MAKING THE COUNTRY KNOWN

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1031, 21 January 1911, Page 14

MAKING THE COUNTRY KNOWN

j .series'of .-' jeet being the 1 , work; pf]tho'' ; ]^|^KKbft • Southern Hawkcvs ;^nl. their'trials;"; [■'. tribulations, t^ij4y;Wp^ s ?®,s^s'/Th6:, i issu6 ( ' ; C alsb'perves' to', illustrate 'in: many .-.ways . ..theitrapsfornia'tioiL.bf 'a country' in tho. atljihe;. 1 should -.bp of; yaluel.to-tho; i . flip/ycoilntry ■ generaUy;:;lt; ; ; ;is more -and, | mora J 'every tl'aKtMt*:in-)"order' to'- attraef' a , "further immigration in New Zealand. ' : arid Australia, the countries must bo '. .'made kiidwn to 'as wide 'a J -public".-Ss; , /possible. Australia 'has begun to fol|low"3u ilie footsteps" of Canada in tliiS" i . matter, Queensliffifl;'' of • the States, ibeirig most to the'fore. Tho.illustrated . -farming . issues 'of ; The 'Dominion. are t.. on' similar lines; and , they havo experienced a--very Snde oyeriiill. I ! . world,, while at l'-'. / thb.sanib time'they ha¥b;bebn received ! with great . favour in .all,.parts' of, the f '•Dominion.'.'. For.these,.very satisfactory. result's,;., The Dominion has to 'express ! -. its-sincere tlianks to . farmers and set-' f tiers 'generally -for. their ' co-operatipu,' ; ; .and tb the peopb. • .of the ' . several,.towns, who have. always shown cohsiderableienterprise in. giving-mark-, 1 1 ;cd :'support to the publicity,idea.. - . : &ou'tliern. : Hawke's Bay: comprises -tho splendid areas of. sheep.country extending down from Otane to the Ruatamvha : :" Plains /and across to Porangahan and. ,'Akitio, and,.magnificent st-retohes of ' bush lands, one of. which'is-the Seventy-- ; '.' Mile Bush, past- Dannevirke into'Wood-'- ; - yille.'V' Tho sheep .'jands -wero: settled isome fifty ;or. ,sisty v years . ago, following upon-tho purchase-'of-Native lands by Sir Donald ,M'Le;m in, 1850.- Tho- : settlement of the bush sections did not ; . commence -till twenty' years' or : more,; ; later, and even, now is far from being, !*■:;' .. completed. The. .country is 'well water-.' b- cd,.'tho riversHiicluding the- Poranga- ; ... hau, -the. Tuki. Tuki, : thb : Waipawa,'the " Manawatu, aiidtllo Akitio. Tho' biggest f. tract :of : level country is. tho- Riiataniwha Plains, which are bounded by tho • ;. low- Hatuina' Hills, tho -Ruahiflo Mountains and .Tikokino. " It is about I^o l square miles in extent, and. lias 'a ,i great steck-carrying capacity. -Its centre is Onga .Onga. At tho present tin}©, ■tljisi country is.;being • used' for sheep ' .growing:and-mixed farming.. Coming .' across to tho eastward, aro the fine sheep and cattle'farms',""which have contributed so much ..to , the .excellent liime .which Hawke's ' Bay . possesses from a stock point of view. These blocks are. subject to a certain amount of, dryness ili tho. Summer season, and i , they.,.are -fitted; more for sheep; than I for anything else, and the areas necessarily. must' remain of. a substan- ; '■ . tial. nature. Farther •down, running • . into, and past Dannevirke,- are the bush

