various systems of control introduced by the different governments. Special efforts were made to draw attention to the lessons learned during the war and to preserve those lessons for future reference. The reports were supported by comprehensive statistics covering the forest resources and production, consumption, and trade in forest products. In these statistics the annual averages for the fiveyear period, 1934-1938, were stated as a basis for comparison and detailed figures were given 41
for each year from 1939 to 1945, inclusive. While the Conference was in session the statistics were assembled and summarized by the Central Statistical Office of the United Kingdom, and these summaries were incorporated in special report. Committees of the Conference were established to consider special problems relating to land use, the survey of forest resources, forest management, silviculture and protection, forest products research, timber supplies and marketing, and forestry education. In connection with the last-mentioned subject, special opportunities were provided for delegates to examine the work being done by the School of Forestry and the Imperial Forestry Institute at Oxford. In addition to the work of committees, the full Conference heard and discussed many technical papers prepared by experts from various parts of the Commonwealth. The Conference considered at some length the question of co-operation with the Forestry and Forest Products Division of FAO. S. B. Show, chief of the Forestry Branch of the Division, and J. D. B. Harrison, chief of the Forest Economics Section, were invited by the Chairman to explain in detail the programs of the Organization relating to forestry and forest products and the methods through which it was hoped to make those programs effective. The proposed international statistical program was examined with particular attention. Representatives of the Organization were assured that it could expect the fullest co-operation from the Government authorities represented at the Conference, within the limits of the means at their disposal. Among the resolutions finally adopted, particular interest attaches to the proposal that a preliminary survey of the forest resources of all members of the Commonwealth should be completed by December 1957, this survey to take full advantage of recent developments in aerial survey technique. It was recommended that the Government of the United Kingdom should set up a technical committee on the aerial survey of forests to provide guidance and advice on technique and to disseminate information on improved methods. Another resolution stressed the need for clear-cut planning based on the allocation of each type of land to the purpose for which it is best suited in the long-term interest of the national economy. About timber supplies, the Conference felt that regulated overcutting during the emergency period following the war was necessary and justified but demanded that governments should pay adequate attention to forest protection and later correction of the overcut by working-plan revisions. During the proceedings, the Chairman paid special tribute to the Indian Forest Service which, after 90 years of service to Indian and Empire forestry, was about to be disbanded because of the establishment of the new Dominions of India and Pakistan. A special resolution was adopted in which the Conference expressed to the present and past members of the India and Burma Forest Services its appreciation of the great services rendered by them to forestry in the territories under their charge and in the British Empire at large.
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It was reported in the West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879 - 1954), Tuesday 13 January 1948, page 14 re W.A. SOFTWOODS Progress has impressed Fiji Official.22 Mr. J. L. d'Espeissis, who is assistant conservator of forests in Fiji and was with the State Forests Department until he left W.A. ten years ago, said yesterday on his return to Perth after a tour of the State's timber-growing areas that he was impressed with the growth of softwood forests. He said that it appeared likely that softwoods in this State would be in short supply for some years to come because of the shortage of export timber from the west coast of America and Canada. Indications were that W.A. could grow softwood timber on light soils, which were non-agricultural, and could be self-sufficient in this type of wood. He had also noticed a great development over the past 15 years in the regeneration of karri forests which now carried a dense growth of saplings 50ft. to 60ft. high. Mr. d'Espeissis graduated from the University of W.A. as a Bachelor of Science and went to the Australian School of Forestry, Canberra, and qualified for the degree of Bachelor of Forestry. He then became an officer of the W.A. Forests Department and in 1938 was appointed a Forestry Officer in New Guinea. In 1940 he was appointed Assistant Conservator of Forests in Fiji. He will leave Perth for Suva next Friday.
22 Personal communication Dave and Cora Num 16 th Aug 2023.
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Transactions and Proceedings of the Fiji Society. Volume Vol.4, No1 -1948, No 2-1949, No 3 -1950.23
In the Harvey Murray Times Friday 9th Jan 1948 page 4, Around the Town. it was reported that Mr John d’Espeissis and his wife spent a few days in Harvey.
In the Pacific Islands Monthly March 19, 194824 it was noted that
23 Source. Trove. 24 Source. Pacific Islands Monthly March 19, 1948. Vol XV111. No. 8.
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Return to Western Australia Forests Department In 1948, John and family returned to the West Australian Forest Department. John became the District Forestry Officer at Pemberton jointly in control of the S.W. Forests. Roger Underwood of WA Forestry recalls several foresters and forest workers who knew John as the DFO at Pemberton for the WA Forests Department. They held John in high regard, obviously destined for senior rank. 25
In the Manjimup and Warren Times Wed 31st Jan 1951 page 7, it was reported on the assistance given by John d’Espeissis District Forest Officer for the campsite for the 107 Scout troop on the Duke of Gloucester’s visit to Pemberton.
