Three men win right to settlement farms

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34031, 20 December 1975, Page 2

Three men win right to settlement farms

Three men won a Government ballot yesterday and got the opportunity to become Canterbury farmers. Their numbers were drawn from a barrel in a ballot held by the Lands and Survey Department in Christchurch for three irrigation properties on the Valetta farm settlen <>t in Mid-Canterbury. The Commissioner of Crown Land (Mr G. Mollett), who is also the chairman of the South Canterbury land settlement committee, had just completed interviewing applicants for the farms. He said that there had been 46, of which 23 had finally been admitted to the ballot. Five of the applicants were from Otago, two from Southland, and four from the North Island. The first marble drawn was

that of Mr R. A. Bain, a shepherd and married man, aged 33, of Outran), Otago. Next came the marble of Mr R. W. Gooseman, aged 36, also a married man, who is in charge of stock on a Wellington Boys’ Institute property in Hawke’s Bay. The final lucky applicant was Mr R. M. Greer, a farmhand, aged 26, also married, who until recentlj was working for Mr R. H. Kerr at Salisbury, on the outskirts of Timaru. It was his first attempt to draw a property in a ballot, but another man who arrived at the offices of the department just after the drawing of the properties was completed has not been so lucky. He was Mr D. W. Weily, from Northern Southland, who was in an earlier ballot for Valetta farms 11 years ago. He has now been an unsuccessful starter in 16 or 17 ballots for land, including

the one held yesterday. If any of the three men does not take up the properties for any reason, his farm will go to one of another three men whose numbers were also drawn yesterday. Failure to take up farms does not occur very often. Mr Mollett said before the ballot that the occasion marked the disposal of the last three units on the settlement, about 19 kilometres from Ashburton. The area had originally consisted of about 4049 hectares, most of which had been acquired between 1940 and 1957. The three farms, which the new settlers will take up towards the end of February, are from 189 to 194.5 hectares. About 70 per cent of their areas have been prepared for irrigation, and they are estimated to carry from 1770 ewes and 540 hoggets to 1950 ewes and 595 hoggets.