SOLDIER SETTLEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 281, 25 November 1921, Page 7

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT.

BREAKING IN BUSH LANDS. EXPERIMENT AT HOKIANGA. A CONTRAST WITH SETTLEMENT LANDS. GOOD FARMS AT LOW COST. (From the "Auckland Star" Special Reporter). (NO. T.) These acquainted with the far North probably know the magnificent stretches of bush land running in a great tortile belt between Mangamuka and Kaitaia, and traversing the Broadwood-Here-kino district midway. Here, notwithstanding the bringing in of many thousands of acres, lie vast stretches of untouched forest reserve and State national endowment lands, typifying.the beauty and fertility of the virginal New Zealand forest. At the command of development and the insatiable call of th" lnnil hunger, beauty must bond its fair head before the utilitarian's axe and forest slowly give place to wealth bringing pasture. So, if nowadays you ride along the Broadwood road in the direction of Hcrekino, you will find a wonderful transformation in that broad expanse of native bush that lies for miles athwart the road ere the Awaroa bridge is reached. Two years ago was ihe unscarred forest, sombre, stately and brooding as in the days when the northern Maori challenged the advent of the Pakeha, its silence broken only by the mellow note of the bell bird or the call of other native birds. To-day the forest rings with the impact of axe upon wood, and sunshine floods tjie slopes where the pioneer has hewn great gashes in the tiered walls of leafy forest. Here and there expanses cf fading green turning to brown and yellow, mark where the bush ha? boon fellod, and at every turn shining carpets of verdant pasture, studded with blackened stumps of trees, ferns and palms, are laid haphazardly to light up the sombre forest garb of the hills. AN ALTERNATIVE TO PURCHASE. Such is the track of settlement where the soldiers have invaded the well-known Pareokawa (or Awaroa) block of 3670 acres. Already the progress made by the settlers provides a striking illustration of the success of the alternative policy to the ' purchase of improved private estates—to which the Government has been more or less wedded — and there is evidence that the advent of a greater number of soldier settlers would infuse a new spirit into the somewhat stagnant agriculture of the Hokianga. The Pareokawa block was thrown open some two years ago. Officially described, for the purposes of the Land Board's classification, as secondclass land, there is nevertheless every reason to believe that the soil theTeon win be found equal to the best of the Broadwood land, noted for its feedproducing qualities, even in the driest of weather. The block intended to be opened twelve months earlier, but the ballot 'was deferred on account of a proposal that an experiment should be made in the direction of co-operative development. A scheme was propounded with the object of falling fche bush over the whole of the block, following which the sections were to be allotted to the soldier-workers when the task was completed. The scheme fell through, owing, it is stated, to its failure to appeal to the discharged loldiers, and consequently the land was thrown open to ex-service men by ballot in the ordinary way. OX THE ROAD TO SUCCESS. There was no dearth of applicants then, and in due course the whole of the sections were allotted. One or two of the sections were subsequently abandoned, and were taken up 'by fresh settlers, but the settlement is now on tie high Toad to productivity. The land is tapped at two points from Broadwood, the main access being by the metalled road running from that settlement to Herekino, while other sections lie on either side of the Haumanga Valley road. In a northerly direction a new road, partly-formed, but incomplete, branches towards the Takahue-Whan-gape block—another area of bush land taken up by returned soldiers. In due course there will be a thoroughfare from the Kaitada-Mangonui road to the Broadwood road, almost the entire length of which will traverse territory in the occupation of ex-service men—a memorial which should perpetuate the spirit of the- great war in the HokiangaMangonui district as vividly as any inanimate token. Tlip land is national endowment, and therefore the conditions of lease exclude right of purchase. The term, however, is 66 yeare, with perpetual right of renewal, and the rental at four per cent on capital value. The sub-divisional scheme provides fourteen sections of an average of 260 acres, while the capital values give an average of a liti-fe over £2 peryaore. The capital value per farm thus works out at about £540, and the average rent £21 12/ a year. Under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act advances for stock and improvements in the case of ■T>ush lands may be made up to £1000, with £1250 in special cases, so that it will be seen that, even if the full amount of the available loan were called upon, start would be made upon a considerably lees capital value than is the case with the general run of improved soldier settlements.

A fine type of settler is on the land. Curiously enough, the bushlands of the North seemed to have appealed mainly to men -with experience of the cropping lands of the South Island—at all events quite a number unacquainted with this part of the country appear to have been successful in the ballot. The ballot took place early in 1920, so that it was late in the season before the most active of the men were able to put in an appearance and make a start. In less than twelve months most of the settlers had sixty OT seventy acres down, and last autumn the Broadwood district was ablaze with 'bush fires as the felled timber was burned. The areas were surface sown, and despite the fact that some of the burns -were not as clean as could be desired, a favourable autumn produced an excellent take of grass. The winter months were devoted to fencing, and many miles of fences, the timber for w&ieh, of course, was on the property, have been constructed at very little expenditure other than the wire. In the meantime the settlers have lived on the advances made to them from time to time by the Lands Department on account of improvements effected or where they wished to avoid interest-bearing loans" upon their own Money. In some cases the whole of the work has been carried out by the settlers, in others, -where there was delay

in taking up the land, contract labour has been called in to bring nearer the day when the farm will pay its way. Even in these cases the cost of improvement has been relatively small, for falling has been carried out in some cases at as low a figure as 30/ per acre.

