About
Leeson’s: A Gippsland story
The Leeson family has been involved in the logging industry since the 1940s. Their story has been entwined with the story of Gippsland as the region has evolved.
As demand for materials from Gippsland’s forests changed, so did Leeson’s, their innovations in mechanisation and management leading the way in safe harvesting and transport of large volumes of timber.
Today, Leeson’s Logging & Cartage is a third-generation family business at the forefront of this industry. The company’s commitment to modernisation and hands-on running of the business have shaped forest harvesting and timber haulage in Gippsland and made an impact on the industry more broadly.
The project and its partners
The Leeson’s history project, titled Timber, Tragedy & Toil: A History of Leeson's Logging & Cartage, has been developed in partnership with Federation University and Gippslandia to trace the history of Leeson’s and its significance to the logging and cartage industry in Gippsland.
In 2020, Leeson’s founder and former director Garry Leeson approached Federation University to assist in the development of this project. It is the result of over 30 interviews with Leeson’s family members and associates, the identification and archiving of over 4,000 photographs and records, and countless hours of research, writing and design that have gone into the production of a coffee-table style book and the development of this website.
It is hoped that Timber, Tragedy and Toil will represent a significant historical document for the Gippsland region and for the logging industry more broadly, as well as providing a valuable resource for regional and industrial historians.
Project team
This history project was spearheaded by project supervisor, Federation University Professor Erik Eklund. Professor Eklund’s expertise in regional history and industrial heritage has been invaluable to the project, and his research and writing form the backbone of the book and website.
Professor Eklund’s work was supported by a team of professionals including project records archivist Meaghan McKee, interviewer and research assistant Ron Lambert, and website project coordinator and copywriter Cristian Stromblad.
Gippslandia provided their vital expertise to this project. Thanks go to Michael Duncan for his role in managing the project and helping to turn it into a reality, and to Jess Greaves for her stunning design work on the book and website.