Misplaced Pages

#885114

125-773: AIIMS is based on five key principles: The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) had begun experimenting with new fire control arrangements from the mid-1970s based on shared experiences with the US Forest Service . Different arrangements had been trialled at Cann River and Warburton during the disastrous 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires . And after the fires there were major changes in how the Forests Commission approached large fire suppression and control on State forest and National Parks. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) were responsible for fires on private land and operated independently on separate radio frequencies under

250-521: A Queensland town was a first for the state. Major flooding at Theodore persisted for more than two weeks. Emerald was cut off by road on 29 December as the Nogoa River rose. By the next day, the river surpassed the 2008 flood peak level of 15.36 metres (50.4 ft). At the peak of the flooding, 80% of the town was flooded, the worst the town ever experienced. Twelve hundred Emerald residents registered as evacuees. Rockhampton had nearly

375-550: A trough during the peak of a La Niña Modoki event. The 2010 La Niña Modoki weather pattern, which brings wetter conditions to eastern Australia, was the strongest since 1973. This La Niña event caused a prolonged event of heavy rainfall over Queensland river catchments. Record or near record sea surface temperatures were recorded off the Queensland coast in late 2010. December 2010 was Queensland's wettest on record, with record-high rainfall totals set in 107 locations for

500-585: A Victorian version, which became known as the Large Fire Organisation (LFO). Importantly, the LFO was designed to be scalable; from Level 1 for simple local incidents, through to Level 3 for complex multi-agency and campaign bushfires. By the summer of 1984-85 the LFO was being progressively adopted, with dedicated Incident Management Teams (IMTs) complete with Incident Controllers, Operations, Planning and Logistics units identified and trained within

625-605: A complete bridge across a narrow ravine" .... William Ferguson, The Melbourne Age, February 1872. In 1976, a monument was unveiled by the Hon Jim Balfour to the "World's Tallest Tree" near Thorpdale which in 1884 was measured by a surveyor, George Cornthwaite at 375 feet after it had been chopped down. This account was reported in the Victorian Field Naturalist many years later in July 1918 and

750-504: A continuous column of water up against the forces of gravity. The crowns of the tallest trees need to lift sap more than 10 times the surrounding atmospheric pressure by combining the complex physics of capillary action and leaf transpiration of the water pathway known as the Soil Plant Atmosphere Continuum . Contrary to popular belief, tree roots do not pump water. There had long been recognition of

875-569: A devastating wall of water through the city centre. This water then headed west—not towards the Lockyer Valley which was also experiencing extreme rainfall that fell on eastern facing slopes. The surge associated with rainfall which fell on the eastern side of the range passed through the Lockyer Valley town of Withcott , where the force of the water pushed cars into shops and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. The scene

1000-413: A forestry position without completing a relevant course and passing a special examination, thus paving the way for the establishment of a forestry school. The Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) at Creswick was established in 1910 and was located at the old hospital which had been built in 1863 during the gold rush. The creation of VSF was one of the many recommendations of the 1901 Royal Commission and

1125-705: A group structure. Cross agency issues sometimes arose within the “Marginal Mile”; so FCV and CFA liaison officers were often appointed in the event of large or complex bushfires. During 1984, Kevin Monk from the FCV’s Fire Protection Branch travelled on a Churchill Fellowship to California to study the United States National Incident Management System (NIMS) . He brought back the NIMS documentation and developed

1250-459: A half-degree Celsius rise in ocean temperatures around Australia to global warming (which produces extra water vapour and intensifies the monsoon). Other scientists say that it is too early to draw such a conclusion. Assertions were also made by Professor Hubert Chanson , an expert in dam and reservoir engineering with extensive firsthand knowledge of the Wivenhoe system, that mismanagement of

1375-725: A height of five feet above the ground and at 10 feet up its circumference was still 50 feet. He estimated its height to be 287 feet (20 feet shorter than his earlier 1895 measurements). There was some debate from the Healesville Tourism Association during this period about its name but either way the Mueller – Furmston Tree was a popular destination inside the Melbourne Water closed catchments until it collapsed in about 2000. Recent measurements between 2000 and 2002 of over 200 of Victoria's trees found

SECTION 10

#1732773305886

1500-412: A level equivalent to 191% of its supply capacity on 11 January 2011. Although the dam can hold the equivalent of 225% of its supply capacity, storage exceeding 100% is required to be progressively released through the floodgates to restore capacity to mitigate future flood events. Brisbane experienced its wettest December since 1859. Wyaralong Dam , near Beaudesert , had recently been completed and

1625-547: A long and proud history of innovation and of managing Victoria's State forests but in September 1983 lost its discrete identity when it was merged into the newly formed Victorian Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL) along with the Crown Lands and Survey Department, National Park Service, Soil Conservation Authority and Fisheries and Wildlife Service. After the amalgamation the management of State forests and

1750-674: A peak in the early hours of Thursday morning, 13 January. The dam's releases into the Brisbane River also caused the Bremer River , which winds through the city of Ipswich , and the Lockyer Creek to back up and cause much of the flooding outside Brisbane ." This was corroborated by a panel of engineers hired by Insurance Council of Australia . O'Brien also found that the Wivenhoe Dam and Somerset Dam did not hold

1875-446: A result of the floods. National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements were made available to a total of 31 local government areas across Queensland . New Zealand announced that the country would send two fifteen-member civil defence teams to assist in flood rescue efforts. New Zealand also offered x3 RNZAF Bell UH-1H helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft, to assist with relief efforts, and air transport, however this offer

2000-476: A single-story house does not require an Incident Control Centre (i.e. control room) with six people managing the incident; however, the 2010–2011 Queensland floods required all functional areas to be filled by a separate individual as other people filling the other roles which come under each functional area (e.g. welfare, catering etc.) as a single person would not be able to handle the logistics, operations, planning etc. all by themselves as would be expected of

