MAKING MACKENZIE BLOOM

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33803, 27 March 1975, Page 10

MAKING MACKENZIE BLOOM

When Mr R. L. G. Talbot, member of Parliament for South Canterbury, visited the Mackenzie Country recently to ’ ,2 himself with irriga-

tion developments and proposals in the area, he saw two examples of how this sometimes rather arid region can be made to bloom with water.

There was a rather remarkable example of this on 58,000 acres Godley Peaks station near Lake Tekapo.

Here Mr Bruce Scott, of Godley Peaks Station Ltd, says that it was the great wool boom of 1972-73 that made the irrigation development possible. In that season the fine wool from the station averaged 219 c per kilogram.

Before that when working on the flats near the lake Mr Scott had dreamed of the sort of development now taking place using a water source above the flats. When wool prices boomed he contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Mr A. Warren, of the Ministry, did a feasibility study and his first choice of a scheme for irrigation development has been implemented. A Christchurch firm, Homershams, designed the system, a good deal of which was installed by the station staff. Use has been made of water from a stream, the Mistake, from which a water race was cut during the depression to supply the homestead. Water is drawn off from this race into a 4000 gallons reservoir and from here, overlooking the extensive flats bordering the lake, the water is fed down through 12,600 ft of Bin and 6in fibrelite pipe giving a minimum fall of 240 ft and a maximum of 316 ft, This fall is used to drive by gravity a travelling irrigator, supplied by Andrews and Beaven, which applies about two inches cf water at a time travelling at 3in to 18in a minute.

The use of water power to drive this plant, according

to Mr Scott, has saved in about four and a half months continuous operation this season the equivalent of well over 9000 gallons of diesel fuel, a saving that might well earn a special commendation in these days of energy conservation.

The scheme at this stage commands 140 acres but this area is too much for one machine and the area effectively irrigated is about 110 acres. A second machine was used for a time but it was found that they were only 60 per cent better off with it. Mr Scott believes that a lot of other neighbouring stations could operate a similar sort of gravity system.

The one on Goldey Peaks has cost a total of 536.000. The result has been that on country where only 1400 bales of hay were being made, production last year went up to 9000 and this year it has gone up to 15,000. and Mr Scott says that the potential is still going up. This season in the form of hay and silage the equivalent of about 15,500 bales of hay have been produced.

Mr Scott is convinced that water is the key factor. On an area that was drilled in the spring of 1973 in cowgrass 1800 bales of hay and some 200 tons of silage have been taken this season off 20 acres.

Where part of this area was fenced and it has not been irrigated no hay at all has been mads this season.

With hay barns full, Mr Scott has lately turned to silage making and when Mr Talbot visited the property recently there was

also a 400 ton stack of silage.

As yet only a fraction ''f the Godley Peaks flats has been tapped. Mr Scott says that there are 900 acres of them so that there would be scope for about nine of the present machines.

Another wool boom is awaited to give further impetus to the development.

This year about 3000 sheep will be wintered on hay. They would have otherwise been out on the hill exposed to snow risk. The other example of what can be done with water was on Mr A. T. Murray’s Maryburn station between Pukaki and Tekapo where there is a cooperative demonstration area. Here on country that in its native state would support about a sheep to five acres a crop of some 50 acres of Pitau white clover, grown on irrigated borders, has been harvested this season. This country varies from quite good spots to virtually river bed but water has caused a notable change in the scene and while three inches of rain about harvest time complicated matters flattening the crop ail'd about four or five acres of the area were lost because of uneven ripening, still more than a sack of undressed seed to the acre was taken, particularly when account is taken of the land lost in border dyke embankments — some 3772 kilograms weight of sacks and seed was delivered to store last week.

Mr Murray said that Department of Scientific and Industrial Research fertiliser trials in the area had indicated that a large part of the response on this country was due to water. On a neighbouring 24 acres on the property, which is also under irrigation, Mr Murray said that up to 10 sheep had been carried to the acre.

Mr Murray is also a member of the Maryburn Irrigation Company, consisting of four station holders, who plan to irrigate 1500 acres of country.