LAND FOR SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2949, 8 December 1916, Page 7

LAND FOR SOLDIERS

\WHAT 'THE STATE HAS DONE , '' A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW .VJJ! statement, has. been' issued with •'.the authority of tho Acting-Primo Minjister giving a, record of the GovcrnIment's activities in regard to tho sotjtleraeni of soldiers on land. Following are tTio. sections of the statement Sof most looal interest: : — 1 Tho area that has been allotted now jhmormfa h 70,496 .acres, and is hold by '198 men. On tho passing of tho Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, tho (Department of Lands and Survey estimated that 6W,oocr acres could be inado available for occupation hy discharged soldiers. Up to tho pfesent ,timo on area of 193,067 acres, has been formally proclaimed under tho Act. iThero Is, theroforo, plonty of land fevailable to meet tho requirements of who havo returned to the Dominion and been discharged from service. In addition to tho lands already meniMoned, the current ,issuo of tho'Crown jLands Guide oontains particulars of j?32,000 acres, which may bo applied for «t any timo either by discharged solIfliors or the general public. Somo members of the Expeditionary Forces who •tire still ahsent from the Dominion havo inado application and secured land at iOrdinary ballots, their applications being made by duly authorised, agents. 'Twenty-five soldiers havo obtained' socffclons in this way containing a. total area, of 68,960 acres; nine discharged toldiers havo also secured 12,035 acres •at ordinary ballots, while eight dis'oharged soldiers and members of tho Forces havo obtained /sections ;by way of transfer from the . Orown lessees. Hawke's Bay. ,' la Hawke's'Bay land district fortysis soldiers have been placed' on 13,285 $cres, eighteen holdings containing ;}0,497 acres being used for sheep-farm-pg, twenty-seven holdings • containing '2272 acres for dairying, and ono holding of sixteen acres for" poultry farmling. Tho general progress of tboso ''discharged soldiers who aro actually '•settled and in occupation of their liold;ings has "Been very satisfactory, and '■tho freely-expressed feelings of contentment provide a good' augury for tho future. Fencing,-building, and .'stocking lmve proceedod rapidly, and iwith a continuance of ordinary seasons {'there should Bo a steady forward move-, jiment. Planting, water conservation, 'and breaking-up for growing -winter "feed will require attention early next 'season, and with anything liko success ;Btten3ing theso operations, tho set-' piers' prospects should ho very good. i'An area pi 209 acres of laud suitablo [for dairying and' 45X42 acres of grazing land have been set apart under j jtho Act, and aro still available for selection.

I The following aro particulars of .areas being prepared for settlement or likely, tb b.e set apart in tie near future :—Tiratu Block: Situated within a few miles of Dannovirke, containing 5727 acres: 1000 acres of which is suitable for subdividing into dairy farms of about 100 acres, and tho balance, 4727 acres mixed-fanning. .Balance of Purahotangihia Block,'/ situated about twenty-five miles from papier on the. Napier-AVairoa Road; S67S acres of grnzipg country. ■ t Awa-o-totara Block: Situated about 40 miles from Napier on tho NapieriWairoa Road, containing 16,195 acres. ( 'All these blocks are expeoled to be on tho market during next February or March. . ■ Generally, speaking, tho survey of suoh lands as have Tieen already proclaimed undor-the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act, arid of others whichmay bo suitable for similar settlement, is being vigorously proceeded with, and constant inquiries and inspections are ibeing made with regard to private Uands offered to the Government for Uike purposes. > In Taranakl. Up to date, there have been placed jon tho land in Tnrajwki n. total of 13 soldier selectors whose holdings aggregate 4383 acres. They are all practical {bush men, with more or less experience ;ln handling lands of the kind; and, [having personally inspected the sections prior to application, there is every to believe that they /will bc«om6 permanent and successful settlers. 'As the bulk of those selections have ,4>aken place since Juno last, it is too learly yet to speak definitely as to actual '(progress made, but in every instance lit is known that the holdings are occu'ipied, and in the few cases where selecijtors have applied for financial assist•sneo -under the Act, tho Crown Lands gangers, in making inspections in that |connection, report that the men appear •'satisfied with tho land and aro already [shaping well. Their operations gener-' ally will be along tho lines of mixed' (pastoral farming, as tho land, boing generally hilly bush land',' 'becomes Bleared and grassed. j An area of over 3000 acres was specijal y' set apart under the Act; and the Bwholo has now been selected, leaving fabout 35,000 acres provisionally sot fapart still available for future operations, as surveys and other preliminary are.comploted. Most of this, area .is fair pastoral land, .but none of it is .pmtable for dairying exclusively. | An. area of about 8500 acres will shortly be scheduled for selection. This ?rea includes about 3000 aor'es, pastoral land, in .three lots, part of the flVaro Block, on tho main' Stratfordvmua.road at one end. Also' six sections aggregating 5500 acres in scattered localities, suitable mainly for sheepfarmmg when brought in. .__ ~No lands have so far been purohased in this district speoially for soldier settlement. Several ■ inspections to that end have already been made, and two blocks totalling about 2000 acres aro .under consideration for acquisition. Wellington District. ': The first allotment in tho Wellington Land District under tho Discharged Soldiors' Settlement Aot, 1915, was fiiado by tho Land Board on January 27, 1916, and up to tho present tho number of soldiors who have obtained sections is 81. Guided by the discretionary provisions of the Act and Regulations, tho Ijoard has endeavoured to jsuit the soldier settlor to tho -'• land iopen for application, and, generally [speaking, tho board's efforts in tin's Sdirection have been successful.

