6. Fencing The Land
Early fencing methods used in South Gippsland
Information in this section compiled by Ian Lester.
The fences described in this section were very important and they were easily made out of the timber so readily available to the pioneers of this region in particular.
Simple methods
Useful for marking boundaries and controlling a handful of farm animals using what was available.
Tree branch fences
Some early fences were simply a high roughly-stacked row of tree branches. These were quick and easy to build as materials were readily available but had the disadvantage of taking up too much land and thus reducing the area of pasture available.
Dog leg Fences
Another form of fencing was the dogleg fence which used spars similar to the chock and log fence but had no chocks. The logs were stacked on one another in a shallow zigzag.
Chock and log fences
Very substantial, but what do the pigs have to say?
Post and Rail
An advanced and popular fencing technique, requiring a lot of effort to build.
Picket and Paling
Very sturdy fencing method, useful for smaller animals. Made good use of available wood.