2125-403: A storm later in 1959. The tallest tree on the plot was reduced from 301.5 feet to about 276 feet after a large part of its crown was damaged. Another major storm on 21 December 1973 reduced it further to 267 feet. The Chairman of the Forests Commission, Alfred Vernon Galbraith studied mountain ash for his Diploma of Forestry (Vic) and wrote in 1937 that "they can make serious claims to be

2250-492: A thunderstorm raced through Toowoomba's central business district. Rainfall from the same storm devastated communities in the Lockyer Valley. A few days later, thousands of houses in Ipswich and Brisbane were inundated as the Brisbane River rose and Wivenhoe Dam used a considerable proportion of its flood mitigation capacity. Volunteers were quick to offer assistance, and sympathy was expressed from afar. A large mobilisation of

2375-445: A tremendous spirit of volunteering right across Queensland ...". Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard toured flood-affected areas on 31 December, the day before The Queen ( Elizabeth II ), sent her expressions of concern and sympathy for the victims of the floods to her representative in Queensland, Governor Penelope Wensley . The Queen later made a donation to her Queensland premier's flood relief appeal, as did her son,

2500-546: A week to prepare for an expected flood peak from the Fitzroy River , which courses through the centre of the city. The airport was closed on 1 January. A metal flood barrier was erected around the terminal to prevent flood-borne debris from causing damage to the structure. An evacuation centre was set up at the Central Queensland University . The Bruce Highway leading south out of Rockhampton

2625-474: A wide diversity of native forest, dominated by eucalyptus (often known as gum trees). These forests contain many diverse habitats and include those found in the cool, mountainous, high rainfall areas in the east of the state, and in the Otways and Strzelecki Ranges near the coast. These wet forests are dominated by stands of alpine ash , messmate , shining gum and mountain ash (the tallest hardwood tree in

SECTION 20

#1732773305886

2750-616: A wide range of harvesting techniques such as clear-felling through to single tree selection. Much of the early silvicultural knowledge was unsuccessfully translated from Europe so in response to some difficulties achieving satisfactory regrowth after harvesting the Commission pioneered much of the early scientific research into the biology of the eucalypts and developed many innovative operational techniques for high intensity slash burning, aerial seeding, planting, thinning and tending. This commitment to silvicultural research continued throughout

2875-471: Is a clear hierarchy to ensure consistent management of an emergency. Along with span of control this allows for a flexible, scalable and manageable structure that can be tailored for the unique requirements of an incident. As no two incidents are the same, the structure needed to meet the demands of various incidents must also vary to adapt to the situation. The ability to scale the structure to combine different roles for smaller incidents and then separate out

3000-536: Is about A$ 30 billion. As of March 2012, there were 33 deaths attributed to the floods, with a further three people still missing. Three-quarters of the council areas within the state of Queensland were declared disaster zones. Communities along the Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers were particularly hard hit, while the Condamine, Ballone, and Mary Rivers recorded substantial flooding. An unexpected flash flood caused by

3125-479: Is appointed who is ultimately responsible and accountable for all of the five functions. Depending on the size and complexity of an incident, the Incident Controller may elect to delegate one or more of the functions of planning, public information, operations and logistics. Functional management dictates that there can only be one Incident Controller managing an incident at any one time. Delegation of

3250-408: Is influenced by species, genetics, age, stand density, soil type and depth, rainfall, aspect, altitude, protection from wind and snow damage, fire history and insect attack. Scientists believe that trees have a theoretical maximum height of 130 m (430 ft), even though there are many historical accounts of taller trees. The main physiological factor limiting tree height is its ability to suck

3375-532: Is often considered the most reliable record of Victoria's tallest tree. The public remained fascinated by large trees and to celebrate the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888 offered a reward for the tallest tree. Parliamentarian and exhibition organiser, James Munro personally offered an additional £100 for anyone who could locate a tree taller than 400 feet. No such tree was ever found. The tallest tree reliably measured for

3500-524: Is owed by State-owned dam operator Seqwater who is appealing the decision for which a hearing is scheduled for May. The appeal was successful. Brisbane experienced major flooding in 1893 and 1974 as the Brisbane River broke its bank and inundated low-lying areas. Towns, including St. George and Theodore, had dealt with major flooding earlier in 1996. The floods were a result of heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Cyclone Tasha that combined with

3625-493: The Australian Natives Association (ANA) was formed and joined the campaign and were active on forest conservation for a prolonged period. The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) became involved in 1881. It is surprising and perhaps ironic that organised mining interests, including influential mining parliamentarians, were the early public advocates for forest protection, taking up the cause in

3750-706: The Coroner on 5 June 2012. Flooding began to affect low-lying areas of Brisbane on the morning of 11 January 2011. By around 2:30 p.m. AEST, the Brisbane River broke its banks leading to evacuations in the Brisbane CBD and the suburbs of Fortitude Valley and West End . An evacuation centre was established for flood-affected residents at the RNA Showgrounds in Bowen Hills . Residents of 2,100 Brisbane streets were advised to evacuate prior to

3875-545: The Darling Downs , was hit by flash flooding after more than 160 millimetres (6.3 in) of rain fell in 36 hours to 10 January 2011; this event caused four deaths in a matter of hours. Cars were washed away (see video ). Toowoomba sits on the watershed of the Great Dividing Range , some 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level. A three-week period where it had rained on all but three days had left

Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System - Misplaced Pages Continue

