Briefly escaping the intra-state WA travel restrictions

[JohnM]

Is there any gold fossicking going on in this area ?

I’m sure there is, but to what extent I do not know.

 

[Nukie]

Thanks for the trip report. The Goldfields has some amazing places to visit, especially if you read a few of the stories behind the "settlements". The cemetry in Menzies is interesting as there were a lot of typoid deaths there. Awful seeing the young children's graves.
You will love Fitzgerald National Park, the vegetation is incredible, so different. Hope you get to Esperance as well, best beaches in the world!

 

[JohnM]

Thanks for the trip report. The Goldfields has some amazing places to visit, especially if you read a few of the stories behind the "settlements". The cemetry in Menzies is interesting as there were a lot of typoid deaths there. Awful seeing the young children's graves.
You will love Fitzgerald National Park, the vegetation is incredible, so different. Hope you get to Esperance as well, best beaches in the world!

Glad you liked it.

I didn't scope the Menzies cemetery, but those sorts of things in the Goldfields are always interesting. My father grew up in Norseman and I always loved spending school holidays there at my grandmother's.

Work and pleasure has taken me bush most of my life. I've been to Esperance plenty of times, and agree about the beaches. Same with Fitzgerald River NP, but now I can more easily get onto to some of the tracks there.

 

[Nukie]

We lived in Norseman 3 years in the mid 70's then spent 33years in Esperance. Probably came across your family. Still go bush whenever we can, frustrating at the moment!

 

[StevoQFtraveller]

We lived in Norseman 3 years in the mid 70's then spent 33years in Esperance. Probably came across your family. Still go bush whenever we can, frustrating at the moment!

Remember going to Norseman pool in the mid-70s!

 

[Cossie]

Any feedback on the Everest, @JohnM ?

 

[JohnM]

We lived in Norseman 3 years in the mid 70's then spent 33years in Esperance. Probably came across your family. Still go bush whenever we can, frustrating at the moment!

My grandmother moved out to a nursing home in Perth in the mid 1960's, but my aunt remained there for some time after that IIRC,

At least some zones are open as from today. I'm heading to the Busselton area on Wednesday.

 

[Nukie]

And we're off to Peppermint Grove Beach! See you on the road

 

[JohnM]

Any feedback on the Everest, @JohnM ?

I'm pleased with it. Had it just over three weeks now and 3K clicks on the clock.

Performing as hoped: lopes along in long-distance cruising on the highway and performs well on dirt. I'm particularly impressed with its rolling acceleration - it's easy to be heading north of 150 at the end of overtaking a road train, without being flat to the floor. Fuel economy is good - averaging 8.1 L/100 km at about 75:25% country:city driving.

 

[JohnM]

Bumping this thread.

I've just been back to the Goldfields to my son's operation for a few days. Now that the intrastate travel restrictions have been lifted, I didn't need to invoke my permit to work to get there. The roadblocks are no more, so the thread title is no longer the case.

Anyway, straight out Great Eastern Highway to turn N at Coolgardie for the c. 180 click run to camp.

Not far out of Coolgardie is this. Not Lake Ballard sculptures, but IMO a fairly clever bit of whimsy by, I presume, some locals with a sense of humour.

 

[JohnM]

Lobbed into the operation late in the day and a load of green sandalwood was in the tumbler being de-barked as the sun went down.

When I was there a few weeks ago a loader breakdown had curtailed green wood harvesting. Now back in action as my son works hard to fulfil his contract before 30 June. Mid winter is good for working conditions but the short days are a PITA. Every day's work is dawn to dark.

I'll show some pics of the tumbling in more detail later, but the cylinder is slightly angled down towards the front. The slight gap between the cylinder edge and the door allows the bark fragments to drop through as waste. Some very small pieces of harvestable wood are recovered at the same time.

 

[JohnM]

Dawn.



The target.



As mentioned previously, the industry is highly regulated by the WA Government's Forest Products Commission (FPC). Quotas, which extend to the proportions of green wood and dead wood are documented in the contracts and the FPC maps land area 'cells' designated for harvest. Everything is GPS tracked, Minimum size fro green trees is rigidly enforced. 400mm circumference 150mm above ground. Within the green wood quota is a specified ratio of roots and stems. The roots are far and away the richest source of oil, being worth about twice as much as stems. Everything is specified and regulated to get the most efficient extraction. The FPC inspector checks and signs off on each cell.



The Beast.




