Sleeper Hewers
Sleeper Hewers
Home NEW Updates About Us Historic Sites Consultants Contact Us Terms/Conditions
|
#1 |
|
SLEEPER HEWERS Research by Gordon Freegard 2017 Many Sleepers Hewers worked the forests around Pickering Brook and surrounding areas. They generally lived a very lonely life often leaving their families for up to a whole week at a time. Living and working under very rugged conditions way out in the bush. These remarkable axemen became very skilled at cutting and shaping railway sleepers out of felled Jarrah logs. The way they were able to use their broad axes and wedges, was beyond belief. The hewer used "Chalk-lines" to mark the logs. These were created by a length of twine covered in ash from the campfire. They were then stretched along the log to be hewed and then pinged which left a "marked " line to which the hewer would cut. They became very precise in their ability to shape a sleeper to the exact measurements required. Eash sleeper they hewed was marked with their own particular identifying mark. Once transported to the rail-head they were inpected for quality and the sleeper-hewer was only paid for the ones that passed. |
#2 |
|
1898 CANNING MILLS HEWERS PAY BOOK SHOWING "IDENTIFYING MARKS" IN RED #13
|
|
1898 ENLARGED IMAGE OF CANNING MILLS HEWERS PAY BOOK SHOWING "IDENTIFYING MARKS" IN RED #14
|
|
The acticle below was published in GIANTS
OF THE JARRAH FORRESTS Brilliant
work by Broadaxemen – Tallies of Notable Hewers The fame of
Western Australian jarrah has spread far beyond the borders of the State, but when
“The Sunday Times” went in search of the record yield from a single tree and
the best individual efforts of hewers, they were hard to find. However, we
publish below some prolific yields and also some Herculean performances of the
part of axemen.
|
#3 |
|
The information has been collected by
Mr. A. C. Shedley, Assistant Conservator of Forests, who undertook an
investigation to see what information could be gathered. He sent out a
questionnaire to the foresters, many of them old sleeper hewers, and the result
has brought to light many interesting facts regarding some of our biggest
trees, and the skillful broad axemen who hewed them into sleepers. While it is possible that there have
been bigger trees and axemen who have put up better records, the following extracts
from the reports of the foresters are probably as nearly correct as it is
possible to get them. The men concerned have had to rely on their memories for
most of the data but the details they give are in the main from their personal
experiences and can be accepted as fact.
|
#4 |
|
From Forester
V. Lind, Willowdale. In July 1909, V. Lind hewed 96 9ft.6in.
10in. x 5in., and four 7ft. 10in. x 5in. sleepers in 48 hours. The best sleeper
cutter in my opinion was T. Roscold for quality and quantity. He never worked more
than eight hours a day, and he always had the best tally in the camp. The most
sleepers cut by me in one day was 29 7ft., 18in. x 5in. in McNeil’s paddock,
Waroona. This included falling, billeting and squaring. From Forester
H. Smith, Narrogin. In the Waterous district in 1907 or
1908, I felled a tree which gave a log 63ft. long. In about 2 weeks I cut 202
7ft. 10in. x 5in. sleepers.
|
#5 |
|
From Forester
Louis N. Weston, Busselton, previously from Pickering Brook. The late Ned Burns of Holyoake, was
reported to have cut 74 small “Govvie” (presumably for the Government Railways)
sleepers in one day from a tree he had actually felled. |
#6
|
|
From Forester
C. Hayter, Greenbushes. In October, 1904, Angus McDonald cut
156 7ft. 9in. x 4 1/2in. sleepers out of one tree, the length of the log was
77ft., and the time taken was one week. On No. 12 Group, Cowaramup, in 1923 I
cut 173 7ft. 9in. x 4 1/2in. in one week. In1911 I cut 62 7ft. 10in. x 5in.
sleepers in one day at Saltwater Gully, Greenbushes. I was then employed by Mr.
N. Phillips. |
#7
|
|
From Forester
D. Middleton, Noggerup. The greatest number of sleepers cut
from one tree that I know of was 118 7ft. 10in. x 5in. This was at Noggerup in
1928. The hewer was R. Hodson and the work took six days. I have heard of 40 7ft. 10in. x 5in.
sleepers being cut in one day, but I will not vouch for the statement.
|
#8
|
|
From Forester
W. Palmer, Dwellingup. I worked two very big trees about 3
miles south of here near the Murray River. The first was 68ft long, 15ft 3in.
girth and straight, not knot in it. I got 142 9ft. 10in. x 5in. and 42 7ft.
10in. x 5in. sleepers. That was in 1912. A couple of months later I cut the
other. The log was 50ft. long and I got from it, including the crown, 124 9ft.
10in. x 5in. and 78 7ft. 10in. x 5in., a total of 212 sleepers. They were good
trees but I cannot remember how long it took me. I know I hewed 15, 17 and 16
9fts on three consecutive days.
|
#9
|
|
From Forester
M. J. O’Sullivan, Manjimup. E. Dinneen reports that in 1911, at
Kirup, he and E. McVee cut 230 8ft. 6in. 10in.x 5in. sleepers from on tree. The
best yield I can get from this district was 130 7ft. 10in. x 5in. cut by G.
Valitich in 1923. Most of the butt of this tree was nut cut. From Forester
A. O’Leary, Dwellinup. The greatest number of sleepers cut
from one tree that I can vouch for was 135, 125 9ft. 10in. x 5in., and 10 7ft.
10in. x 5in. This tree was cut in Worsley. James Pears, of Greenbushes, in 1924, cut at Eastbrook 22 9ft. 10in. x 5in. sleepers in eight hours. He felled the tree on the previous day.
|
#10 |
|
#11 |
|
Many hundreds of thousands of railway sleepers were supplied from our Jarrah forests, to countries all over the world. The Jarrah sleepers had trementous lasting qualities and therefore were eagerly sort after by the railway companies.
|
#12
|
|
References: Article: Gordon Freegard Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Battye Library Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2008 - 2020
|