;a'reas,'- : which Vsfio ynpw^b6iris'.; properly ' farm-, purposes ~ with'"a*goodv.deal of dairy.-. It • . goes .;settfc^'fern rf dairyc.e§pec£.a " case fin 'tjio Daniie'vlrke, .;Norsowbp.d,' '■■,'^yitfiiii-;-W'-'sliorf'' period .a -'dairy .''factory*' has. even ' b.eeiivestaba{sh^t# -b.e.eii? olio .- ! goiiig.'i£dr;; ;: 3buie : J !also afc - i.lipweyer,, : is sbhiewhat.'tbo'fdry ■ in' tlicr- Waipukurau ' daii7iuff. : ' ; :'*Even for - sheepgrowing purposes its success has been . accounted for owing to' tho fact that the. areas )vere large. . Somo idea ef the 'value' may Bei gauged by ? flie- fact' that : Mr.-■ Spencer Gollan's Mangatarata 7000- ■ -acro-block, town, is io-jvrbeing leased eight shillings per/'acrp, . an'average of from . two shillings to threb shillings per aero moro tlnn was ' paid "by tho original Hatuma- settlers. Hatuma general[y has been, a success".'so far. llt w'aa originally a block of ; 23,000 acres, bought cheaply by tho - Government and cut up . in , 1901, and is now being largely used for mixed farming purposes. Tho land was. ;cup up into, holdings of fr.om 100. to 300 acres, and; grazing I runs from 700. to • 1500.; acres!" Its population is now over : 300 sduls. It lias two .schbolsj-. one with' ■ 60, scholars', hear' tho town sections; and vrith two- teachers,... and one smaller, with 12 scholars,: at ; tho back of tho run. .The farmers have-done.well genor-. ally/'-although' there' 'have been a few failures. They/had a l ',very bad run for the first" two years, but stuck to their tasks manfully', and'to-day the majority of .tho.original holders occupy an independent ..position. .There if scarcely a homo--without, it shows a spick and . .span residence, and neat, and wcll. laid-out-gardens. Goodwill of the leases is now selling- in some cases for as high as £10 an'acre, but it may .be said..that the. lands which brought this -price wero utilised- dairying purposes; At tlio . present. timo : tho-goodwill of none ofthe farms can bo bought for less than £6 or £7. per. acre. ': So far as, agricultural laiid- is con- ; perned, Southem. Ha.wke'SiPay is not very remarkable, except for' somo very good cropping in the Dannevirke district. ' Tho'average yield'for wheat ,is 32 bushels, per acre; oats, 35 bushels per acre;;, barley, 31 bushels per acre; ihaizo, now. being,introduced for'dairying purposes, 58 bushels per,aero. Theoat -crops,'-.(around Waipukurau, w.ere. with'few exceptions, rather : poor. ._on the','other hand,-' root crops flourish generally Potatoes very well indeed. ' The climato'is mild', with a dry heat; and with ah'averago rainfall, of 37;, inches. ,' It seems , very certain that in . the .cpurso of.* tho next teii years-there ■ yrill.' bo ,a big influx'' of population to ; ono of 'the,finest and big-, gest-■ districts.in, tho North Island, and 'it -is interesting te ■ note . : tlio i>ossible .development' iii 'the - way.. ..of settlement 1 which may -take place, and. which in- . deed has already ppmmenced. This development':'in tlie," main" will materialiss • tlifoukli" thfe up of. • Native' .lands,'*;the ieaip' of 'wliieli. are 1 pointing, tpw'ards,expiry..,' .... Eollmying.are particulars of the areas ; in'the region of the East ..Coast near i Porangahau:—

, Name. Acreage. s Manawaangiarigi ...: 12,070 *Whawhakanga IjOOO''Mangauiairo B 11,694 •Mangaorap'a No. 2 7,526 s Mangaorapa (part of) No. 1 ... 6,000 Mangaroia 1,326 tPorangaliau .No. 1 B 18,997 . ' ■ ■ 53,913 ••leases just' falling in. Government 1 has issued a. proclamation over area for settlement purposes. tLease.has two years to Tun. , Between. Waipukurau . and. Dannevirke there are the following Nativo areas: — Name. Acreage. Tatioratio No. 1 ...... 3,473 "Tahoraite No. .'2"'..'; ; ..„1'.;.5,924 Tiratu ... 5,761 tOtawhao' (Kopua) . 4,365 ' JOtawhao Nb. 5 (Kopua) 2,528 tOtawhao No. 6 2,000 ITo Whiti 1,370 JRakautatahi (Takapau) 6,000 tTamaki 3,000 34,421 "Lease one year to go. Proclaimed. tTkreb, years .to go.' ' tTo .ibo opened Ui> shortly; It ,is~not difficult to"imagine -tho progress -which; the . various 'districts will mako with tho . opening up • of these areas. For Porangahau there *s a total of 53,913 acres of sheep country, rough in a way, ; but well adapted for grazing and.wool-growing purposes. They will • not bo sold under the same advantageous conditions as Hatuma was, still they should, offer excellent openings for.young men who are prepared for a time to risk a backblo'cks existence. Under further cultivation' their settlement should be of immense productive value to tho Waipukurau and Waipawa districts.' Dannevirkq'is ; 'also likely tp-bo. very much - favoured by tho' settlement of tho.' 34'i000 • odd ■ acresr in 1 its ;viciiiity, • especially ; .i;with" '. reference. • to.-those blocks 'which^are{right' on Jtho edge-of the town.\v - . '-JF