SEMINAR: Archaeology Seminar

Extractive industries were extremely important to the early Swan River Colony. Yet it was not until 60 years after settlement that a viable export timber industry was established. An archaeological investigation of the Canning Timber Concession to the east of Perth demonstrates how redundant and outdated transport and processing technology severely hampered the development of the industry in Western Australia. It shows that reliance on traditional British timber-processing technology was entirely inadequate to deal with local forest conditions and the processing of hardwood jarrah.