TAUPO LANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 221, 18 September 1929, Page 9

TAUPO LANDS.

PUMICE PASTURES. GREAT EXPECTATIONS. CASE FOR THE RAILWAY. FURTHER EVIDENCE HEARD. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. The M to Z Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives to-day heard additional evidence in support of the petition presented by Mr. E. Earle Vaile and 88 others, asking that the decision to abandon the construction of the RotoruaTaupo railway be reconsidered. Mr. F. Carr Rollett, agricultural journalist, of Auckland, continued his evidence, painting a picture of prosperous small farm settlements should tte railway be constructed. Questioned by the chairman, Colonel T. W. McDonald, he said the State had allowed too much easy farm land to be locked up under forest plantations. If anything would make the railway necessary it would be the working of the timber industry. The Chairman: Would not a vast area bo unavailable for settlement without disturbing the forests? Witness: That is so. The Chairman: A most important fact. To what point was the railway authorised? Witness: To Rtfporoa. The Chairman: My point is that if the" line ends at Eeporoa we are 25 miles further way from the land described. Witness said he believed a permanent supply of water would be available over most of the country. Road Not So Useful. To the Hon. E, A. Ransom: It -was stated in the annual reports, that the Crown owns over 700,000 acres between Rotorua and Taupo. He did not believe a good road would be as useful as a railway. To send fat lambs 100 miles by railway cost 7d per head, as against 1/6 per head for 40 miles by motor lorry. To Mr. H. S. Kyle: Granting that a great area was under plantation, there were large tracts of ploughable country which justified railway construction. He" knew of no area more suitable for largescale settlement. The chief reason for the railway would be development.

To Mr. J. >T. Massey: Good pasture could be created on this pumice country for from £4 10/ to £0 10/ per acre. Butterfat production on a similar class of land went to 3001b. It was essential to build a railway if the country was to be settled intensively, although the State might be able to use fully-loaded motor lorries economically. If the intentions of the State were carried out, £20,000,000 of Government money would be locked up in the forest area, and it could not'be brought out without a railway. It was foolish to hesitate about building the railway.

* "As Good as Waikato Land." v i To Mr. F. Lye: I have not actually ; worked pumice land, and am not a farmer by occupation, but have had a close association with, scores of pumice land farmers. For 25 years I have been an agricultural editor. I believe the pumice land, properly developed, is equally as good as the Waikato land. An area of 50 to 60 acres would keep a family in comfort. Mr. Lye: Have private interests been responsible for the demand for the railway * , ■, ~ Mr. Rollett: It would be natural; there is no one else there. Personally, I own roughly.six acres near Rotorua. It is correct that my nephew owns a block of CSOO acres, but it is hopeless to work it without a railway, and it has been abandoned. To Mr. Semplc: From 700,000 to 800,000 acres of' small farm country could be opened by the railway, although too much has been given over to the plantation. There are a large number of labouring men in New Zealand who would gladly accept holdings to improve them under a Government scheme. \ sound idea would be to put teams of men on improvement work on wages, and so learn conditions before starting on their i own account. To Mr. Samuel: A great part of the Taupo lands was better than Waihi land in the rough state. A railway from Rotorua to Taupo would create a new province. To Mr. Vaile: Very fine tobacco had been grown on Taupo land. To Mr. Semple: On the present market dairying was the best proposition for pumice land, but fruit, especially small fruit, and grass seed could be produced advantageously. Essentially Small Farm Lana. William A. Parnham, farm manager of Reporoa, said it cost him £5 an acre to break' in land in the pumice area where he had been employed five years. It was essentially small farm land. No other country would carry a dairy cow so cheaply. It grew turnips as well as Canterbury, and swedes on the first furrow, which was impossible elsewhere. Half a million acres could be subdivided. The climate was similar to that oi Canterbury, without nor'-westers or snow. He had grown flavourful apples The land was easily worked in all weather. Noxious weeds .were spreading for lack of settlement and blackberry would have possession, if the land remained unsettled, 20 years hence. It now cost £1 a ton to transport manure and 30/ for other goods by road, lie had every confidence that the country could bo closely settled with a railway. To Mr. Kyle: Manure acted rapidly because of a heavy rainfall. _ To Mr. Semple: I have broken m 1.200 acres of pumice land without previous experience, and have now greater confidence in its possibilities than when I eommenced. One and half cwt ot fertiliser is adequate for an acre. _ Stock sickness disappears as the land is cultivated. The valleys aro beautifully watered. Inexperienced men under a supervisor would do well. To Mr. Massey: With a railway moie fertiliser would be very profitably used. To Mr. Samuel: A very large area is capable of immediate settlement, the country could not be profitably settled without a railway. Mr. Parnham said even if a road were Tmilt it would ultimately be necessary to build a railway. Demand For Pumice Land. William G. Butcher, farm manager, of Strathmore Estate, near Reporoa the first settler on pumice country, said he believed tbrce-fourths of the total pumice area was readily ploughable. First pasture with a crop of turnips could, be

produced at £5 an acre. Three-fourths of the country between Rotorua and Waiotapu and Rotorua and Atianmri could be settled. It was very healthy country, and would raise a vigorous type of man. There was practically no useless land. Reporoa settlers originally preferred swamp country; now they sought more pumice, Many had motor cars, and the majority were very comfortable. "I should not start a man on 50, but rather on 150 to 200 acres," he added. "Land should be broken in before men are put on. With 80 years' experience I am convinced that this is the easiest settlement country in New Zealand. It would be far better that the State should settle this land than buy other land for settlement. It was a great mistake to stop the railway, because the railway meant cheap manures, and the nioro fertilisers used the more a settler got out of his land. It would be impossible for a settler to fail with plenty of manures." To' Mr. Lye: Settlement had been retarded through prejudice and. lack of access to Makitamira. Settlement could progress with a, good road only, but not economically.

Questioned by Mr. Samuel, witness said a railway official had shown that a settler could save IG/8 a ton on goods transported between Auckland and .Keporoa if a line were built to Eeporoa.

To the Chairman: A few had failed on pumice land, and those who left came back.

The committee will finish hearing evidence to-morrow morning.