25 Personal communication Roger Underwood 7 th August 2023.
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Retirement Naturaliste Downs In 1950 John bought land on Cape Naturaliste. In 1951 he retired from the Forestry Department to start a career in farming. His granddaughter Astrid of the Eagle Bay Brewery advised: He inherited some money from a French Uncle and decided to buy a farm. He was looking around Boyup Brook. In 1949 he was invited to go fishing at Bunker Bay. On his way back to Pemberton he saw a light on and went into a farmhouse and asked if anything was for sale. It was and he purchased two small farms on the Cape. He bought more land over the next few decades to enlarge his land holding. The farms were originally dairy before switching to beef cattle and sheep. Conditions were very basic with no electricity, telephone, or basic commodities. His love for Cape Naturaliste started when he bought the land from the Keenans. These were to form the nucleus of what was to become Naturaliste Downs. Over the years, with his forestry background, he slowly cleared the land in a very sympathetic way and established a Shorthorn stud and flock of fine wool Saxon Merino sheep. He stayed on the farm until his death some 42 years later. His two sons, John and Andrew eventually took over diversifying with vines and a brewery.
Today, Eagle Bay's Cape Naturaliste Endeavours. Source Eagle Bay Brewing.26 John was involved in many community causes. He was a member of Rotary and the Naturaliste
Masonic Lodge. He was President of the local P & C, Fire Control Officer of the Cape Naturaliste Bush Fire Brigade for three decades, and a patron of the Busselton Art Society. He served a term on the Busselton Shire Council and was President of the Forest Division of the Liberal Party for many years. He was one of two patrons who started the Dunsborough Saint John’s Ambulance and funded the first ambulance. He was actively involved in fund raising for St Mary’s church Busselton, the Bunbury Cathedral, and the Bunbury Cathedral Grammer School. He was a diocesan trustee when the Bunbury Cathedral and the Bunbury
26 Source Article Ten years of Eagle bay Brewing 8 th Dec 2022 by Guy Southern.
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Cathedral Grammar School were built. At the time of his death, aged 82, he was a member of the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park Advisory committee. John (Jean) passed away in 1992, at age 82 in Cape Naturaliste, Australia. He is buried in Dunsborough Cemetery, Dunsborough, Western Australia. Name: Jean L. d'Espeissis Birth: 8 Dec 1909 Death: 7 Apr 1992 (aged 82) Burial: Dunsborough Cemetery, Dunsborough, Busselton City, Western Australia, Australia: Memorial ID: 214366381
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Sequel – d’Espeissis Family Eagle Bay Brewing
John d'Espeissis' pragmatic advice to his kids encouraged them to launch one of Australia's most spectacular breweries. Source Eagle Bay brewing.
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Over the period from 2007 to 2010, the brewery moved from a ‘What if?’ notion to a very real, eleven-month construction, which took place partly through the Global Financial Crisis; however, Edge notes that today’s manifestation far exceeds the humble concept. “The original idea was that Nick would make the beer, I would run front of house, and we’d just maybe do some platters, maybe the size of living room," he says. "As we started to draw it, the architect said, ‘Do you want to potentially do weddings there?’ and we said that we’d like to fit maybe 120 people in, and the next thing you know the kitchen got bigger, the restaurant got bigger, and we’ve ended up with the beast that we’ve got today – that takes 60 people in summer people to run it. “By the time we’d built it, we thought if we can do a hundred people on the weekend that will be amazing, and the odd wedding. Now, on a busy summer’s day, we do six hundred main meals and there’s probably a thousand people through the doors. We knew it was going to work, but we had no idea about the scale of the thing, I guess.” "It’s not really a word, but that’s what Astrid is. I’m like, ‘Let’s have a year of consolidation' and she’s like, We're going to open a distillery, and next to that is a bakery', and I’m like ‘Who is running these things!?'.” So, what of the original head brewer? The whole reason it works is the location, which goes back to our grandfather going fishing that day. The location of where we are has given us the opportunity to do this, and in return we intend to try to hold that location together.
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ACRONYMS ACT Australian Capital Territory AFS Australian Forestry School ANGAU Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit ANU Australian National University “Beer Time” Any time. BFC Bulolo Forestry College BGD Bulolo Gold Dredging Company BUC Bulolo University College C Commonwealth cm Centimetre CFA Commonwealth Forestry Association CNGT Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers Bulolo CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation DEPT Department FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation m3 cubic metre MM Military Medal NB New Britain no. Number NG New Guinea NGF New Guinea Forces (relates to plant collection of Lae Herbarium) NZ New Zealand PNG Papua New Guinea PNGAA PNG Australia Association PNGAF Papua New Guinea Australian Foresters Magazine Series UK United Kingdom USA United States of America TPNG Territory of Papua and New Guinea TA Timber Area TA Timber Authority TRP Timber Rights Purchase WA Western Australia WW2 WORLD WAR 2
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