Herbert McIntosh

Herbert McIntosh was born at Gosford on the 30th April 1915, the fourth of seven children born to Les and Nina McIntosh. He spent the first 15 years of his life living in various towns or timber camps from Ourimbah, Duffy's Forest, Eastwood, Krambach and Palmwoods.

In 1930 at the height of the depression he moved with his father and brother Clive (using a relief ticket) to the Kyogle area where they found work cutting timber in the Homeleigh, Green Pigeon and Mount Lion areas producing girders and poles for the Sydney and Brisbane markets. His mother and other siblings remained in Sydney to receive their education.

Herbert married Dorothy Reed in 1936 and lived in the Mount Lindsay area 40 miles north of Kyogle in a small village known as Frosty Flat on the headwaters of the Richmond River. Moving into Kyogle in 1949, they were together until Dorothy's death in 1988. During their married life they had seven children.

Around this time Herb, his brother and father became involved in the sport of woodchoping and between them held several local and world championships. They also supplied the blocks for the Sydney Royal Easter Show woodchopping between 1932 and 1968. Herb also held the position of Superintendent Woodchopping taking over from his father in 1955 to 1968, with brother Clive taking over until 1988 when he passed on.

Herb enlisted in the RAAF in 1942 and served his time at various places in the Northern Territory where he drove petrol tankers. During those years they purchased, owned, rented, borrowed and drove many different types of trucks. One of their first trucks was a solid tyre 1919 International which Herb drove when he was still in his teens, progressing to a 1937 and 1944 Maple Leaf. One of these was used to transport a 90 foot girder around the winding Mount Lindsay highway to Brisbane using a steerable trailer which was built by Herb. It was the longest load ever carried on this route.

Around 1948 Herb built a tractor using various types of trucks which became known as the Cockroach. This tractor was used for pole snigging up until the 1970s.

In 1957 herb and his two eldest sons established a sawmill on the outskirts of Kyogle, supplying all types of poles, girders, housing and boat keel timbers to various markets throughout New South Wales and Queensland. The mill eventually closed in 1998.

Herb retired from the timber business in 1975 but kept himself active eventually purchasing a small holding at Dyrabba near Kyogle where he lived on his own for ten years. He became a reference figure for many landholders who sought his advice and assistance. Herb's siblings, most of whom had the benefit of a good education described him as a genius because he left school with little education yet went on to achieve everything he did. Herb passed away in January 2006.