Wooden tram to the Elliott River

摘要

Sawmilling first commenced around Apollo Bay, on the southern fall of Victorias Otway Ranges in the early 1850s. This was mainly in response to the gold rushes and the demand for timber created by the mines and the new railways. However, the steep and rugged coastal ranges were not conducive to land transport - all timber being taken out by coastal vessel to Geelong and Melbourne. Due to these transport difficulties, sawmilling tended to be a cyclic affair depending on the prevailing economic conditions in the colony.