“Desperate’ Shortage Of Labour In Chathams

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31162, 12 September 1966, Page 7

“Desperate’ Shortage Of Labour In Chathams

The constant drain of young I persons from the Chatham Islands to the mainland was a major cause of lack of interest in progress on the islands, said the forest extension officer of the Canterbury conservancy of the Forest Service (Mr G. A. J. Greig). He visited the Islands recently to encourage tree planting and study the problems of afforestation and planting trials. Mr Greig said there was a desperate labour shortage on the islands. What little labour there was had gone to the crayfishing industry. Farmers did not know which way to turn to get labour. “The tragedy is that children go to the mainland for education and never return,” Mr Greig said. “If there is ever to be any progress the Chathams will have to have a high school and a more reliable transport service." Shelter From Wind

The greatest need, apart from labour, was the provision of shelter from the southwest wind. His recommendation to those wishing to establish shelter belts or woodlots was that they start with the native flax or pampas grass, then Norfolk Island pine for the first line of shelter. Inside this radiata pine, then macrocarpa, was the most satisfactory order.

“Exposed macrocarpa has suffered severely from wind. Some trees are almost horizontal. whereas radiata does not show the same damage. The growth rate and form of macrocarpa in these sheltered conditions are excellent,” he said.

The county council had applied f or a forestry encouragement loan to plant 70 acres in trees. Another farmer had planted two acres as a start on a five-year project to plant 50 acres. He said the county ehair-

man (Mr D. Holmes) estimated that 90,000 trees had been planted in the Chathams since 1959, largely as a result of promotional work by Mr J. Johnson, a former South Island forest extension officer. Mr Greig said the present plans for planting were not ' purely for large-scale afforesi tation. The Forest Service I would like to see the Chathams self-sufficient for posts lin their farm development (scheme. The target for this was about 250 acres. Land Development Farmers were making big strides in land development under the local Department of Agriculture adviser. Their greatest problem, however, was getting areas fenced because of the difficulty of getting fencing materials. At a meeting with the council, Mr Treig described the loan scheme as it applied to county councils, the logical development of the afforestation area, fencing, firebreaks, cultivation; and layout. The plan of operation was gone into in detail. He spoke of the handling of these stocks from nursery to planting site, and emphasised the need for all aspects of ground preparation to be completed early. He advocated early planting to take advantage of the frost-free climate and the autumn rains At a later public meeting a steering committee was formed for the ultimate establishment of a farm forestry i association.