4000-613: The Geographical Society accompanied by renowned photographer John William Lindt who also was the owner of "The Hermitage" guesthouse on the Black's Spur . The tree was then "rediscovered" and renamed by Mr Harold Furmston, an employee of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in the 1930s. It was remeasured once again by Mr A. D. Hardy in 1933 who proclaimed it to be still in good health, 62 feet in circumference at

4125-695: The Great War including the famous hero at both Gallipoli and the Western Front – Albert Jacka , VC. Servicemen returning from the First World War renewed pressure on forest clearing with the expansion of various soldier settlement schemes. Between 1903 and 1928 the Crown estate was significantly reduced down to about one third of the State or 8.6 million hectares. Victoria is blessed with

4250-519: The Legislative Council which was dominated by pastoral and grazing interests and which had resisted land reform. Berry's election manifesto proposed a punitive land tax designed to break up the squatter class's great pastoral properties – about 800 men at this time owned most of Victoria's grazing lands. But separately, in a bold and visionary political move, the management of 157,000 hectares of Melbourne's forested water catchments of

4375-511: The Rally for Relief which was held at Rod Laver Arena and attended by 15,000 people, which raised A$ 750,000. The Seven Network televised the event. Players who took part included Roger Federer , Rafael Nadal , Lleyton Hewitt , Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick . On 27 January, the 2011 Legends of Origin charity match was contested between former New South Wales and Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players. Organised by Mark Geyer ,

4500-516: The Wheel of Brisbane , was itself inundated by flood waters only two days later. At the first Twenty20 cricket match between Australia and England in Adelaide on 12 January, both teams donated part of their match fees to help the victims and A$ 28,450 was collected from people in attendance. On 16 January, the day before the 2011 Australian Tennis Open commenced, a number of players took part in

4625-409: The Wivenhoe Dam might be a contributor to the some flooding in the lower Brisbane valley. While an expert engineer, Michael O'Brien—a senior manager of an ASX-listed resources company and an outside consultant evaluating cause—agrees that "massive releases of water from Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday, 11 January, did indeed produce most of the flooding in the Brisbane River the following afternoon, with

4750-434: The 1860s. Their advocacy was based more on the profitability of their mining interests than forest conservation. The miners selfishly wanted well-regulated state forest reserves to ensure a plentiful future supply of mining timbers at reasonable prices. In 1871, local Forest Boards attempted to exercise some control, however the task of regulating wasteful clearing proved formidable and they were abolished in 1876. By 1873 it

4875-416: The 1918 Act are thought to have been derived from the earlier 1907 legislation and include: Significantly, the new legislation provided for the establishment of a Forestry Fund so the Commission could raise its own revenue from timber sales and enter into loans and therefore give it some capacity to implement its own policies and programs. Revenue from timber royalties and other sources grew five-fold within

5000-415: The 2010-2011 Queensland floods, improvements needed to be made around who is responsible for intelligence, inter-service communication etc. Whether these have been overcome by the promotion of Intelligence and Public Information may become clear as debriefs from the 2019-2020 summer fires take place across Australia. Unity of Command refers to the need for each individual to only have one leader and there

5125-585: The AIIMS functions as the incident grows or changes is one of the key advantages of AIIMS. Forests Commission Victoria The Forests Commission Victoria ( FCV ) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria , Australia between 1918 and 1983. The Commission was responsible for ″forest policy, prevention and suppression of bushfires, issuing leases and licences, planting and thinning of forests,

Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System - Misplaced Pages Continue

5250-484: The Australian Defence Force was activated and a relief fund created. The head of the recovery taskforce was Major General Michael Slater . The Queensland Reconstruction Authority (CEO was Graeme Newton) was formed to coordinate the rebuilding program beyond the initial task force, and a Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate all matters related to the floods. The state's coal industry

5375-574: The Brisbane suburbs worst affected by the floods were St Lucia , West End , Rocklea and Graceville . The floods damaged some of Brisbane's icons. The Brisbane Riverwalk, a floating walkway over the Brisbane River linking the inner city neighbourhoods of Fortitude Valley and New Farm , broke up, with a section forming a 300-metre (980 ft) "floating missile" that threatened the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges . The largest part of

5500-465: The British people for those who have died, those who have lost their homes and all those who have been affected by the floods in Queensland." "As we weep for what we have lost, and as we grieve for family and friends and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we are. We are Queenslanders. We're the people that they breed tough, north of the [New South Wales] border. We're

5625-477: The House in 1895, it was "so frank and outspoken that it has never been published". I am very unfavourably impressed with the state of the forests .... I am surprised that some effectual measures have not been taken to prevent further waste .... present arrangements are quite puerile and so ill-conceived that they can scarcely be discussed Later on 14 June 1888, the first Conservator of Forests, George Samuel Perrin

5750-476: The Imperial Forest Service. His report prompted yet another Royal Commission which commenced in 1897 and produced 14 separate reports before closing in 1901. "State forest conservancy and management are in an extraordinary backward state" .... Inspector-General Berthold Ribbentrop, Imperial Forest Service – 1896. Departmental restructuring and uncertainty is not new. Between 1856 and 1907

5875-655: The Incident Controller, in consultation with the Incident Management Team, determines the desired outcomes of the incident. These are communicated to all involved. At any point in time, an incident can have only one set of objectives and one Incident Action Plan for achieving objectives. The control system of AIIMS is based on a structure of delegation with five functional areas: Control, Planning, Public Information, Operations and Logistics. This guarantees that all vital management and information functions are performed. For every incident, an Incident Controller

6000-618: The Prince of Wales (now Charles III ). In March 2011, Charles' eldest son, Prince William , toured the affected areas in Queensland, as well as those damaged by the floods in Victoria . US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, "On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I offer my condolences for the loss of life and damage in Queensland caused by the recent flooding." US President Barack Obama said he

