Forests of Ash: an Environmental History

Tom Griffiths

This beautifully written and presented book tells the story of Australia's giant eucalypt, the mountain ash. It is the tallest hardwood in the world, growing to a height of 100 metres. While celebrating the steep, wet, dense eastern forests of Australia, Tom Griffiths also reveals their awesome power. Dependent on fire for its survival, the mountain ash can become a source of destruction, forcing people to confront their relationship with the bush. Death and devastation struck most shockingly on Black Friday 1939 when millions of hectares burned and 71 people died.

The life cycles and fire cycles of the forests of ash span millenia. Tom Griffiths tells the ecological and social history of a unique Australian forest, and in doing so, illuminates the story of the continent as a whole.

Griffiths' narrative is supplemented by 'spotlights' written by scientists and curators from Museum Victoria about research and collections concerning the tall forests.