Snapshot of the past: local wildlife

A photograph of Leonard Standfield alongside local wildlife at a Mount Worth sawmill in the 1930s.
Drouin resident Eileen Sparks submitted this photograph of her father alongside a koala and echidna.
She believed Leonard, who spent much of his adult life in Poowong before his death aged 86, was about 19-years-old at the time.
About a dozen sawmills operated on the slopes of Mount Worth during the 1920s, located in the Strzelecki Ranges south of Yarragon. Remnants of some of these mills can still be seen today along the walking trails.
Tall Mountain Ash covering the Mount Worth area were logged from the 1920s to 1940s.
In 1975, the state government began purchasing land for the creation of Mt Worth State Park. Now comprising 1040 hectares, this small pocket of natural forest and regenerating bush features extensive wildlife and birdlife for visitors to enjoy.
A huge Mountain Ash, named "Standing Giant", is today an attraction. It is estimated to be 300-years-old with a girth of 14 metres.