6125-682: The State Government's first "Overseer of Forests and Crown Land Bailiff " who was appointed in 1869. In a letter written in the Melbourne Age newspaper from Ferguson to the Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands, Clement Hodgkinson , dated 22 February 1872 he reported trees in great number and exceptional size in the Watts River catchment but his account is often disputed as unreliable. "Some places, where

6250-613: The Upper Yarra were vested in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) in 1891 but with a controversial closed catchment policy where timber harvesting and public access was not permitted. Perhaps exemplifying the influence of Indian forestry throughout the British Empire , in 1895 the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey, Sir Robert Wallace Best , invited Inspector-General Berthold Ribbentrop , from

6375-492: The Water Supply Dept in 1889, it was found to be only 219 feet 9 inches. Its girth had also shrunk from 114 feet to 48 feet. Poor measurement techniques in thick scrub may partly explain the anomalies. In 1982, Ken Simpendorfer, a senior officer with the Forests Commission undertook a search of official Victorian archives. He unearthed a forgotten report from more than a century ago and a claim by William Ferguson,

SECTION 50

#1732773305886

6500-721: The Yarra Valley, Otways and Dandenong Ranges reaching "half a thousand feet". Doyle was later savagely criticised by Melbourne newspapers in 1889 about a tree he had named "The Baron" in homage to his friend von Mueller. The tree was growing at Sassafras Gully in the Dandenong Ranges and Doyle had initially measured it in 1879 at 522 feet tall. It was later remeasured for the Melbourne exhibition in 1888 where it had reduced in size to 466 feet. However, when properly measured by Commissioner Perrin and surveyor Mr Fuller from

6625-560: The alps near Mt Buffalo were the first major test for the newly formed Department of CFL. It was also the largest deployment of firefighting aircraft in Australia up to that time, including 20 helicopters and 16 fixed-wing aircraft from the FCV, Australian Defence Force and NSCA.  The LFO was given a thorough test run at these fires. Later Chief Fire Officers, Barry Johnston (1987-90), Rod Incoll (1990-96) and Gary Morgan (1996-2005) maintained

6750-431: The arrival of floods, which struck the city on 12 January. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman stated than an estimated 20,000 homes would be affected when the river peaked on 14 January. He subsequently advised that the Brisbane River transport infrastructure had been "substantially destroyed". The Brisbane River peaked on 13 January at a lower level than predicted, but still 20,000 houses in Brisbane were inundated. Some of

6875-444: The central business district and at least 3,000 houses. One third of the city was reported to be underwater and over 1,100 people took shelter at evacuation centres. At Minden, on the border of Ipswich City, a four-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters when he fell from a rescue boat. A man in his fifties died when he accidentally drove into floodwaters in the Ipswich suburb of Wulkuraka . The worst affected areas of Ipswich were

7000-638: The coast). By 30 December vast areas of Southern and Central Queensland were affected by the flood. The conditions led to a large influx of snakes in the Rockhampton area, as well as some crocodiles. Flooding was widespread across Queensland and New South Wales from the end of December 2010 to January 2011 with several separate rain events causing rivers to rise over a lengthy period. Many places, including Condamine and Chinchilla were inundated by flood waters on multiple occasions. About 300 roads were closed, including nine major highways. During

7125-468: The conservation and aesthetic values of Victoria's large forest trees. As early as 1866 Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller , the Government botanist published some astonishing, and probably exaggerated claims of a mountain ash ( Eucalyptus regnans – monarch of the eucalypts) on the Black's Spur near Healesville being 480 feet high. There were reports from nurseryman David Boyle and others of trees in

7250-589: The curriculum at the Victorian School of Forestry. They received valued support from Governor-General Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson during the war years over political interference in forest management, securing adequate funding, reducing waste, expanding softwood plantations and addressing growing international concern at impending timber shortages. The new Forest Act (1907) also recognised that effective management of forests required appropriately skilled staff, stipulating that no person could be appointed to

7375-518: The deployment was the largest for a natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy . About 35 State Emergency Service personnel from New South Wales and 20 personnel from Victoria were deployed to provide relief to exhausted staff and volunteers. A national appeal was established on 29 December, with the state and federal governments giving A$ 1 million each. Small businesses and primary producers in 13 local government areas became eligible for grants of up to A$ 25,000 to pay for costs from damage incurred as

7500-403: The development of plantations, reforestation, nurseries, forestry education, the development of commercial timber harvesting and marketing of produce, building and maintaining forest roads, provision of recreation facilities, protection of water, soils and wildlife, forest research and making recommendations on the acquisition or alienation of land for forest purposes″. The Forests Commission had

7625-543: The early 1800s, around 88% of the 23.7 million hectare colony of what was to become the State of Victoria in 1851 was tree covered. However, the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s combined with widespread and indiscriminate land clearing for mining, agriculture and settlement became one of the major causes of forest loss and degradation. This caused alarm amongst early foresters and the wider community. Forest management in

SECTION 60

#1732773305886

7750-418: The environment in which supervision is required can rapidly change and become dangerous if not managed effectively. Up to five reporting groups or individuals is considered to be desirable, as this maintains a supervisor’s ability to effectively task, monitor and evaluate performance. Where span of control is exceeded, the supervising officer should consider delegating responsibility to others. Conversely, where

7875-514: The evacuation of 300 homes. The Bundaberg Port , a major sugar exporting facility, was closed late in December 2010 as flooding deposited silt in the port, forcing its closure. The port re-opened in early March 2011 after successful dredging operations allowed ships to berth. Chinchilla and Jericho were also inundated. At least 40 residents were evacuated from Chinchilla. Flooding in Dalby