.' Of 4 tho Crown lands available for allotment when tho Act was passed, flip greater proportion was virgin bush or ibush land tliat had been milled, but it ;happencd that at this timo tho leases of some fow thousand acres of ~bpon grass land purchased by the jCrnwn in years gone by, and' those ;Siroas havo absorbed thirteen sottlors,. •while another ten havo gono into occuipation of some grazing conntry actfluired by tho Crown under similar conditions, but with patches of open land, itho remainder being in light bush. On milled bush lands, situated on or fcloso to the Main Trunk railway, seventeen settlors havo been located, the .areas hcing botween 100 and 300 acres, .and when put in grass will cither be 'adapted for dairying or grazing. Hero Aushfelluig is progressing apace, and a largo area will bo burned next January or February. A"s sonio of thoso sections Contain small clearings, a return can bo '(obtained by grazing while waiting for itho burning of tho felled, bush, and employment should easily bo found in Sawmills close by. : In. virgin bush country there havo .joott seventeen selections,' principally pub of a block of about '40,000 acres

abutting on tho upper reaches of tho Wanganui River and extending castward. Here tho land will ho good sheep country when cleared of bush, and tho ■values being reasonable for this class of land, considering tho distance from rail —about 35 miles—tho settlers will in the courso of timo reap tho benefits from their own improvements. Somo aro already felling their bush, and as thoy aro of tho class of men used' to bush country thoy will no doubt mako a success of their undertakings.

The Crown recently acquired two blocks of improved laud near Morton and Feilding, which wero subdivided into twenty-two farms,.and seventeen of those aro taken up. Tho greater part of tho country is suitable for dairying, and somo of tho settlors have gono into occupation. An area of about 1450 acres of firstclass dairy land lias been acquired near Rongotea, a dairy-farming centre, and will provide twenty-five holdings, which will be allotted almost immediately. Another block of 10,000 acres sheep and cattle country, known as Tiraumea Station, has also been acquired, and will provide from twenty to twenty-fivo farms, delivery of which will bo given next March.

Tho area available for selection is 36,580 acres, of which, 35,900 acres are, when cleared, 6uitablo for grazing and 630 acres for residential or small farms, the_ former area being situated' in Whirinaki, Rotaruke, and Manganui Survey Districts, and tho latter area in the Hutt Valley. . Marlborough. : So far only two soldiors have selected 484} aores in tho Marlborough Land District. This area, whon cleared, will bs suitable for dairying. Tho land has only been held by tho soldiers for threo months, but good work has already been dono_ in tho felling of portion of tho hush in order that the same may bo'burnt and grassed during tho coming season. i An area 0f'522 acres is still availablo for selection in tho Marlborough District. This land is portion of the Wither Settlement, and is situated within two miles-of the Blenhoim Post Office. It is subdivided into 13 sections, 12 of which aro suitablo for fruit-growing, and varying in size from 7} to 16} aores. The remaining section, containing 397 acres, comprises 60 acros good agricultural land and tho balance grazing land. Tho Erina Estate, containing 7534 acres, has been acquired for tho purpose of soldier settlement, and tho land is expected to be in tho market in March next. This cstato is situated in the Wairau Valley, about 18 miles from Blenheim, and has access by a good motor road. About 2-500 acres of the estate is flat, and the balance is easy hilly country, well' adapted for a ewe flock. A fair proportion of the block is suitablo for agricultural • purposes, but it is better adapted for sheep. So far not many applications from soldiers have been received in Marlborough, but it is anticipated that a considerable number of applications will bo lodged for the Erina Estate.

Other Districts. In Auckland 34 soldiers have been placed on holdings of a total area of 3933 acres, and an.area of 8833 acres, principally grazing laud, has been set apart, and is still available for selection. . ' In Westlaud only two applications for land havo been received, and no land has yet been actually set apart. Five small properties are under offer to tho Land Purchase Board'. .; Ten soldier settlers have been placed' upon land in Otago, mostly on' sheep farming country. The total area of the holdings is 15,242 acres. Tho area set apart and still available is 6064 acres, principally suited for sheep and mixed farming. . In the Canterbury district three soldiers have been placed, and tho total area' of their holdings is 755 acres, all agricultural land. The area now available is 559 aores, of which 516 acres is dairying land, and the total area being prepared for settlement is 59,033 acres. In Southland six soldiors have boon settled, and the area yet availablo is ■1515 acres, dairying and agricultural land. Financial Assistance. For the purpose of assisting soldier settlers financially, th'o Act authorisedl the Minister of Finance to' raise a sum not exceeding £100,000, and to date advances amounting to £29,333 havo been- authorised, and the sum of £11,996 actually advanced-. Tho advances authorised are chiefly for tho erection of buildings and fencing and for the purchase of stook. All materials or articles are purchased on tho cheapest, markets, and tho settlers are given practical assistance and advico when purchasing stock.