Coraki
Timber Harvested | History of NSW Australia Image Credit: Richmond River Historical Society, Website Dream of a Magnificent Tree | Credit phb Camping at Richmond River | Credit phb This post is about the History of the Richmond River area west of Evans Head and Woodburn. Camping 2 nights at Coraki at the Richmond River, I have time for some research what this area looked like when industrialized from 1860 on and what happened to the local tribes there and the river area, now mostly used for Sugar Cane production. The Drogher Aggie and Timber Raft on the Richmond River What This Image Reveals This remarkable photograph captures a moment in the industrial transformation of the Richmond River valley, likely from the late 19th or early 20th century. At first glance, it appears to be a simple documentary image of timber transport, but closer examination reveals the mechanics and scale of an industry that would devastate one of Australia’s largest subtropical rainforests within a single human lifetime. The Raft Itself: In the foreground, we see an “immense raft” of squared timber logs—probably 30-40 visible in this section alone, though the full raft likely extended much further. These are pine logs, not the prized red cedar that drew the first timber-getters to the Richmond in 1842, a telling detail: by the time photography became common enough to document this scene, the cedar…