Regimental Firewood
Eyre had to troubleshoot the gripes of the army stationed at Moorundi as well as those of everyone else in the environs. Although so young, he did this wisely, as can be gauged from his letter below responding to a threat from the 96th in October 1843 that they would move out unless they had adequate access to firewood, which the settlers were supposedly denying them.
The impression has been conveyed that the Military has been deprived by the settlers of the means of procuring firewood in the neighbourhood of the Barracks – such is not the case.
The foundation upon which the Sergeant’s report seems to have been grounded, consists of the fact that a few weeks ago a notice was sent on behalf of the proprietors of allotments in the Village to the Sergeant commanding the detachment stationed there, cautioning him not to allow his men to “cut down trees upon the Village allotments”, as the soldiers had recently been doing considerable injury to the properties of the absent proprietors by indiscriminate and wholesale destruction of the trees.
It was, however, at the same time most distinctively explained that there was no restriction of his men making use of the fallen timber, of which there is a great quantity upon any of the allotments, or cutting any trees they liked beyond the Village plots…. From the very great abundance of fallen timber in every direction, no scarcity of firewood need be apprehended for many years to come.
Once again Eyre had successfully stamped out a tiny fire that had threatened to become a blaze. The 96th remained at Moorundi and enjoyed ample firewood.