8000-833: The exhibition was the "New Turkey Tree" reported to be near Mt Baw Baw (but probably closer to Noojee on the New Turkey Spur which is not far from the Ada Tree) at 326 feet 1 inch with a girth of 25 feet and 7 inches. Around the turn of the century, Nicholas John Caire named and photographed many on Victoria's remaining giant trees including King Edward VII at Marysville. Some of his photos were displayed in Victorian Railways carriages and made into postcards. However, by this time most of largest and straightest trees had already been removed by timber splitters . A more authoritative list "Giant Trees of Victoria"

8125-455: The first five years. The Commission was also authorised to recruit, employ and manage its own staff. Prior to the 1918 legislation, forest areas were reserved by the Minister of Lands and Agriculture who was also responsible for alienating Crown Land for farming and towns. There were obvious conflicts in administering these competing responsibilities. As a result, permanent forest reservation

8250-475: The floating boardwalk was safely guided under the bridge by a tugboat and past other infrastructure before being safely secured. Brisbane's major Rugby league and Soccer (Association Football) venue, Suncorp Stadium , filled with water up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep, reaching the third or fourth row of seats. With the flood peaking at 4.46 metres (14.6 ft) in Brisbane City, the flood level

8375-646: The flood that followed, saying the "dam was run with outstanding precision." Isolated flooding started across parts of the state in early December. On 23 December, a monsoonal trough crossed the coast from the Coral Sea , bringing torrential rain that fell in a broad swath from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gold Coast . The widest range of intense rainfall occurred on 27 December (with very high daily totals recorded on 25 December, near where Cyclone Tasha crossed

8500-520: The flood waters had reached a height of 7 or 8 metres (23 or 26 ft) by the time it struck Grantham. The peak discharge rate around Withcott and Grantham where Lockyer Creek is joined by Gatton Creek, was estimated to be 3,500 m second. At least 100 people were evacuated to the Helidon Community Hall. Nine people were confirmed dead, and many more feared dead among 66 reported missing. The body of one victim washed away at Grantham

8625-491: The flooding it was reported that more than three-quarters of Queensland was affected by flooding. The flooding initially forced the evacuation of 1,000 people from Theodore and other towns, described as unprecedented by the acting chief officer of the Emergency Management Queensland . The military transported residents by helicopter to an evacuation centre at Moura . The total evacuation of

8750-501: The following weeks, five others died from similar circumstances. Nine people drowned after being caught directly by the flowing waters and thirteen people died in other circumstances. Thirteen-year-old Jordan Lucas Rice died 10 January 2011 after insisting that his 10-year-old brother, Blake, be saved from the flood waters before him. He drowned along with his mother, 43-year-old Donna Maree Rice, both being residents of Toowoomba . He has been called an Australian hero by

8875-621: The forestry profession continued but the tempo of change accelerated, with many more departmental restructures occurring over the subsequent three decades. Responsibilities are currently split between the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) , Parks Victoria , Melbourne Water , Alpine Resorts Commission, the State Government-owned commercial entity VicForests and the privately owned Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP). Before European settlement in

9000-458: The forests is being used to find remaining stands of tall trees. The tallest regrowth mountain ash in Victoria is currently named Artemis which can be found near Beenak at 302 feet (92 m) while the Ada Tree at 236 feet (72 m) is thought to be between 350 and 450 years old, but with a senescent crown and is a popular tourist destination in State forest east of Powelltown . Australia's

9125-492: The full transition to other agencies and interstate. The operation, training and slow uptake of AIIMS were some of the key issues at the Coronial Inquest into the deaths of five CFA firefighters at Linton in December 1998. The first major deployment of Australian firefighter's to America in 2000 was made possible by the adoption of AIIMS. To ensure all incident personnel are working towards one set of objectives,

9250-438: The functions results in an Incident Management Team of up to five people and enables span of control to be maintained. The Public Information Unit was added the AIIMS 3rd edition (2011) as a result of recommendations from the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission. Span of control is a concept that relates to the number of groups or individuals that can be successfully supervised by one person. During emergency incidents,

9375-572: The internet. Currently the world's tallest living tree is a Sequoia sempervirens , named the Hyperion , discovered in California in 2006. It is believed to be between 700 and 800 years old and was measured at 380.3 feet. Silviculture is defined as the art and science of controlling the establishment, health, growth, quality, protection and use of forests. It can involve a range of treatments such as planting, seeding, thinning, together with

9500-475: The late 1800s was chaotic. As early as 1865, the Argus Newspaper took up the cause of ‘protecting our forests’ arguing the substantial benefits of timber production, avoiding the wasting of soil, conserving natural streams, avoiding adverse climate impacts and beneficially distributing storm runoff. Later on 16 September 1869, the first "Overseer of Forests and Crown Land Bailiff ", William Ferguson

9625-488: The life of the Commission. 2010%E2%80%932011 Queensland floods A series of floods hit Queensland , Australia, beginning in December 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at A$ 1 billion before it was raised to $ 2.38 billion. The estimated reduction in Australia's GDP

9750-476: The local hospital and aged care home were evacuated as a precaution and an evacuation centre was established. Heavy rain in the Mary River catchment on 8–9 January 2011 led to flooding at Maryborough and Gympie . The Mary River at Maryborough was expected to initially peak at 8.5 metres (28 ft) at midday 9 January with some houses and businesses inundated by flood waters. The city of Toowoomba , in

9875-569: The management of the locust plague , where they used an AIIMS-like system called the Biosecurity Incident Management System (BIMS) to manage the incident. Like AIIMS, BIMS is a derivative of NIIMS. As with any system it is not without its criticisms, mainly stemming from when people should delegate (i.e. scale the system) from a single incident controller to an IC plus Operations Officer, or when to involve planning. As demonstrated by Black Saturday bushfires or

