Father Julian Tenison Woods was born on 15 November 1832 in England and entered eternal life on 7 October 1889 in Sydney. A young Julian arrived in Tasmania (from England) on 30 January 1855 and was a priest there from 25 February 1874 until 15 November 1876.
Let us celebrate, in his own words, Fr Julian in Tasmania, as he experienced the forests on this beautiful island…
Tasmanian Forests: Their Botany and Economical Value
by Rev Julian E Tenison-Woods FGS FLS
(read before the Royal Society of NSW 5 June 1878)
In February, 1874, I visited Tasmania for a missionary tour throughout the island, and for nearly three years traversed its various districts …
I sometimes resided for weeks together in some localities, and… made frequent journeys on foot amongst the splitters and fishermen… These journeys gave me leisure for observation.
Tasmania may be said generally to be a thickly timbered country… The most conspicuous objects are the tall and tapering blue gum trees… They grow so close together as quite to shut out the prospect, but so straight and wand-like that the slim lines of bark look like fine ornamental graining.
They are of immense height… Long bands of bark hang down from their sides and across their branches, and these when set in motion by the wind keep up a constant rattle and creaking, filling the gloomy forest with the strangest echoes and sounds.
The only way to prevent the wholesale destruction of the timber will be by proclaiming reserves or State forests… This is what the sawyers and splitters… are crying out for… I do not undertake to pronounce an opinion… but it does seem a mistaken liberty to allow selectors to settle on land of great value as a timber forest but useless for agriculture, until the whole of the valuable timber is ruthlessly destroyed. It seems to me… no selector should be allowed to destroy the forests. The matter is one which the Legislature should deal with promptly, or the forests of Tasmania, peerless and priceless as they once were, will soon be things of the past.
Fr Julian’s whole address is available to read here.
Colleen Power rsj