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The first question I guess is; what is a fire tree?
Well these were trees specifically selected due to their height and position where lookouts were built and ladders made of wooden pegs or iron rods driven in to the sides of the trees allowed access to the lookouts placed in the tops of the trees.
They were used during the long hot summer months to pin-point the locations of any new fires in the forests of the south west.
The lookouts could communicate with each other by phone (later by radio) and used to triangulate any smoke so that they could work out fairly precisely where the fire was and then direct fire fighters to it quickly.
A number of different fire trees were used through the south west and these included the karri trees;
Alco tree 1937
Big Tree 1939 *
Pemberton Tree 1939
Gardner Tree 1 1941
Diamond Tree 1941
Gardner Tree 2 1943
Gloucester Tree 1948
Boorara Tree 1952
Beard Tree 1952
* Some sources quote that Big Tree was the first to be constructed and was done in 1937.
The lookouts were constructed mostly by bush craftsmen, not engineers or steeplejacks.
Around 50 different trees were climbed and assessed but most proved to be unsuitable.
Selecting the right tree was no easy job. Each one that looked like it might do the job had to be climbed first to see what the view was like from the top.
Generally this was done with a long belt to wrap around the tree and a pair of climbing boots.
Once at the top, the climber had to determine if the view was suitable and that the crown of the tree was likely to be able to support a cabin.
When a tree was selected, 2 inch auger holes had to be bored in the trunk. A series of pre-cut karri pegs were then hammered in to the holes, each one offset to the last to make a spiralling ladder leading up around the tree trunk.
Getting the pegs right was very important as an incident in 1952 involving District Forestry Officer, John Meachem showed. John was nearing the top of a ladder while inspecting the construction of the Boorara tree and a peg he put his weight on suddenly snapped off.
John was left hanging by his arms 50 metres up with nothing below him but air.
He managed to swing his body in a rocking motion until he could get his feet back on the previous peg but after that close call, every peg had to be properly tested by inserting it into a slightly oversized hole just above ground level and having a large man jump up and down on it.
When a tree had been selected for a lookout the next step was to clear a path to the top by lopping off branches and then cutting off the crown to provide a level area to place the floor of the lookout.
The tree tops sway in the wind so this difficult job was made harder when the wind was strong.
Any tall trees around the lookout tree were then felled to provide a better view.
Cabin designs were changed to suit each tree and were generally prefabricated on the ground and then lifted in to place using a derrick powered crab winch.
Bearers were then put in place to support the cabin and a bosuns chair was used for hand drilling bolt holes into the bearers.
The worst job of all was installing the last sheet of the corrugated iron roof. This involved sliding ones body out over the side through a window.
Despite the lack of and work health and safety laws during the constriction of the lookouts, there were no deaths or even serious injuries among the men doing the construction.
Spending long hours at the top of a swaying tree on long hot summer days watching for fire outbreaks was not the most pleasant job in the world but the tower men* could earn several times their usual weekly wage so there were plenty of takers for the jobs.
* Incidentally, the term tower men was used regardless of the sex of the person on watch in the cabin and there were a number of women who did the job.
One anecdote regarding the lonely nature of working in a lookout is told about the Boorara tree.
When Assistant Forester, Jim Lovelock drove up to the tree, he noticed a lady's bicycle at the base. There were sounds of distant laughter from the lookout and the tree seemed to be swaying somewhat more than was usual.
Jim entered the hut below and used the telephone to ring the cabin high above. Jim waited for the phone to be picked up and then said in a stern voice: 'This is to remind you that your job is to look for fire, not play with it!"
Fire towers or fire trees.
Generally built in hilly terrain, towers were constructed on the highest hills and the towers far outnumbered the fire trees. Why use trees at all then?
Well in some areas there were no prominent hills, so the only alternative was to find very tall trees on the most elevated ground.
Karri trees were well suited to this as they grow to 80 meters and live for between 250 and 350 years.
Sadly time, weather and white ants have seen most of the old fire trees fall into disrepair and either collapse or be condemned and closed to public access.
One tree that perhaps needs special mention is the Diamond tree, that at 51 metres wasn't tall enough to see over nearby hills. A 30 foot high tower had to be added to the top of the tree to make it useful and this was perhaps the most interesting of all the fire trees.
Another tree that deserves a mention is the Gloucester Tree. At one time it was advertised as the 'World's tallest fire lookout tree.
When it was actually measured it was found that the '64.6' metre lookout had shrunk to 56.4 metres.
There is still misinformation being printed (even by the local shire) claiming that the tree is 61 metres tall.
Wikipedia states 58 metres which I guess is close enough.
The Dave Evans Bicentennial tree was constructed in 1988 with the help of a bi-centennial grant. It was never intended as a fire watch tree and was constructed specifically for tourists to climb. Even so it has been used for fire watch in times when aircraft have been unable to fly patrols.
It was the last tree that could be climbed by the general public but it was closed in July 2023 and we do not know if it will ever be re-opened.
Despite the obvious dangers, nobody has ever fallen to their deaths while climing any of the fire watch trees although there are reports that one climber died as a result of a heart attack after reaching the ground and another died of the same cause when they reached the cabin at the top.
A lot of the information and pictures for this page has been drawn from the website
Fire Lookout Towers in Western Australia
PHOTOS
If photos are available, click on a thumbnail to see full sized picture.
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