The seven Australian colonies are very variously situated regarding timber supplies, three of them, Queensland, Western and South Australia being poorly wooded, the others more or less heavily forested, especially Tasmania with 65 per cent., and New Zealand with 31 per cent. Generally speaking the forest areas are confined to the coast in narrower and wider belts, the interior being forestless or with scrubby growth. This portion is large enough to reduce the total forest per cent. to less than 6.5. The mountains and hill ranges facing the Eastern, Southern and Western coasts are especially heavily wooded with magnificent Eucalypts, Jarrah and Karri while the Kauri pine is the most valuable tree in New Zealand.
The one successful attempt at a forest policy was made by the almost forestless colony of South Australia, which in 1882 reserved its scanty forest area of 217,000 acres and started to plant, (now 13,000 acres planted), employing a Conservator and six Foresters.
In the other colonies at various times unsuccessful beginnings were made, and there exist in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria so-called Forest Branches or departments, but mostly without power or equipment, and no intelligent conception of forest policy seems practically to exist.
In Queensland, since 1897, the Governor in Council may reserve forest lands and regulate the cutting by diameter limit. One and a half million acres have been reserved, but no staff for administration exists.
In New South Wales six million acres were withdrawn from settlement, but it is mostly used for pasture, and withdrawal may be revoked at any time. No effective system of control exists.
In Victoria five and a half million acres have been declared reserves under act of 1890, nearly half the forest area. There exists a forest department of one Conservator, two Inspectors and 25 Foresters, but no plan of management. Four State nurseries of doubtful value seems the whole result.
The other colonies still merely exploit their forest resources under loosely managed license systems, without even an inefficient attempt at intelligent treatment.