Innovations: Mullenising

In the 1870s, South Australian farmer Charles Mullen developed land-clearing method, known as Mullenising. Mullen's land near Wasleys, north of Adelaide, was covered in deep-rooted mallee (a type of dwarf eucalyptus) scrub, as was much land in South Australia. In order to clear the land, Mullen rolled an old boiler over the low mallee (taller trees still had to be cut down by axe). The remaining scrub was left to dry out, then burnt. Following the burning, he rolled a spiked log (a mulleniser) over the land to break up the soil and then sowed his wheat.  After the wheat had been harvested the stubble was burnt; this removed any mallee shoots and cleared any loose roots. Mullenising was used extensively in Australia and in other parts of the world.