Washington Winch facts for kids
The Washington Winch is a very old, powerful machine found in the forests of eastern Victoria, Australia, near Swifts Creek. It's also called the Washington Iron Works Skidder. This giant machine is a steam-powered logging winch, which means it used steam to pull huge logs. It burned wood to create the steam!
You can find its rusty parts close to Bentley Plain and the Moscow Villa hut. This hut was built in 1942 by a fire lookout man named Thomas William Ah Chow.
The Washington Winch was one of two such machines brought to Western Australia in the 1920s. At first, it helped the Karri Timber Company move large Jarrah logs.
Both winches were later sold to the Forests Commission Victoria. They were used to save timber in the Central Highlands, near Noojee, after the big 1939 Black Friday bushfires. These machines could move huge logs up to 800 meters using strong cables. They could even lift logs over rocks and creeks.
The winch near Swifts Creek was sold again in 1959 to a local sawmilling company called Ezards. It worked there until 1960-61. Many loggers lived in a large camp nearby to operate the machine. No one knows what happened to the second winch.
After World War II, new machines like bulldozers and trucks changed logging forever. Diesel and petrol engines made steam power, like the Washington Winch, old-fashioned.
This winch is a special part of Victoria's history. It's the only steam-powered logging engine of its kind left in Australia. It's still set up as if ready for work, with its engine, poles, and cables. The winch is protected by the Victorian Heritage Register. Local staff from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) look after it.
Around 1999, a roof was built over the winch to protect it from the weather. Its original wooden poles had rotted, so new ones were put in, and new cables were added.
Who Built the Washington Winch?
The company that built these steam winches was called Washington Iron Works. It was located in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. John M. Frink started the company in 1882. It built cranes, logging equipment, and presses. The company slowly sold off its different parts and closed in 1986.
Washington Iron Works engines changed steam logging in the 1920s and 1930s. Their steam-powered winches were built on strong frames. This allowed them to be moved to new logging sites. You can still see many Washington skidders in North America today.
How the Winch Worked
The Washington Winch used two main ways to move logs: the high lead system or the skyline system.
The high lead system was not used very often. It only partly lifted logs off the ground. This meant logs could get stuck on rocks. It also left deep "snig tracks" in the ground.
The skyline system was better. It used two tall trees, called spars, to create a "flying fox" system. This lifted logs completely over rough ground.
To set up the skyline, workers called riggers had to climb 60 meters (about 200 feet) up a huge tree. They would cut off the top of the tree, which made it sway a lot! Then, they secured the tree with strong cables and attached the logging equipment. This job was very dangerous and hard work. It often took a whole day, with lunch sent up to them on a rope.
The Washington Winch helped harvest Alpine Ash logs. These logs were then cut into valuable wood products. This wood was used for furniture, flooring, and door frames at Ezards mill in Swifts Creek.
Gallery
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Cable logging terms
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Cable Logging terms
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Cable Logging terms
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Charlie Wall - high lead climber
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Tree topping to prepare cables
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Cable logging ropeway - Thomson valley
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Cable logging
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Snigging logs with steam winch
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Log dump operated by steam winch at Saxton's Mill- East Tanjil.
McHugh, Peter. (2020). Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria : A compilation of short stories, Victoria. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2899074696/view
FCRPA - Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (Peter McHugh) - https://victoriasforestryheritage.org.au
