Mountains of Ash

Mountains of Ash

A History of the Sawmills & Tramways of Warburton and District

By Mike McCarthy
ISBN 0 909340 41 2

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.

The tramways provided picturesque walking tracks for holiday makers, and attracted many first class photographers.

This book includes 320 photographs. Almost all of these have not been published before.

Fifty-two of the photographs are printed as duo-tones, a special process which increases the tonal range of the photograph.

Fourteen of the maps are printed in four colours, whilst most maps and diagrams are printed in two or three colours.

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