 It was a similar story in the Strzelecki Ranges over in eastern Victoria which became known as the Heartbreak Hills.Much of the abandoned and degraded farmland was purchased by the Forests Commission Victoria and replanted from the late 1920s with either native species or exotic conifers to become the Aire Valley Plantation.In 1869, Victoria’s first "Overseer of Forests and Crown Land Bailiff" William Ferguson was appointed and after spending some time at the Royal Botanic Gardens with Baron Ferdinand von Mueller established the first State Nursery at Macedon in 1872.