FIRE TOWER , MT LITTLE DICK , MOUNT LITTLE DICK , TIMBER FIRE TOWER
Location
MOUNT LITTLE DICK ROAD DEPTFORD, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE
Level
Registered
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2025 Heritage Victoria
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Diagram 2461 b
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aerial diagram
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2025 DEECA
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2025 Heritage Victoria
Statement of Significance
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is on the land of the Gunaikurnai people. It is located on Crown land subject to both a Native Title determination and a Recognition and Settlement Agreement under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act.
What is significant?
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is a timber fire spotting tower located on the summit of Mount Little Dick in the Bruthen State Forest. It was erected in 1940 by the Forests Commission of Victoria following the devastating Black Friday bushfires of 1939.
How is it significant?
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is of historical significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register: Criterion A Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history. Criterion B Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history. Criterion D Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.
Why is it significant?
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is historically significant as an evocative remnant of the responses to Victoria’s devastating Black Friday bushfires of January 1939. Following the fires, the Forests Commission embarked on a state-wide effort to improve fire detection measures, including the expansion of its network of fire detection towers. The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is an outcome of that era and enables the impact of the 1939 bushfires to be well understood.
(Criterion A)
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is significant as a rare surviving example of a timber fire tower. Its four-legged design was a once common type in Victoria, yet few comparable examples survive. Many have since been destroyed by fire, while other examples have been demolished and replaced with other structures. The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is the most intact remaining example of its type in Victoria and is now a relatively early surviving example.
(Criterion B)
The Mount Little Dick Fire Tower is significant as a notable example of a timber fire tower in Victoria. Dating from the immediate aftermath of the 1939 bushfires, it is a particularly historically relevant example. It retains many of its original elements, including its timber cabin and a portion of the ladder, enabling the design and construction of these structures to be well understood. Its construction from readily available local timber demonstrates the skill and ingenuity of its builders.