Jaws.

 

[JohnM]

Grab.



Lift.



Carry.



Then come back to do the all-important root-ripping - first one way then cross-ways to those rips. A characteristic of sandalwood trees is the large root that comes out laterally. I'm guessing that this has a lot to do with its parasitic habit.

 

[JohnM]

Several seeds (nuts) are required to be planted for each tree removed. The nut kernels are edible: what are sandalwood nuts | The Sandalwood Nut Company



Lay out the trees in a line and unload roots from the carrier on the back of The Beast.




The sappy bark is a contaminant and needs to be removed quickly (same day in summer; within a day in winter) before it becomes hard. The roots also have a bark.



Then trimming, cutting and separating green stems, roots and deadwood.

 

[JohnM]

Back to the yard for tumbling of the green wood and roots. Each of the two tumbles runs for about an hour.



FPC inspector rocks up.



Tumble finished.



Stacking for the semi pickup.



And that's it.

 

[drron]

Really interesting @JohnM.I've definitely learnt something new.

 

[get me outta here]

An interesting job. Does he work out there ‘all year‘, and on his own normally?

 

[Julesmac]

That's all very interesting John. I wonder who worked out what to use the trees for - are they an indigenous species? What do you do with the waste product from the tumbler? If you burnt it for your nightly camprife I imagine it would smell glorious!

 

[JohnM]

That's all very interesting John. I wonder who worked out what to use the trees for - are they an indigenous species? What do you do with the waste product from the tumbler? If you burnt it for your nightly camprife I imagine it would smell glorious!

It's a native species, Santalum spicatum. When you take in its glorious aroma, it's easy to see how a use was worked out for it. The bark waste from the tumbler has no value and no smell - the oil is in the wood.

Burning the wood, such as in a campfire, is expressly forbidden by FPC. (As I said, the industry is both very tightly regulated and very tightly specified to ensure every available gram is recovered. Wastage is anathema.) The waste bark fragments are useful to spread on the ground around the camp and work areas to suppress dust.

Th industry was a massive export earner for WA in the early 20th century.

There's plenty of interesting information (some of these links I posted earlier):

Western Australian sandalwood

Western Australian sandalwood is an important part of the State’s forestry strategy, supplying high-value products and contributing to the growth and development of regional communities.

www.fpc.wa.gov.au

Santalum spicatum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

AgriFutures Australia | Home

AgriFutures Australia is an organisation that proudly focuses on the future of Australian agriculture. We live and work in the regions and represent the interests and aspirations of farmers and rural communities. Our vision is to grow the long-term prosperity of Australian rural industries.

www.agrifutures.com.au

The Sandalwood Shop - Australian Sandalwood for Sale

Explore the distinctive range of health, beauty & well-being retail products and experience the true spirit of sandalwood. A uniquely Australian brand.

www.mtromance.com.au

There are also plantations (notably at Kununurra), but they are Indian sandalwood, a different species (S. album): Sandalwood - Wikipedia

 

[Julesmac]

It's a native species, Santalum spicatum. When you take in its glorious aroma, it's easy to see how a use was worked out for it. The bark waste from the tumbler has no value and no smell - the oil is in the wood.

Burning the wood, such as in a campfire, is expressly forbidden by FPC. (As I said, the industry is both very tightly regulated and very tightly specified to ensure every available gram is recovered. Wastage is anathema.) The waste bark fragments are useful to spread on the ground around the camp and work areas to suppress dust.

Th industry was a massive export earner for WA in the early 20th century.

There's plenty of interesting information (some of these links I posted earlier):

Western Australian sandalwood

Western Australian sandalwood is an important part of the State’s forestry strategy, supplying high-value products and contributing to the growth and development of regional communities.

www.fpc.wa.gov.au

Santalum spicatum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

AgriFutures Australia | Home

AgriFutures Australia is an organisation that proudly focuses on the future of Australian agriculture. We live and work in the regions and represent the interests and aspirations of farmers and rural communities. Our vision is to grow the long-term prosperity of Australian rural industries.

www.agrifutures.com.au

The Sandalwood Shop - Australian Sandalwood for Sale

Explore the distinctive range of health, beauty & well-being retail products and experience the true spirit of sandalwood. A uniquely Australian brand.

www.mtromance.com.au

There are also plantations (notably at Kununurra), but they are Indian sandalwood, a different species (S. album): Sandalwood - Wikipedia

Thank you