We rowed our punts way up from Strahan
The sky was full of water
We came to cut the Huon pines
And send them down the Gordon

Oh the huon pines soar to the sky
They count their years in thousands
It’s wood is creamy, soft and smooth
And we like termites downed them

We packed our axes, cross cut saws
Our winches, block and tackle
We sent the logs down to the booms
With horses, luck and muscle

We camped up in the bush for months
Crammed in our badger boxes
The brandy kept us warm at night
As the sky fell down upon us

Dug in our holes like ticks in skin
So minuscule and hungry
We went to send the huon down
And take the companies money

I fed my family paid my bills
So I can’t be complaining
And yet I feel an ache inside
For something beyond naming

The Gordon’s icy as the grave
It’s water’s black with tannin
There’s more than one man’s felt the chill
That comes with understanding

Like soldiers killed in action

As damp as beaver lodges ????

Walls as thin as paper

We set up camp to keep us dry
We branded every log we fell

The convicts were the first sent up
To see them soar to heaven
And with their gore splashed on their backs
They fed the spread of Reason

They came to cut them for their boats
The huon can’t be sunken
As they were sunk on Sarah Isle
Far from the sight of London

We camped up in the bush for months

Such noble beasts/things for downing

No thought we gave to

is strong and fine

They say they’ve lived three thousand years
They stretch towards the heavens
We came to bring them to their knees
To feed the spread of Reason

Yet strong and fine and oily
They say you cannot sink a boat
Made out of Huon pine

We convicts must do as we’r told
Or stand to take a flogging/thrashiing
And many a man has borne the scars
Of fevered brutal lashing

We launched them into Gordon’s flow
To be carried to the boom

Sent them to the mills in Strahan

axes crosscut saws

bush camps for months

It’s oils stop it rotting , strong and fine/light Protected by its oils

and light and oily
And only here in Tassie / Down deep in western Tassie
We came to make a buck or two

To bring the wood down to Sarah Isle

The Gordon’s icy as the grave
It’s water black with tannin

We drank it down with rum and gin

As we rode the logs

There’s more than one man felt it’s chill

When grog left no man standing

When Macquarie Harbour

They say the fish won’t swim here now

The birds have left

Piners

Bought (her), brought, border, boredom, burden, caught, cordon, drawn, fought, fawn,

Yes, the Gordon River is famously full of natural tannins, which give the water a distinctive dark, tea-like color. This natural phenomenon creates the river’s renowned mirror-perfect reflections when the water is calm. 

The Source of the Tannins

• Buttongrass Plains: The primary source of the tannins is the buttongrass plains and peat swamps in the river’s catchment area.
• Decaying Vegetation: As organic matter (like leaves, twigs, and peat) decays, tannins are leached into the water.
• High Rainfall, Low Evaporation: The region’s high rainfall and low evaporation rates facilitate the formation of peat and the leaching process. 

Characteristics of the Water

• Color: The water has the appearance of strong black tea but is actually very pure, fresh, and drinkable.
• Purity: The presence of tannins does not indicate pollution; in fact, the slightly acidic conditions can inhibit some pathogens and parasites.
• Reflective Quality: The dark, still water acts like a liquid mirror, reflecting the surrounding ancient rainforest and sky, making it a paradise for photographers.
• Submerged Logs: The water’s lack of oxygen and the preserving quality of tannins help to preserve ancient, fallen Huon pine logs underwater for potentially thousands of years. 

AI Mode conversation: How did the piners lower the huon pines down to the Gordon

You said: How did the piners lower the huon pines down to the Gordon

How did the piners lower the huon pines down to the Gordon

Piners moved Huon pine logs down steep slopes and cliffs to the Gordon River using raw muscle, block and tackle systems, horses, and gravity. [1, 2, 3]

• Sleds and Muscle: Piners felled the trees close to waterways, but in steeper areas, they dragged or slid the heavy logs down muddy ridges and slopes. [1, 2, 3]
• Block and Tackle: Workers set up mechanical advantage systems using ropes and pulleys to haul and lower massive logs over difficult terrain. [1, 2]
• Horses: Teams of horses were used in some areas to skid and haul logs from the stump toward the riverbanks. [1, 2, 3]
• “Shooting” Logs: On very steep country and high ridges, logs were literally “shot” or pushed straight from the stump down the incline and straight into the water. [1, 2]
• Flooding and Floating: Once in the water, the buoyant green Huon pine logs were branded with initials and left to drift or be flushed down via winter flash floods to a boom camp on the lower Gordon River. [1, 2, 3]

If you’re interested, I can also tell you about:

• How piners lived in badger boxes during long months in the isolated wilderness
• The design of the traditional Gordon River punts

• University of TasmaniaPinersPiners have harvested Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) since early settlement. An extremely durable rainforest timber unique t…
• YouTube·garry KerrThe Oldest Living Tasmanian – The Huon PineThe Oldest Living Tasmanian – The Huon Pine all this water is critical for the growth of the temperate rainforest that is home to …16m
• Jack and JudeB-log ~ April 2018“The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you’re happy or not.” George Bernard Shaw Ronnie ret…

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What are badger boxes

Badger boxes were small, improvised, and highly portable wooden huts used by Tasmanian piners (timber getters) as temporary shelters in the dense rainforests of the West Coast during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

They were designed to be quickly assembled and easily dismantled so piners could move them as they cleared different areas of Huon pine.

Key Features of a Badger Box

• Split-Palings: They were constructed entirely from local timber, usually using straight-grained Huon pine or King Billy pine split into rough palings.
• Compact Size: They were tiny, often just large enough to fit a rough timber bunk and a small hearth.
• Portability: Because they used no nails or complex joinery, the palings could be bundled up, loaded onto a punt or pack horse, and moved to the next camp site.
• The Name: The term “badger” is the old Tasmanian colloquial name for the wombat. The shelters earned this nickname because they were low to the ground, dark, and cramped—much like a wombat’s burrow.

Life Inside the Box

Living in a badger box was incredibly harsh. The West Coast of Tasmania is notorious for relentless rain, snow, and dampness. The huts provided basic shelter from the downpours, but they were permanently damp, cold, and dark. Piners would spend months at a time living in these isolated conditions, subsisting on basic rations like salt beef, damper, and tea.

To help you learn more about Tasmanian logging history, I can share details on:

• The rations and diet of a West Coast piner
• How they used Huon pine punts to navigate the treacherous rapids of the Gordon River
• The location of surviving historical camps you can visit today