Dryandra Forest

$32

Author: Roger Underwood

Home to Australia’s first eucalyptus plantation, Dryandra was once the centre of WA’s tannin industry until the development of synthetic alternatives and South Africa’s emergence as a cheap producer saw the industry come to a close in the 60s.

The unique woodland has since become a place where a diverse range of uniquely specialised native animals thrive.

“I first came here as a forester 60 years ago, I was bought here by my OIC who was a good friend of John Currie and I had the good fortune of shaking hands with the man himself,” he said.

“Writing a book about Dryandra was one of the most pleasant tasks I’ve ever had because it gave me the opportunity to come out here over and over again, to meet interesting people and to go back into the records and the literature and to rediscover through their own writing the famous people that have been associated with Dryandra since 1923.”