MILKING AFTER 18 MONTHS. Th- net result is that after eighteen months of occupation some of the settlers are actually supplying cream to the factory, while others are carrying dry stock in preparation for next spring. Meanwhile bush-felling is proceeding with vigour. The settlement provides a striking contrast with the estates upon which soldiers have been placed at a cost of £2,000 to £3,000. Reminiscent of the old pioneering days are the .nikau whares and shingle huts and outbuildings, which have sufficed the settlers thus far. On one section, where the cowbells were tinkling among the etumps and charred loe«, was built a big, primitive whare with the usual open chiranev —the home of a young , active man who is making striking headway by dint of unremitting toil. The whare is the . combined kitchen and dining room for himself, his father and mother and sister (who are sharing his hardships), and Hiß sleeping apartment of the male folk. Another rough, but well built *hed of sawn timber provides extra sleeping accommodation. A strong and durable four-bail cowshed has been built mainly out of timber split with axe, maul and wedges, and the timbers for a stockyard that should defy the most intractable of bueh heifers had similarly been provided by the natural growth of the bush. Ironmongery for gates and roofing are despised by the handy bush-carpenter, who can make a sate swing aa truly on a hole and pivot fashioned by the axe a-s upon a cast hinge. The roof of the cowehed was of rough boards, rendered quite weather tight, and the floor of solid planks. An open-air dairy accommodated the spotlessly clean utensils and a neighbouring spring provided an ideal cream-cooler. Thus, at a trifling cost, the settler had commenced dairying—not in a large way, for some 70 acres of new grass has not too great a stocking capacity, but on a scale sufficiently large, probably, to pay interest on the few hundreds borrowed for stock, wire, and timber, and provide the half-yearly Tent of £il2 4/. All this, despite the fact that the soldier had had to contend against the handicap of a broken leg— a mishap that befel him early in hie labours.

SOUND FINANCE. The lesson of this section may be said to epitomise the argument for the virgin lands. The capital value of this .particular section, 282 acres in area, 'ie £610, but the State's actual monetary investment is restricted to advances for improvements and stock, for which the Government is fully secured by the labour of the settler. The settler's rent is £12 4/ half-yearly, and his interest payments relatively light. At five per cent, on £300 they would amount to £15 yearly. In total his annual obligations at this stage would amount probably to £40—in striking contrast with those of some of the men on highly improved blocks, whose rent may amount to £80, payments on buildings and improvement loans £50, rates £16, and milking machines £12. The payments represent two widely different types of finance, each with its merits, but experience seems to indicate that "tiheTe l-i as much JikeQihood of the settler with the flying start on improved land falling into arrear as of the man battling- his way in the bush failing to meet his obligations.Another striking example of rapid success is provided by a further settler who has proceeded upon the lines of modest and careful finance and already is milking- eleven cows. Appreciative of the value of the plough, he selected fern-grown pieces of flat along the Awaroa River frontage and, taking advantage of the partial enclosure afforded by bends in the river, erected small lengths of fencing and thus obtained several easily-erffclosed paddoc'ke. Rough ploughing was followed by crops, sown with little or no manure, and afterwards grass wae put down. Meanwhile he tackled a considerable area of bush, obtained a good burn and grass-take, and was able to start milking on a remunerative scale this season. Only unremitting toil and energy of course en•abled Ihim to accomplish this, white simultaneously constructing rough buildings and looking after his own personal requirements. Thus, to-day this soldier is in possession of a farm of 227 acres, with a capital value of only £400, and a yearly rental of £16, together with a nice little dairy herd. By employing hie own capital he has kept hie other obligations down to a minimum, and may be said to be in a position to pay his way irrespective of further developments. For various reasons the Pareokawa block ie calculated to provide a highlysucceseful settlement, bringing genuine increased production, enhancing the prosperity of the district, Unlikely to be an annual charge upon' the State (as undoubtedly will be the case with many soldier settlements), strengthening the Government's security in the improvement of endowment lands, and (providing the soldier with something more than a mere existence. In a district so far removed from centres of distribution, the settlers will have peculiar difficulties to contend with, and must carry the burden of high freights more or lees permanently. Nevertheless, the position of the block gives it uncommonly good facilities, inasmuch as it is connected with Broadwood and Kohukohu, on the Hokianga, by a road metalled over most of its 1 distance, and is within easy distance of the creamery at Herekino, which will serve it until the reserve on the 'block for a creamery site ie utilised in this direction. The opening of the new Broadwood-Mangamuka Road will give' ultimate access to the new freezing works at Moewera, while a long frontage to the Awaroa River provides actual eea access. At the present time the settlers are energetically supporting a movement to have Whangape gazetted ac a port, so that their materials brought up by boat to Whangape and thence by barge or launch to the Awaroa Bridge, may he covered by insurance.