Locality and empire : networks of forestry in Australia, India, and South Africa, 1843-1948

This dissertation draws from national and regional archives to argue that many important aspects of forestry science, education, and culture in colonial Australia, India, and South Africa developed according to unique local environmental, political, social, and cultural influences. Local environmental constraints, combined with unique cultures of experimentation, encouraged the innovation of new scientific methods for forming timber plantations that differed from existing European and British methods. Debates over how to create forestry schools to train foresters in each region emphasized local problems and contexts rather than focusing primarily on continental European precedents or methods. The culture of foresters in each region corresponded to local cultures and social conditions as much as to a larger imperial ethos inculcated by training in continental European or British forestry schools.