Commonwealth Forestry Review

c. E. LANE-POOLE
CHARLES EDWARD LANE-POOLE first came to Australia in 1916 and for the next thirty
years zealously applied his great talents to the advancement offorestry in that country,
first on a State, and later on a Federal level.
Arriving at a time when Australian forestry was still regarded in many quarters as
little more than a mining operation, Lane-Poole played a prominent role in the fornlulation
and acceptance of sound forest policies on which are based many of the
great developments that have taken place since his retirement from official forestry
in 1945.
Although his n10st enduring contributions probably lie in the areas of forest policy
and forestry education, Lane-Paole excelled in many other fields including the exploration
and classification of tropical forests in Africa and New Guinea. He was an
unconlmonly tough character whose non-appeasing attitudes to principles in which
he believed at times brought him into sharp conflict with higher authority. Inevitably
he suffered severe setbacks, but he never abandoned the goals he had set himself,
and which in the end he generally achieved.
Born in Sussex, England, in 1885, Lane-Paole received his early education in
Dublin and his forestry training at the French Forestry School at Nancy. He went to
South Africa in 1906 and after a year at the South African Forest School served until
1910 as District Forest Officer in the Transvaal. He was then appointed Conservator
of Forests, Sierra Leone, where he renlained until 1916, when he accepted the post of
Conservator of Forests, Western Australia.
In Africa he carried out extensive forest surveys and whilst engaged on this work was
able to indulge his taste for living dangerously. He acquired a reputation for swimnling
crocodile infested rivers, embarking on lone lion hunting expeditions, and capturing
deadly tropical snakes alive. In the latter task he used to good effect the steel hook
that served as a replacenlent for his nlissing left hand. In spite of his single hand he
conducted all his surveys in Africa, and later in New Guinea, alone or with native
bearers, and was very skilful in handling conlplicated survey and other field equipnlent.
He was also an exoert horsenlan.
Lane-Poole was recolnnlended for the position of Conservator of Forests in Western
Australia by Sir David Hutchins who at that tinle occupied a senior forestry post in the
Union of South Africa, and who had been invited to report on forestry 111atters, first
in Western Australia and later in Australia as a ,vhole. Upon taking up his new position,
Lane-Poole, with characteristic vigour, set about re-organising the functions of the
f"orestry Department. One of his early achievements was the fashioning of the Forestry
Act, 1918, which gave that State the basis for a sound forest policy and provided for the
dedication of State forests in perpetuity. This Act was to serve as a model for other
States and still stands as a monument to his foresight and ability. He also itnplenlented
a vigorous forest asseSSlnent and classification programme that soon revealed
that fornler estitnates had grossly exaggerated the extent of the State's forest resources,
thus giving even greater urgency to the need for the retention and proper Inanagement
of those areas remaining.
Deeply concerned with the lack of trained staff, he established a school for forest
forenlan and rangers in Western Australia, and in collaboration with foresters in
other States, campaigned vigorously for a National Forestry School to provide the
highly trained professional staff of which Australia was desperately short. These
latter endeavours were later to bear fruit with the establishment of the Australian
Forestry School.
In 1921, Lane-Poole found himself at odds with the Governtnent of the day over
its decision, taken against his advice, to extend concessions and leases held by a large
private tilnber concern, and rather than implement what he considered to be an
incorrect policy, he tendered his resignation. In view of his already considerable
achievements and his high aspirations for the future of forestry in Western Australia,
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