History of Maison La Gerche

Maison La Gerche has been named in honour of John La Gerche, a Jersey Islander of Norman-French descent who emigrated to Australia in 1865 as a young man of 20 in search of a new life. La Gerche was the appointed Crown Lands Bailiff of the Creswick-Ballarat State Forest during the years 1882-1897. He was a man ahead of his time, a visionary, and saw himself as a forester rather than an enforcer of the law in the forest. His pioneering work in regenerating and protecting the Creswick State Forest against all odds and difficulties played a major role in developing Creswick into what it is today - the home of Forestry in Australia.

Those difficulties were due to the almost total deforestation wrought by the gold rush which was in progress - miners’ insatiable greed for timber and their illegal cutting of it for money, mine pit props, fuel, and the construction of forest huts.

La Gerche received little official support from his employers, and did most of his work single handedly. In 1888 alone, he raised more than 8,500 coniferous and various species of deciduous trees from seeds and planted them by hand in his experimental Sawpit Gully Plantation on a hill above the Creswick township.

After being regenerated by La Gerche, the Creswick forest was considered to be the most valuable forest land in Victoria. To this day, foresters still regard the Sawpit Gully Plantation as one of Australian Forestry’s most hallowed sites.

Several years ago, an interpretive walking trail was created through this plantation, telling the story of La Gerche’s daily working life and achievements and pointing out the features and numerous tree species.

Your hostess grew up near this picturesque forest (located in the hills behind the School of Forestry, which was established in 1910) and enjoys regular walks there.