Charles Lane Poole

Charles Edward Lane Poole was born in England in 1885 to a widely travelled academic family. His father, Stanley, a historian and Egyptologist, was a professor at Trinity College in Dublin. His uncle, Reginald, was Keeper of the Archives at Oxford University.

Charles Lane Poole

NAA: A3087, 1

After a childhood in England, Charles completed his schooling in Dublin when his father was appointed to Trinity College in 1901. It was there he met his future wife, Ruth Pollexfen. He started studying engineering in Dublin, but lost his left hand in a shooting accident when he was 19. Instead of continuing with engineering, he secured a place at l'Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Forêts de Nancy (the French National Forestry School at Nancy) under an exchange scheme between the United Kingdom and France. He graduated in 1906. At Nancy, he learned a forestry based on strong national policies, of management by a professional and scientific elite, and the long-term conservation of natural forests. He asserted these principles zealously throughout his professional life.

Record of service for Charles Lane Poole, August 1923

NAA: A518, JD112/1, p.218

In Africa

In 1906, the British Colonial Forest Service sent Charles to the Cape Province of South Africa where he spent several months under the direction of an experienced forester, DE Hutchins, before he was appointed District Forester in charge of Woodbush forest in the Transvaal Province. He maintained his friendship with Ruth Pollexfen during his time away and in 1910 proposed to her by letter. She accepted him. Soon after, however, Charles disagreed with Transvaal's forest and appointment policies. He felt that managing the natural forests should be given greater emphasis than establishing plantations to supply the mines. Under the Transvaal Premier's postwar reconciliation policy of appointing Boers to the public service, Charles was sent an assistant who was not fully qualified. Furious, Charles resigned from the Transvaal service.

The British Colonial Forest Service sent him to another British African colony, Sierra Leone, where he drafted the Forest Ordinance, set up the Forestry Department, surveyed new state forests, started an arboretum (a botanical tree garden) and collected botanical specimens for identification in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in England. He travelled to Dublin to be married in mid-1911, but returned to Sierra Leone alone soon after. His first daughter, Charlotte, was born during this time away in Africa.

To Western Australia

On the recommendation of DE Hutchins, Charles was appointed to the more important position of Conservator of Forests for Western Australia in 1916. Ruth and Charlotte came to Western Australia where they set up a home together in the Perth suburb of Cottesloe. With great energy, Charles drafted the new Forests Act 1918, reorganised the Forestry Department, introduced forest management plans on sustained yield principles and publicised the need for forest conservation.

In Western Australia, Charles Lane Poole made friends with people who shared his love of forests and were impressed with his knowledge and ability. They included the Governor-General, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson (later Lord Novar), the Western Australian politician and future senator, Walter Kingsmill, and the industrialist, Russell Grimwade.

Letter from Governor-General, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, to Sir Edward Stone, Acting Governor of Western Australia, 17 February 1920

NAA: A11085, B13/9, pp. 6–7

Charles actively supported an emerging national view on science and resources, including forestry. A series of Interstate Forestry Conferences from 1911 had brought state forestry officials together to share experiences and discuss policies. The 1916 conference recommended the establishment of a national forestry school – something that Charles strongly supported and a project that was to occupy many years of his later life. At the fourth conference held in Perth in 1917, Charles urged the permanent reservation of state forests, their management on a sustained yield basis, and the establishment of plantations to replace imports of softwoods.

In 1920, Charles attended the First British Empire Forestry Conference in London as one of two Australian delegates. He joined with Lord Novar in moving for the establishment of the British Empire Forestry Association. It did much to establish his international reputation, cemented in 1928 when the third conference came to Australia.

In 1921, Charles disagreed with the Western Australian government's decision to renew a large forest concession to a British company. He felt strongly that it compromised the independent professional management necessary to ensure the sustainability of future forest yields. For Charles Lane Poole, this was a matter of conscience that caused him to resign again.

Letter from Atlee Hunt, Secretary of the Department of Home and Territories, to the Hon. A Poynton, Minister for Home and Territories, 20 July 1921

NAA: A518, DA821/1, p.326

Work for the Commonwealth

After Senator Walter Kingsmill put it to Prime Minister SM Bruce that the Commonwealth should make use of his talents, Charles was engaged from 1922 to 1924 to conduct the first thorough forest surveys of the territories of Papua and New Guinea. Meanwhile, a pregnant Ruth returned to Ireland with their children, Charlotte and Mary.

In 1925, Charles became the Commonwealth's Forestry Adviser, based in Melbourne. His family, including their third daughter, Phyllis (born while he was in Papua), joined him again in Australia. In 1927, he was appointed as the Commonwealth’s Inspector-General of Forests and in that role he drafted the Commonwealth's Forestry Bureau legislation, eventually passed in 1930.

Charles Lane Poole in a Norfolk Island pine forest, from his 1926 'Report on the Forests of Norfolk Island'

NAA: A2430, 1933 POL 13 PT 1, p. 22

After another move, this time to Canberra, Charles set up the Commonwealth Forestry Bureau and became the Acting Principal of the Australian Forestry School when it too moved to Canberra in 1927. The Commonwealth Forestry Bureau conducted forestry investigations on behalf of the Commonwealth in conjunction with various states. Charles also gave expert evidence to major inquiries. Strongly principled, Charles' uncompromising ways introduced some bitter personal feuds to the often difficult relationships between the Commonwealth and the states. However, under his guidance and from very small beginnings, the Australian Forestry School gained academic accreditation from state universities and acceptance by most states as the premier national institution for the professional training of foresters.

Retirement

Charles Lane Poole retired in 1945 at the age of 60, but continued to work as a forestry consultant for several years. A medical history taken when he tried to enlist in Australia's Voluntary Defence Force during World War II, only three years before he retired, reveals that at that time he was still in good health.

Medical History Sheet of Charles Edward Lane Poole, 15 June 1942

NAA: B884, N394194, p. 7

Charles Lane Poole died in 1970 at age 85, his death preceding Ruth's by four years.