Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This black-and-white, silent clip shows a forest scene in which two lumberjacks in the 1920s cut down a mature eucalypt. The two men are shown inserting planks to create platforms roughly 1 m up the trunk, which they then stand on to chop down the tree. Using axes and a crosscut saw, they make a V-shaped undercut on one side of the tree followed by a back cut on the opposite side, and then, as the tree begins to sway, they run away from the direction in which it falls.

Educational value points

• The method shown being used to fell trees in the 1920s has remained largely unchanged for centuries and is used universally. A front notch, or undercut, in the shape of a 'V’ is made on one side of the trunk, in the direction of the planned fall. A back cut, which is slightly higher than the front notch, is then made on the opposite side of the trunk. The back cut disconnects almost all of the tree from the stump, leaving a 'hinge’ equal to about one-tenth of the tree’s diameter that helps to control the tree’s fall.

• Tree-felling tools used in the 1920s are demonstrated in use. The lumberjacks in this clip use an axe to make the undercut and to start the back cut. They complete the back cut with a two-person crosscut saw, which cuts across the grain of the wood. The two-person crosscut saw has detachable handles so that the saw can be pulled out of the cut in the tree from one side.

• Tree-felling was at this time a particularly physical, demanding and dangerous job. In the 1920s the absence of power tools made tree-felling more labour intensive than it is today. Manual tools were replaced in the 1930s by petrol-driven drag-saws, and in the 1940s by two-person chainsaws and early versions of the modern one-person chainsaw.

• Lumberjacks then and now work under unusually hazardous conditions, having to contend with falling branches, rough terrain, snakes, insects and sometimes extremes in temperatures. Strong winds can halt logging operations, as they can affect the direction in which the cut tree falls.

• The eucalypt shown in the clip is being felled for logging purposes. In the 1920s eucalypts were the main hardwoods harvested in Australia and included jarrah, mountain ash, blackbutt, messmate, spotted gum, alpine ash, karri, river red gum and some iron-barks. Most of these eucalypts were larger and had denser wood than European trees and, as is the case in this clip, felling often had to be done several metres above the ground to avoid having to cut the broader base of the tree.

• The film From the Bush to the Bungalow was made to promote Australia’s timber industry. By the second half of the 19th century, the industry was well established and supplied a range of markets, both in Australia and overseas. Logs were cut into planks of wood at sawmills, and these planks were used in construction and manufacturing, including house framing, joinery, flooring and furniture. Hewn (roughly cut) wood was used to make sleepers, beams and posts. Logs were also split for palings, shingles and fenceposts.

• The clip may show logging in an old-growth forest. In the 1920s, timber was often harvested from old-growth forests. Today, less than 8 per cent of Australia’s pre-European old-growth forests remains, and this has led to the loss, or threat to the survival, of much of the indigenous flora and fauna that is dependent on these forests. In the 1920s and 1930s, forest services throughout Australia introduced management methods, such as forest regeneration, to ensure that forestry yields would be sustainable, and the industry would remain productive. Heated debate continues between conservationists and supporters of the forestry industry.

• From the Bush to the Bungalow is an example of an early documentary. In this period, films were silent and black and white. The size and weight of the cameras meant they were generally placed on tripods, and films tended to use long, static takes, such as those in this clip, with few close-ups. While this documentary has intertitles, it also makes use of simple edits to dramatically depict the felling of the tree. The camera is always placed at the lumberjacks’ level, suggesting that they are in control, and the full length of the tree is only revealed in a final long shot as it crashes to the ground.

This clip starts approximately 2 minutes into the documentary.

This black-and-white, silent clip shows the process of two lumberjacks cutting down a tree in the 1920s. They first insert planks into the trunk to create platforms mid way up, and then begin chopping the tree with an axe. They also use a crosscut saw. The tree begins to fall and the men run away to avoid being hit.