PRODUCTIVE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 236, 5 October 1937, Page 10

PRODUCTIVE LAND.

GALATEA ESTATE.

SHOWED PROFIT LAST YEAR

SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, Monday.

Officers of the Lands Department are confident that the settlement of the Galatea Estate of 22,000 acres, 50 miles eouth-east of Rotorua, will prove to be one of the moet interesting social experiments in New Zealand. When the property, which was taken over by the Department in 1932, is fully developed it is expected that homes will be provided for 150 families.

When the present Government took over from the outgoing administration the Hon. F. Langstone, Minister of Lands, took the earliest opportunity of visiting Galatea .and he has since displayed keen interest in the development of the estate. In a statement which he made this evening the Minister said that the area is being broken up into compact and attractive farms which before long may be expected to carry a population of at least 750 people.

When the estate was privately owned it was staffed by nine men, all of whom, except the manager, were Maoris. Two women and five children were also living there, making a total population of 16. Since 1932 an average of 40 men have been employed continuously on development work, exclusive of station hands, and to-day the estate has a more or less permanent population of 176. There are seven share-milking families, with n total of 16 children, 12 families of new settlers, with a total of 35 children, five single men as settlers, 40 men engaged on development work, five of them married, with 11 children, and 11 station hands, five of them married, with 11 children. The present population is almost exclusively Euuropean, there being only four Maoris.

Since the acquisition of the estate approximately 8500 acres have been laid down in permanent pasture, 450 miles of fencing have been erected and 60 miles of internal roading have been constructed. Ten new share-milkers' cottages have been provided, and five station houses, and 10 houses for new settlers are either erected or are in course of erection.

The success of the development tindertaking is illustrated even more graphically by the increased carrying capacity of the land. The latest figures show that the stock on the property is as follows:—2o,f>3o sheep, 5800 run cattle, 721 dairy cows, 22 bulls, 11 dairy heifers and 150 yearling heifers; three draught horse*, 19 farm horses and three hacks; 11 boars. 4.3 sows and 223 mixed store pipe. The total value of this stock, assessed on a conservative market basis, is in the vicinity of £75.000.

The productive capacity of the land has been proved already by the fact that last year's operations showed a substantial 'profit after allowing for full interest payments, and the future of the block as a prosperous farming area seems definitely assured.