Gary and Ross Demby

November 15 2021

Introduction

Brothers Ross and Gary Demby have a long family history in the logging industry and in sport in Toolangi. Grandfather Charles Isaac Demby came to Toolangi as a young boy in the 1890s. He was Forestry Overseer for Toolangi when he lost his life in the 1939 fires, attempting to rescue a fellow forestry officer in the Toolangi forest. He received a posthumous award for his bravery from the Royal Humane Society. His son Alex, father of Ross and Gary, established the Toolangi Fire Brigade in the 1950s and a family timber mill, which became the last timber mill in Toolangi.