10000-407: The maximum capacity they were capable of holding during the crisis period, which would have significantly alleviated flooding. Only one source, Neal Ashkanasy , who specialises in social and organisational psychology (and 35 years ago was involved in the design of Wivenhoe Dam ), found fault with these results and instead finds that the dam was operated correctly throughout the time of the storm and

10125-595: The media and in 2015 was post-humously awarded the Australian Bravery Medal for his sacrifice. More than 55,000 volunteers registered to help clean up the streets of Brisbane, with thousands more unregistered volunteers wandering the muddy streets with gumboots and mops. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the volunteering effort showed tremendous 'Aussie spirit' and that, "... right across Queensland today people have got up, they've marched out of their homes and they've gone to find people to help. It's

10250-744: The momentum for changes to command-and-control arrangements at large bushfires in Victoria. Significantly, in 1986, the Victorian Emergency Management Act provided for a single controller to be appointed for each joint CFA/CFL bushfire. Later in 1988 the Australian Association of Rural Fire Authorities adopted the principals embodied in LFO and NIMS. The LFO became the forerunner of the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) which

10375-541: The month. The state's average rainfall level of 209.45 millimetres (8.25 in) exceeded the previous record of 200.1 millimetres (7.88 in) set in 1975. 2010 was also recorded as the state's wettest spring since 1900, and the Australian continent's third-wettest year. Climate scientist Kevin Trenberth thought climate change was a contributing factor in the unusually high precipitation rates. He attributed

10500-476: The native forest which had suffered from indiscriminate cutting. However, frustrated at the lack of progress in forestry and broader forest conservation, several foresters and scientists formed the Australian Forest League (AFL) in 1912 which stayed active for the next 34 years. The inaugural President was notable botanist, Professor Alfred James Ewart from Melbourne University, who oversaw

10625-578: The new Conservation, Forests, and Lands (CFL) Regions. CFL replaced the Forests Commission in mid 1983. Athol Hodgson was appointed CFL’s first Chief Fire Officer (1984-87) and was a strong advocate for new emergency arrangements. He led a high-level delegation of Australian bushfire controllers on a study tour to the USA and Canada in 1984. Brian Potter, Chief of the CFA (1985-91), was on the tour and also became an enthusiastic supporter. The fires of January 1985 in

10750-608: The ones that they knock down, and we get up again. Together we can pull through this and that's what I'm determined to do, with your help, we can achieve it". Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh . Major General Michael Slater was appointed head of a civilian recovery task force. Slater was at the time also the Commander of the 1st Division based at the Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera , Brisbane. The taskforce

10875-560: The purposes of agricultural settlement. For nearly 50 years there had been Government inquiries, three independent reports from D'A. Vincent (1887), Perrin (1890), Ribbentrop (1895), the Royal Commission (1897–1901) together with impassioned speeches and separate pieces of legislation calling for the conservation of the states forests which had all been brought unsuccessfully before the Victorian Parliament. It

11000-492: The responsibility for administration of Victoria's forest estate shunted back and forth at least eleven times between three Government Departments including Lands and Survey, Agriculture and Mines. In 1900 State forests were still commonly regarded by the general public, and by most of their parliamentary representatives, as the inexhaustible "wastelands of the Crown" and ready for disposal via alienation into freehold property for

11125-539: The results of forest management under the great European foresters Brandis , Schlich and Ribbentrop , the Government invited Conservator Frederick D'A. Vincent from the Imperial Forest Service in India to visit in 1887 and make recommendations. But to seek advice was one thing; to take it was another, and while Vincent's scathing report was available to subsequent inquiries and was eventually tabled in

11250-548: The river peaked at 16.1 metres (53 ft) with floodwaters reaching two houses. Both towns were isolated for several days and there was major disruption to the potable water supply and local agricultural production. Bundaberg experienced severe flooding, the worst in 40 years, after the Burnett River flooded the city, although the Paradise Dam reservoir contributed to some flood mitigation. This resulted in

11375-551: The school became the first of its kind in Australia. In December 1918, a comprehensive amendment to the Forests Act created the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) with three Commissioners to lead a new independent organisation. The new Commission first met on 1 October 1919 and the chairman was a young Welsh Forester, Owen Jones while the first Minister was William Hutchinson . The key principals of

11500-650: The significance of forests for public purposes but the budget allocation was a paltry £4000. La Gerche established a nursery at Sawpit Gully in 1887 near what is now the Victorian School of Forestry at Creswick. He went onto become one of the founding Inspectors in the new State Forest Department in 1907. At the urging of the Governor of Victoria , Lord Henry Brougham Loch , who had served in Bengal cavalry and maintained an interest in forests, and had seen there

11625-484: The single-story fire (at least in the first instance). This scalability is also demonstrated by AIIMS being used by other agencies such as Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) where they state "the use of the AIIMS system promotes effective joint operations through the use of common structures and terminology" when they collaborate with other agencies using AIIMS to manage public land emergencies (e.g. floods, fires etc.). Its uses also extended to

11750-416: The soil around Toowoomba super saturated and when a line of storms hit the city on 10 January, the resulting torrential rain rapidly ran off down gullies and streets. The central business district of the city sits in a small valley where two small water courses—East Creek and West Creek—meet to form Gowrie Creek . Unable to cope with the volume of water heading toward them, the creeks burst their banks, pushing

11875-402: The span of control is lower or the tasks are fewer (for example in a de-escalating incident), the supervisor may reassume responsibility or reorganise delegation to contract the structure to fit the tasks required. The way in which AIIMS is "scalable" is that it does not require the full-scale response to every incident – it allows for the build-up of resources and response activity. For example,

