THE CENTRAL BULLER.

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 May 1910, Page 8

THE CENTRAL BULLER.

CHEAT POSSIBILITIES OE DEVELOPMENT. SHALL WE PARTICIPATE? It was i!i glowing terms that Mr W. W. Snodgrass, Vice-President of the Nelson Chamber of Commerce, painted the future of Murchison to a Nelson .Mail reporter. He has been a firm friend of, and believer in, flit* district for many years, and has always been eager to make known the requirements of the people and the drawbacks they have had to 401 due. "People tometimes say that Murchison has not a good climate,” said Mr Snodgrass but this is a great- mistake. I am positive that there is no other place in New Zealand that has a better. When 1 first knew Murchison it was a mining district, but gradually the change has come about, and new that it is agricultural very great progress is being made, for the latter yields far bitter results in the long run than the spasmodic outputs of the mining.” He felt sure that for wintering sheep Murchison was quite as good, if not better, than most other places. If Stratford were taken in the North Island, it was certainly better than it. When (he railway hud been completed from Nelson to the Hope Junction a great impetus would be given to the place, and the result would soon be reflected in a very practical manner'. Taking Murchison as a pastoral district it was, he was perfectly confident far better than places in other parts that had a far greater reputation. And anybody who had visited the place could see almost at a glance how suitable it was for dairying purposes, and (Ire results already achieved by (he factory prove! very conclusively the material advantages of the district from a dairying point of view. The industry in Murchison was only in its infancy! Speaking of the striking features of the district, Mr Snodgrass made special mention of the fact that very little of (Ire district could be seen from the picturesque coach route as i! wound its way alongside the rocky bed, through the narrow gorges and in and out amoilgst the inspiring bush. Yon had to penetrate up (he many valleys that ran into the Bnller before you could see the district as the valleys, although .surrounded by precipitous hills, closely 0:1 each side at tire beginning, opened out into wide expensive plains further up. * Altogether, Mr Snodgrass said there was a big future before (be district. NELSON'S PALM ELSTON N< UiTlf. Mr A. 11. Pushy, who has always taken a very practical interest in the district, gave it as his linn conviction that Murchison would be before very long the Palmerston North of (he Nelson district. With its thousands of acres of newly occupied lands and its thousands of areas yet to come into the market, he. was strongly convinced that it would, within a comparatively short- period of time, exceed in production that already derived from, the cultivated portions of the Province. Murchison land was most sui tabby for dairying, cattle raising, and grazing. It was now producing some of the hast beef in the Province, but most of this went to tho West Coast.” “As sheep country I am of opinion that the whole of the Bnller lands, including tho Murchison district when opened up, will bo capable of running 2,000,SOO sheep, more by nearly three times the number in the whole of the Nelson district at present. What this will mean to Nelson can be better illustrated by bearing in mind that the whole of Canterbury/is carrying at the present time 5,300,000 sheep, and deducting those which pass to Marlborough, Kaikoura, and Timaru, you have about 3,000,000 sheep, which eventually pass through Christchurch. Thus it will be seen that with grazing (capabilities up to 3.000,000, Nelson should flourish to tho extent that Christchurch now does from the industry.” And there was, . of course, the dairying which would ho a' big

industry also, Murchison and the surrounding districts were where Nelson must look for progress' for .when large areas of land were brought into use Nelson would have a big extent of back country. It was for Nelson people to do what they could to assist tho people of Murchison.