In addition to his production skills, Peter also has extensive experience in historic research and writing, in the field-survey of historic sites, in comparative heritage assessment, and the provision of comprehensive reports (see below). The latest GPS technology and electronic map sets are now available for mapping complex and extended sites.

Peter’s speciality is industrial and forest history but is by no means limited to these fields. He has a thorough knowledge of Lands, Forests and Company records held by the PROV, and has conducted much oral history recording (the latest digital recording equipment is available for this task). In addition, Peter has had charge of the restoration of heritage machinery for Parks Victoria and has been involved in the conservation and restoration of heritage sites for the Victorian Department of Sustainability & Environment.

Peter is available for the writing of commissioned company histories.

Books:

From Fjords to Eucalypt Forests: Bjarne K. Dahl’s Journey. Published August 2010 by the Bjarne K. Dahl Trust. In A5 format, soft cover, 34 pages.

Rails to Rubicon: A History of the Rubicon Forest. Published November 1994 by the Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. In A4 format, 208 pages, case bound, 91,000 words of text and 9,000 words of captions. Indexed and fully referenced (with bibliography).

Tram to Paradise Plains; Tram Across the Range; and Alstergren's Bells Clear Creek Sawmill. In Secrets of the Forest by Tom Griffiths. Allen and Unwin, 1992. Co-authored The Old Federal Mill with M. J. McCarthy in the same publication.

Papers in conference publications and articles in historical journals:

Steam in the Archives Part II: Boiler records for mining locomotives in Victoria 1929-1947. In Light Railways issue 209, October 2009.

Milling Australia’s Forests. In Australia and New Zealand Forest Histories, Occasional Publications No.1, editor J. Dargavel, Australian Forest History Society, Canberra, August 2005. Also published in IUFRO News of Forest History Nr.11 (35)/2004 2005, International Union of Forest Research Organisations (Forest History Research Group). One of a series of papers backgrounding Australia’s forests for the IUFRO XXII Wold Congress 2005 conference held in Brisbane. IUFRO Secretariat, Vienna, August 2005.

The Great Wall of China: Catchment Policy and the Forests beyond the Yarra Watershed 1850-1950. In A Forest Consciousness: Proceedings of the Sixth National Conference of the Australian Forest History Society. M. Calver et al. (editors). Millpress Science Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 2005.

Forest Fire and Funeral Pyre: Tragedies of the Victorian Bush. In The Victorian Naturalist, Volume 121 (3), Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, June 2004.

Russell & Russell, Pressure Gauge Manufacturers. In The Old Machinery Magazine, issue 104 and 105, December 2002 and February 2003.

Steam in the Archives Part I: Boiler records for industrial locomotives in Victoria 1906-1935. In Light Railways issue 160, August 2001. Another version of this article with a heritage skew was published in The Old Machinery Magazine, issues 111 and 112, 2004.

Two Krausses and a ‘Koppel: The spoil tramways of the Port of Melbourne 1906-1909. In Light Railways issue 156, December 2000.

The Yarra Track: An exploration of cultural sites along an early Victorian goldfields route. In Historic Environment, Volume 14 Number 3, Australia ICOMOS, December 1999.

A Question of Influence: Agents for Krauss Locomotives and Bochum Union rolling stock in Australia. In Light Railways issue 150, December 1999.

The Tarago Aqueduct Tunnel. In Light Railways, issue 137, 1997.

Refuge From Fire: Sawmill Dugouts in Victoria. In Australia's Ever Changing Forests III: Proceedings of the Third National Conference on Australian Forest History. J. Dargavel (editor). Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, 1997.
Assessing Heritage Values of Sawmills and Tramways in Central Victoria. In Australia's Ever Changing Forests II: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Australian Forest History. J. Dargavel and S. Feary (editors). Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, 1993.

Recording Australia's Forest Heritage: Kirchhubel's West Tanjil Sawmill and Tramway. In Light Railways issue 116, 1992.

Websites

Historical consultant and co-writer for the ABC’s innovative “Black Friday” web site http://www.abc.net.au/blackfriday/home/. The task included the provision of text and relevant images to tight deadlines. The site won the 2004 ATOM Award for Best Educational site in Australia and New Zealand, was a finalist in the AIMIA Awards under the Best Cultural section and also won the 2004 Fire Awareness Community Service Award for Excellence.

Wrote text and supplied images for the official Alexandra Timber Tramway web-site http://www.alexandratramway.org.au

Published Reports

Y112 of the Victorian Railways. Published by The Sovereign Hill Museums Association, August 2010.

Unpublished reports:

A Study of Historic Sawmill and Tramway Sites in the Gippsland Forest Region, Victoria. For Environment Australia and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. (40,000 words plus site gazetteer). Completed January 1999.

A Study of Historic Sawmill and Tramway Sites in the West Forest Region, Victoria. For Environment Australia and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. (50,000 words plus site gazetteer). Completed December 1998.

A Study of Historic Sawmill and Tramway Sites in the North East Forest Region, Victoria. For Environment Australia and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. (45,000 words plus site gazetteer). Completed December 1997.

Brown & Cecil's Royston Mill: An Archaeological Survey. For the Historic Places Section, Department of Natural Resources and Environment. May 1997.

Forest Fire and Funeral Pyre: Historic Fire Sites in the Central Highland Forests of Victoria. A report to the Historic Places Section, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. (26,000 words). Completed December 1993.

The Rubicon Hydro Electric Scheme. A classification report for the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). Versions of the same report with slightly different assessment methods to meet differing criteria were provided to the Australian Heritage Commission and the Historic Buildings Council. October 1993.

A Report to the Australian Heritage Commission on Sawmill and Tramway Sites in the Central Highland Forests of Victoria. For the Australian Heritage Commission. Three volumes. (80,000 words). July 1993.

A Report on the Steam Power Plant, Day's Mill and Farm, Murchison. For Parks Victoria, June 1993 onwards. Updated as work proceeds on the restoration of the plant.

Work in progress:

Black Saturday 2009: a post-fire survey of historic sawmill sites in fire affected areas. An unpublished report being prepared for the Light Railway Research Society of Australia and Heritage Victoria. (Heritage Victoria project 3544).

Wooden Rails and Green Gold: A Century of Timber and Transport in the Forests along the Yarra Track (in prep). Research draft currently 300,000 words. To be published approximately 2014 in A4 format, 250+ pages, case bound.

Forest or Farm?: The Battle for the Forests in the Shire of Heytesbury (in prep). No definite plans for publication as yet. Currently 25,000 words.

Reconstructing Robb’s Reward: Light railway archaeology at a small Victorian gold mine (in prep). To be offered to Light Railway Research Society of Australia when completed.

The Wolfram Mine at Marysville (in prep). To be offered to the Australian Mining History Association when completed.

Copper, Platinum and Gold – An Industrial History of Coopers Creek Victoria (in prep). To be offered to the Light Railway Research Society when completed.

Water Turbines on the Woods Point Goldfield. (in prep). To be offered to the Australian Mining History Association when completed.

Individual Site Reports: