Peter Telford arrived in Australia in 1852 on board the Emmigrant. He was a gold miner in the Ballarat area until 1877. He then worked part time in the Apollo Bay area until he shifted his family down in 1885. There was a huge demand for timber for the mining, railway and wharf building businesses. The Otways were a great source of timber so that is where the timber cutters and sawmillers headed. This report is from the Colac Herald of 1884, the year before he shifted his family down.
Six years earlier in 1878 this map shows the Telford land just to the south west of the township of Krambruk, as Apollo Bay was then known.
Source – unknown But a more detailed 1881 map can be seen at the State Library of Victoria at http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/104356
The following is an extract from “A Trip to Apollo Bay” c1885. The trip was taken by Mr Duncan, Crown Lands Bailiff, Mr. Jas. Chapman of the Colonial Bank. Mr Fotheringhame, a seafaring man, and ??
“Mr Telford, who also hails from Ballarat, is making good progress with the erection of his mill, which will be driven by a 20 hp engine and capable of cutting 5000 ft per day. He, too, is laying a short tramway which will be about 1¼ miles in length, with a gentle decline to the jetty . Near the site of his mill he has a large quantity of valuable blackwood timber which is now being extensively used in the construction of railway carriages, furniture, etc. Already Mr Telford has many large orders for timber on hand for Ballarat houses, but the bulk of his timber will be shipped to Melbourne and intercolonial ports.”
An example of a tramway used for shifting the cut logs through the forest. From the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/49272
Bound for Australia 