Geeveston was chosen as Robert Affleck Robertson's base of operations because it was close to the forest and to deep water at Hospital Bay. At this point, in 1902, John and Osborne Geeves owned the biggest local sawmill and employed 26 people, so Robertson gained their support and soon included their lease of 1,659 hectares, and their mill in his company's assets. Then, off to Glasgow, where he found a group which he described as "respectable, prominent and conservative men of business". He persuaded them to invest 100,000 pounds in his scheme, which became the Huon Timber Company.;;;;The Huon Timber Company began after World War I to sell its assets and downsize its staff. It never made a profit after 1920, never paid a dividend, and was wound up in 1929 with an accumulated loss of a quarter of a million pounds.