12000-461: The status-quo and introducing restrictive forest legislation. Matters had come to a head previously on Black Wednesday (9 January 1878) when the State Government sacked over 300 senior public servants and judges suddenly overnight without warning. The sackings were in part directed at the desire of the Premier, Graham Berry , to penalise those in the public service who backed the intransigence of

12125-455: The suburbs of Goodna and Gailes . The flooding led to a rare plausible claim of sharks swimming in a flooded urban area , with reports of bull sharks swimming in two streets in Goodna's center. Further upstream, Hubners Bridge and Richards Bridge near Kilcoy were washed away. Both bridges have been rebuilt and reopened in 2012. In South East Queensland , the Wivenhoe Dam filled to

12250-517: The tallest measured living specimen of mountain ash, named Centurion , stands 100.5 metres (330 feet) tall in Tasmania . Whether a mountain ash over 400 feet high ever existed in Victoria is now almost impossible to substantiate but the early accounts from the 1860s are still quoted in contemporary texts such as the Guinness Book of Records and Carder, as well as being widely restated on

12375-422: The tallest specimen of mountain ash was inside Melbourne Water's Wallaby Creek Catchment at Kinglake being over 300 years old and 301 feet (92 m) high. The height was accurately determined using a ground-based laser rangefinder and then verified by a tree climber with a tapeline, however it later perished along with 15 other tall trees during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires . Modern Lidar imagery of

12500-497: The tape line one huge specimen that lay prostrate across a tributary of the Watts and found it to be 435 feet from the roots to the top of its trunk. At 5 feet from the ground it measures 18 feet in diameter. At the extreme end where it has broken in its fall, it (the trunk) is 3 feet in diameter. This tree has been much burnt by fire, and I fully believe that before it fell it must have been more than 500 feet high. As it now lies it forms

12625-426: The trees are fewer and at a lower altitude, the timber is much larger in diameter, averaging from 6 to 10 feet and frequently trees to 15 feet in diameter are met with on alluvial flats near the river. These trees average about ten per acre: their size, sometimes, is enormous. Many of the trees that have fallen by decay and by bush fires measure 350 feet in length, with girth in proportion. In one instance I measured with

12750-516: The western suburbs of Brisbane were cut off for three days. Resident of suburbs including Bellbowrie , Karana Downs , Moggill and Pullenvale were running low on food and other items when Moggill Road was cut, until the Australian Army was able to reach the area on 15 January with supplies. The Bremer River at Ipswich , 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Brisbane, reached a height of 19.4 metres (64 ft) on 12 January, inundating

12875-487: The world's highest tree". His successor, Finton Gerraty personally measured a fallen tree near Noojee after the 1939 bushfires at 338 feet and with "its top tantalisingly broken off". The Mueller Tree grew on Mount Monda north of Healesville , measured 307 feet, and was made famous after a visit in 1895 by a party including Baron Von Muller , Mr A. D. Hardy, from the State Forests and Nurseries Branch, members of

13000-461: The world). They remain the major source of high-quality seasoning timber for furniture, flooring, joinery and pulpwood. The dryer foothill forests contain mixtures of messmate and other commercial species, whereas the Murray River has extensive stands of durable red gum along its banks. Large tracts of mallee desert and box- ironbark woodlands are found in the drier northwest. Tree height

13125-506: The years to come. Nonetheless, the challenges facing the new organisation were formidable, including protecting ecosystems about which little was scientifically understood, and responsibility for vast areas of rugged, remote country about which little was known. The next ten years saw a steady expansion in staff numbers, promulgation of controlling regulations, increased production from the forest, thinning and fire protection works such as fire break construction, together with rehabilitation of

13250-742: Was Hugh Robert Mackay who had been both a Senior Inspector and Secretary to the Royal Commission of 1897–1901 while the first Minister was Donald McLeod and the first Secretary was William Dickson, who was also Secretary for Mines. The creation of the State Forest Department represented the most significant institutional development in Victoria's history of forest management to that point. The fledgling department had 66 staff on 31 December 1900 including, 1 Conservator, 1 Chief Inspector, 1 Inspector, 23 Foresters and 40 Forest Foremen but foreshadowed that it expected to increase over

13375-458: Was about the tenth-highest in the city's history, several metres below the 1890 flood and the two major floods in 1893. Some unique field measurements about the peak of the floods showed very substantial sediment fluxes in the Brisbane River flood plains consistent with the murky appearance of floodwaters. The field deployment showed also some unusual features of flood flow in an urban environment linked with some local topographic effects. Parts of

13500-566: Was adopted nationally in the early 1990s under newly formed Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC). AIIMS was jointly adopted by the CFA and CFL in 1991 with the intent of bringing emergency services together under one control system with common terminology, A Multi-Agency Incident Management Agreement was signed by the Chief Officers of the CFA and CFL on 14 November 1997 to give more detail on joint firefighting arrangements, although it took many years to make

13625-594: Was also acquainted with the Government botanist Ferdinand Von Mueller who named, Eucalyptus perriniana after him. Meanwhile, the gold rush was petering out and Melbourne's land boom of the 1880s was inevitably followed by a financial crash in 1891 , which combined with the Federation Drought from 1895 to 1902, depressed economic conditions for a decade or more. Not surprisingly, the Colonial Government had little appetite for changing

13750-513: Was appointed. He had previous experience in South Australia and Tasmania and despite having little power or authority, was able to appoint a number of foresters over the next 12 years. He produced a report containing a number illustrations to Parliament on 30 June 1890. This visionary report clearly identified the issues and set out reforms to ensure Victoria would have a healthy, diverse and extensive forest estate 130 years later. Perrin

13875-426: Was appointed. The second progress report of a Royal Commission on Foreign Industries and Forests in 1872, included a recommendation for the establishment of a State nursery near Macedon railway station "with the object of raising useful timber trees for distribution to selectors, and for the planting of reserves denuded of indigenous timber". Ferguson then established the first State Nursery at Macedon in 1872. By 1871

