WAIKATO SWAMPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 267, 8 November 1923, Page 3

WAIKATO SWAMPS.

IDLE RICH LAND. NEED FOR VISION. *" COMPREHENSIVE SCHEME NECESSARY. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, this day. An exceedingly interesting and illu niinating address oa the swamp landi of South Auckland was given by iir N. G. Gribble, secretary of the Manga ■wara Drainage Board, before the Ham ilton Chamber of Commerce. 3lr. Gribble said that Hamilton shoult be particularly interested in the swamj lands of South Auckland, for there wen vast stretches of these undeveloped al round the town, which, if brought intc cultivation, would mean a tremendous thing for tiie progress of the place. The\ could travel for 2.> miles by rail betweer Auckland and Hamilton over the Whan gamarino swamp with the land on eithei side almost entirely undeveloped, whilt on other sides of the town there -wer< the great Rukuhia swamp and i)lu Ruakura swamp. , Xo form o£ lam improvement was so remunerative and unfortunatelj", no land was so baclcwarc as these,swamps areas, which was due t< prejudice, ignorance and difficulty o securing- co-operation amongst interestet parties. Take the Rukuhia swamp, foi instance. Here there had 'been mereli a little scratching of the soil at till Krankton end, while an area of iron 15.000 to 20,000 acres ivas crying out foi development. Private enterprise liac done something towards this, but tin problem could only be tackled by a. <bi| i-ombined effort. The Ruakura swam) :ompri=ed nearly 60,000 acres, of whicl !0,000 -were under control of the Hillsid< Jrainage Board, 10,000 under the Kureki drainage Board, and 17,000 under the V'oodlands Drainage Board.- in tin lillside area there was some of tilu )est land in Waikato, which had beei aised from useless swamp to a. veri (rolific state of productiveness. Tin ■langawara River district compriset iwainp lands at Tauhei, the Ten Foot )rini and Te Hoe, about SO.OOO acre! n all 60,000 acres of which had prob bly benefited by ite operations. Th< Teat Whangamarino swamp comprisec 0,000 acres at Waikare, GO,OOO a A'hangamarino, 70,000 at Maramarua, o 80,000 acres in all, and yet in the wholi f t'hi3 territory there was not a singl< iody constituted whose concern it we 1 o improve the country. The land was j tanding disgrace to the province. Tin soil was of very high quality aii( uitable for intensive cultivation, sucl .a market gardening on a scalo Topping, grazing and dairying. Simila and in California cut up into area if from five to twenty acres, and re itilised for dairying, asparagus greying, cropping, poultry-rearing, and fo ruit and vegetables. He felt convince! hat in many of "the areas the "\vate vould have to be pumped out, and thi 3ould best be done by the employmen if electrical energy, of which there wa low a good deal going- to waste in th Auckland province. At. present muc :ood worlc done by the drainage boaTd vas rendered useless by the farmer themselves failing to take full advantag )f the main drains by putting in sections jr subsidiary drains. They must ploug their land, allowing the sunshine an rain to pierce the soil and sweeten ii The drainage of all these swamps -woul ncan not only a benefit to the farmei >ut an advantage to the whole of th jurrounding country and the adjacen :owna by bringing about higher cond: Hone of livinjr, better roads and close icttloment, T\ r hich would mean easing th jurdens of all.