Description

A History of the Sawmills and Tramways of Warburton and District.

Hard cover, 312 pages, A4 size, 280 photographs, 50 maps, various diagrams, references, bibliography, and index.

Sixty-six kilometres east of Melbourne, and nestled deep in a valley below towering timbered slopes, for over a century Warburton has been a popular weekend destination for those attracted by its natural beauty and tranquility.

During the period prior to the First World War it was the centre of Victoria’s biggest sawmilling district.

It saw the establishment of 66 major sawmills and many smaller mills in the bush surrounding the town. They were linked to the railway at Warburton, Millgrove, and Wesburn through a complex system of wooden and steel-railed tramways. In total over 320 km of tramways could be found in the bush surrounding Warburton. Horses, locomotives, and rail tractors hauled the timber, and the tramways included many spectacular bridges, cable-worked haulages, sharp curves and steep grades.