The Pulp: The Rise and Fall of an Industry
Allan Jamieson Forty Degrees South Pty Ltd, Tasmania, 2001. Hardback, 315 pages. ISBN: 978-0-9870915-5-0.
A very limited number of copies are available from BAPH Publications, £28 plus postage. NOTE: This represents a saving of around 50% compared with purchase costs direct from the publisher in Australia: this has only been made possible by the generosity of the author, to whom we are very grateful.
Order from the BAPH Shop
´The Pulp´ in question is the colloquial name given to the Burnie Pulp and Paper Mill in Tasmania. However, the term can also be taken as referring quite literally to the papermaking raw material, because Australia was the birthplace of serious hardwood pulping research, which ultimately laid the foundations for hardwood pulp production that today is such an integral part of the world paper industry (indeed, world production of hardwood pulp has exceeded that of softwood pulp since 2007.)
Most such histories commence with the reason why the mill was founded, and this book follows that recognised path with an outline of the planning that saw inauguration of the pulp mill in 1938. The book then takes the reader through the story of the mill, and of the companies that operated the site, in chapters that cover periods of between one and two decades at a time. Interspersed between these are brief diversions, such as a biography of the man who planned the project (Gerald Mussen), who is described as the ´Father of The Pulp´, and the story of hardwood pulping research, which ultimately led to the construction of this project.
The mill was sited to take advantage of large eucalyptus forests in Tasmania. The author argues that, as such, the construction of a pulp mill was justified. However, Tasmania is separated from mainland Australia by the Bass Strait, which at its narrowest is 240km. Since the mill was designed to supply the mainland market, shipping of finished product would be a major and continuous cost that would need factoring in to the development of the site. Shipping pulp is reasonably cheap; transporting finished paper is less so, given it needs so much more protection. So the installation of paper machines at Burnie comes as something of a surprise. The fact that, at its height, there were ten paper machines and a hardboard manufacturing operation is even more astounding.
Burnie Mill started by manufacturing newsprint and publishing grades. Over the years it expanded into fines, greaseproof and vegetable parchment, among others. This bought it into competition with many companies, which is described in the book. So Thomas Owen & Sons and Wiggins Teape, both UK companies, are represented in this story; the development of other mills in Australasia, such are Wesley Vale and Shoalhaven, are also discussed. Many Ex-Pats were seconded to work at these mills, and their stories also form part of the prose.
Machinery and processes are all part and parcel of papermaking, and any good mill history will cover these aspects; this book is no exception. What sets it apart is the space taken to describe the people ? both upper management and the shop floor workers - many of whose contributions are included verbatim. With the management contributions, the thought processes driving development of the site can be followed; personality clashes and ego are brought to the fore, exposing some of the flawed thinking. However, since the mill lasted until 2010, no single flaw was ultimately fatal. Meanwhile, the stories from the shop floor of everyday working conditions ground the book with a humanity that is seldom met with in such texts.
Any site employing large numbers of people is bound to provide a stock of characters and amusing anecdotes. Burnie was no exception. We are taken on a tour that includes athletic prowess, drunken behaviour, pranks and love affairs (some of which were conducted in broke piles!) For the technically minded, there is also a description of how not to release a safety valve on a digester tower.
Ultimately, the book is about more than just paper and pulp. The site chosen for the mill was originally a swamp indeed, it was estimated by one manager that there were more tiger snakes per square foot than anywhere else in Tasmania. Yet the mill was built, and became the hub for the town that grew around it. At one point over 3000 were employed at the mill; now that employment focus has been lost. The mill was the reason for development of the whole area, and the philosophy (and to some extent social engineering) behind its original protagonists is discussed in some detail. Now the mill has gone, it will be necessary for the inhabitants to harness their creativity to produce new avenues of employment something that is alluded to in the book, and which we are left hoping they achieve.
Order from the BAPH Shop