Forestry a way of life for Brian
From the Autumn/Winter 2010 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Brian Boyd relaxing during a bushfire training session.
Late last year Brian Boyd retired from Forests NSW after an amazing 48 years of service in pine plantations around Bathurst and Oberon. Sarah Chester chats to a man who has seen plenty of changes in the forestry business.
Brian Boyd started work with the Forestry Commission when he was 15 years old, after his dad told him he could leave school if he could get a job.
He began his forestry career in Jenolan State Forest doing nursery work, planting, pruning and other maintenance jobs as part of a gang of 40 or more people.
Brian was the youngest person in the gang, who used to ‘camp out’ all week at a permanent site in Jenolan State Forest, south of Oberon.
“We had to cook all our own meals and the groceries were delivered out to the camp by the mail man. It was fun and I really enjoyed the life,” he says.
“In those days we had log trucks, but we were still using draught horses to drag (snig) the pine out of the forests, which was done by contractors.
“There weren’t even many chain saws, some of them had them, but some used bowsaws for cutting the pine - and that was hard work. And nearly every tree was pruned then too, and that too was tough work.
“It feels like a long time ago, when things were nearly all done manually, and to keep yourself warm you worked harder.”
Forestry was a family affair. Brian’s mother’s father was one of the first forestry supervisors at Jenolan. The first plantings in the area in 1929 still stand today, on the edge of the Jenolan Cave’s Road, forming a majestic drive for tourists heading to the famous local caves.
Brian’s father worked in the hardwood timber industry for a long time as a tree feller, and his brother worked for the Forestry Commission for a while, before going timber cutting as a contractor.
For many years, Brian lived in a forestry house in Jenolan forest and this is where his three children where raised.
“I’ve done nearly everything you can to do with pines from roading, surveys and fire fighting, to liaison work with the public at the finish,” he says.
“I never thought I would stay in one job so long, but I loved it, and it was a job that grew with me.”
It is not unusual for forestry workers to stay in the business for 40 or more years, as Brian explains it becomes a way of life.
“A lot of the young guys were sad to see me go because of my knowledge of the region, which is valuable, and they used to ask me lots of questions,” he says.
Brian, now 66, plans to travel a little with his wife Rosemary, but says he will continue to return to the region and the pines he loves.
Sarah Chester Public Affairs & Media, Albury
