LAND SETTLEMENT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 151, 7 April 1933, Page 2

LAND SETTLEMENT

EXPERIMENT IN THE WAIKATO. MANY MEN WILLING. (Special to the “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, April 6. The experience of the Lands Department in throwing open for selection nine sections of the Te Kauwhata estate, in the Waikato, last week provided significant evidence that there are many men with farming ability willing, even under present conditions, to take up land on reasonable terms, iii line with the economic conditions of the industry. Many years ago the area was planted in wattle, with the idea that the bark of these trees would be valuable for the tanning industry. The experiment was not an economic success, and the Lands Department cleared the whole area, utilising unemployed workers for much of the stumping and felling. Some portions were given three ploughings, and all the sections carry sufficient pasture to enable a settler to make a prompt start in dairying. Portions of the sections, nine in number and averaging 160 to 170 acres, are unimproved. The tenures were either freehold for cash, a 66 years’ renewable lease, or deferred payment. Applications closed on March 24, and there were from nine to thirty-six applicants for every section, with the result that the Land Board had to interview candidates to ascertain their qualifications and submit the sections for ballot, under which system they were all taken up.