John Dargavel

The Zealous Conservator: a Life of Charles Lane Poole John Dargavel

In an age of consciousness about conservation, this is a worthy biography of a man with a passionate drive for forests. Charles Lane Poole (1885-1970), Western Australia's first Conservator of Forests, is the flawed hero of this biography. Motivated by the ideals of forest conservation and its science, he followed their dictates in Western Australia and across the world. Poole was the first man to attempt the task of managing and preserving Australia's magnificent jarrah and karri forests at a time when they were being felled for railway sleepers. This fascinating biography follows his life from his birth in England in 1885 to Ireland, France, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canberra, where he established Australia's national forestry school, and Sydney, where he died in 1970.