The first task facing these early settlers was of course to carve out farms and homes from the dense bush – a thankless and difficult job. At first this work was carried out by hand, the settlers ring barking trees and cutting the undergrowth with axes and slash hook, the ash from the annual summer burnings used as fertilizer to help in the growth of grass and clover for cattle. The introduction of horses and bullocks at least provided some relief from the hard task of settlement.