14000-764: Was closed to traffic. The river peaked at 9.2 metres (30 ft), just short of the predicted 9.4-metre (31 ft) maximum. The Port of Gladstone reduced its export capacity because the coal stockpiles at the port were saturated and further coal deliveries could not be made by rail. The Goonyella railway line which serves a number of coal mines in the Bowen Basin was closed for one week and shipments of grain were also delayed. The central Burnett towns of Gayndah and Mundubbera saw major flooding on 28–29 December. The Burnett River peaked at 18.25 metres (59.9 ft) at Mundubbera—the highest river height since 1942—inundating more than 20 houses. Downstream at Gayndah,

14125-750: Was declined by the Australian government. In addition to this, New Zealand sent a number of New Zealand Defence Force soldiers, mainly engineers, as well as New Zealand Police and New Zealand Fire Service firefighters. A New Zealand Red Cross team was also dispatched. On 9 January, the Flood Relief Appeal: Australia Unites telethon broadcast by the Nine Network from the Suncorp Piazza at South Bank Parklands , Brisbane raised more than A$ 10 million in pledged aid. The South Bank area, which includes

14250-494: Was described by an onlooker as "like Cyclone Tracy has gone through it ... If you dropped an atom bomb on it, you couldn't tell the difference." Nearby Helidon had several homes and farms flooded but did not break the main creek bank and enter the town. It was cut off from all sides by destroyed roads. Grantham was also devastated by the surge of water. Houses were left crumpled by what Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh described as an "inland tsunami ". According to local media,

14375-547: Was estimated that were some 1150 steam engines in the gold mining industry, devouring over one million tons of firewood. In October 1882, the pioneering forester John la Gerche was appointed as one of sixteen Crown Lands Bailiffs and Foresters within the Agriculture Branch of the Department of Lands. Their appointment held out a promise to end the forest destruction under the 1884 Land Act which recognised

14500-585: Was later compiled by Mr A. D. Hardy from the State Forest Department in 1911 identifying numerous trees over 300 feet at Fernshaw and Narbethong with similar heights recorded in the Otways and Baw Baw Ranges. In 1929, the Forests Commission set aside a "sample acre" within the Cumberland Scenic Reserve near Marysville . The site only narrowly escaped the 1939 Black Friday bushfires but unfortunately 13 of its big trees were destroyed during

14625-588: Was later replaced by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, a new body created to co-ordinate the rebuilding program. The Australian Defence Force 's contribution to flood relief efforts was designated Operation Queensland Flood Assist . The ADF established Joint Task Force 637, based at Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane, for operational command on 1 January 2011. According to the Australian Prime Minister,

14750-433: Was mandatorily evacuated on 30 December. A second rain event on 9–10 January saw floodwaters again threaten Chinchilla and Condamine with Chinchilla residents again asked to evacuate. The Macintyre River , which forms part of the border between the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, began to threaten the town of Goondiwindi on 13 January. While the town is protected by an 11-metre (36 ft) levee,

14875-617: Was not until the former British colonies combined in 1901 to become the states of a Federal Australia that a Victorian Forest Bill was finally passed. Despite spirited opposition by agricultural and grazing interests the Forest Act (1907) No. 2095 finally constituted the State Forest Department (SFD) which came into effect on 1 January 1908, formally setting aside timber reserves and providing for rehabilitation after mining and logging. The first Conservator of Forests

15000-452: Was particularly hard hit. The Queensland floods were followed by the 2011 Victorian floods which saw more than fifty communities in western and central Victoria also grapple with significant flooding. On 26 February 2021 the result of legal action, started in 2014 and won in 2019, was a partial settlement of A$ 440 million in compensation for thousands of flood victims, from the Queensland government and SunWater . The remaining $ 440 million

15125-502: Was praised for mitigating flooding in downstream Logan , having exceeded 80% of its capacity. In North Queensland , the town of Ingham became isolated as the Herbert River peaked. Homes at Babinda and Gordonvale were flooded. As of March 2012, 33 deaths have been attributed to the floods with 3 people still missing. The first death occurred on 30 November 2010, when a woman drowned in her vehicle near Dysart . In

15250-633: Was ready to help. John Key , the Prime Minister of New Zealand , held a telephone call with Gillard, during which she thanked New Zealand for its help. Len Brown , the Mayor of Auckland , a sister city of Brisbane, offered assistance to Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman . David Cameron , the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom offered his sympathies. Downing Street stated: "The Prime Minister offered his deep sympathy on behalf of

15375-417: Was recovered 80 kilometres (50 mi) downstream and Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson warned that some bodies may never be found. Nearby Gatton saw voluntary evacuations as the Lockyer Creek rose to a record height of 18.92 metres (62.1 ft), exceeding the previous record set in the 1893 Queensland floods . Three people from Grantham listed as missing were officially declared dead by

15500-529: Was slow and limited for the period of Victoria's first seven decades. Reservations had been made in 1862, 1873, 1898 and 1903 and the Conservator of Forests, George Perrin, reported the total forested area in 1888 was 4.8 million ha most of which was inaccessible. Only a small proportion was permanently reserved, and some was in Melbourne water supply catchments closed to harvesting and visitors. Twenty Forests Commission employees are known to have enlisted in

15625-457: Was the worst since 1981. The town's water purification system was flooded, resulting in water restrictions that hampered clean-up efforts. 112,500 litres (24,700 imp gal; 29,700 US gal) of water were transported to the town of 14,000 residents. Warwick was isolated when all roads into the town were cut off. The Condamine River reached 14.25 metres (46.8 ft) on 30 December, its highest level ever recorded. Condamine

#885114