FARM LANDS DREDGING

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 October 1939, Page 2

FARM LANDS DREDGING

POSITION ON WEST COAST UNION SECRETARY’S VIEWS The question of tho dredging of farm lands on the West Coast, recently given attention by local bodies, has resulted in many conflicting opinions being expressed, allegations of permanent loss being suffered by the district as a result of the work of the dredges being strenuously denied by those in close association with the industry. Interviewed by the “Star,” today, Mr. D. Paris, secretary of the Westland Gold Dredge Workers’ Union, quoted some surprising figures regarding the money spent in the district by the dredging companies. Mr. Faris said that he desired heartily to endorse the resolution of the Grey County Council, passed at the last meeting, in reply to the adverse criticism of the Greymouth Borough Council in the matter. To allow any wrong impression to be circulated would considerably affect the whole gold-mining industry which, today, gave direct employment on the West' Coast to approximately 500 workers, with an expenditure of over £150.000 annually in wages, besides indirectly benefiting business of all kinds. One contractor, engaged on West Coast dredge construction during the last few years, said Mr. Faris, had spent over £40.000 in wages. During this construction period, he estimated that approximately £30,000 worth of business had been given to the local foundries, £25,000 to the local timber mills and merchants, and further large sums to other businesses. These amounts were all spent before dredging even commenced. The question of land protection was not a new subject, continued Mr. Faris, arid it might be mentioned that as far back as 1893, in California, an Act of Congress was passed to consider the problem. The welfare of agricultural interests with regard to damage and inconvenience from dredge mining was also carefully looked after by the Ariti-Debris Commission, another Californian organisation. first formed in the ’7o’s. A Bill was introduced in California in 1913 to limit dredging operations, its purpose being to prohibit the dredging of any land that could be used for agricultural purposes. Considerable discussion was provoked, but the Bill was ultimately defeated. It was to be regretted that the whole question had again been raised on the "West Coast by individuals deploring a socalled waste of farm lands, before they had first thoroughly investigated the position, considering that the Minister of Mines and his Department were safeguarding, by legislation, the interests of all concerned.

RED JACKS VALLEY. In this connection, continued Mr. Faris, it was remarkable to read the opinions of Cr. Mulcare expressed at the County Council meeting, on the subject, of land being taken in the Red Jacks Valley. Was this valley comprised of first-class farming land, in that it was his wish that the Minister should watch the position closely? The position in regard to this particular valley was that one farmowner had an outside interest in sawmilling, another in a store, while yet another farm was one of those famous returned soldiers’ farms which had reverted back to nature, after breaking the hearts of those trying to make a living on it. The settlers there had all worked to keep the farms, as the farms could not keep them. He (Mr. Faris) thought that he could recall an occasion, in connection with a suit against the Brian Born Company, when Cr. Mulcare’s estimate of the value of similar country varied considerably from his present stand. Cr. Mulcare also stated that he realised what would happen to the Red Jacks Creek when the bed was raised, but could he show any instances of creek raising through dredging, with damage to settlers in the immediate vicinity? Blackball Creek. Argo, Nemona, New River, Worksop and Brian Born dredges were or had operated in similar creeks and valleys. As a matter of fact, by confining the creeks to one deep channel, with heaps of tailings on either side, in some instances the dredging companies had greatly improved the position, by preventing erosion and the spreading 'of the creeks. The manner in which the Biackball Creek had been confined, with openings left at the bridges, reflected credit on the officials and crews of dredges operating on this creek. Cr. Mulcare had quoted the land being dredged by the Argo and “Blackball Creek dredges as being good grazing land, but it would be interesting to know how much return these lands had ever given to their previous owners, since the discovery of West land. Apart from once supporting a hotel and one or two slaughter yards, the only stock grazed there was owned by farmers of the. ‘’Bush cocky” type who ran cows anyhow and anywhere and had Io work in the mines and mills to get a living. Cr. Mulcare added that these lands would still be capable of producing in 100 or 1000 years, but omitted to give the costs of even keeping this land clear of second growth, gorse, blackberry, etc. Probably the inference was that these growths would he ‘‘produced.''

REAFFORESTATION. The present policy of the Mines Department in regard to the reafforestation of tailings, continued Mr. Faris, would more than compensate for any loss of product ion from grazing. The growth of trees planted on railings at Rimu and on the Greymonih side of the Reefton saddle, on the site of the old Worksop dredge. provided ample evidence of the utility of tailings to produce material wealth for future general ions, in quick-growing trees. Similar experiments to this reafforestation scheme. had been adopted at. Natoma. California, and were proving a success with olive and eucalyptus trees and grape vines, without any furl Iter treatment. excepting a .shovelful of loam around the roots as the trees art' planted. All these results proved that tailings are not so worthless as at first supposed and had greatly broadened lite expectations for the. future, of what was, until recently. considered worthless land. In this connection, it was interesting to note that the hundreds of acres of tailings left barren on the West Coast

by the early diggers had. in the course of half a century, returned thousands of pounds worth of mining timber, in the form of secondgrowth bii'ch, which had been established anti nurtured on the tailings by Nature, without any human assistance in planting. One had only to review, individually and collectively, the areas being worked bv dredges on the West Coast to-day. said Mr. Faris, to realise that the statements that had been made regarding the loss of good land were ill-founded. Commencing in the South. Gillespie’s and Okarito wore dredging purely beach lagoon, the land being entirely worthless for any other purpose. Rimu was operating in very poor class of bush scrub country, similar to hundreds of thousands of acres of unoccupied land on the West Coast; Ranieri was also dredging poor, stony land, for which the maximum utilisation otherwise would he poor grazing; Arahura was on slightly better land, but it was swampy arid broken and it was significant that, despite the fact that the remainder of the Valley had been an agriculture centre for a generation, it had been little improved, much of it being still in standing scrub and bush; the new dredge at Callaghan’s was to work entirely valueless stony land. In all of these cases, the cost of re-soiling the land would have been absolutely prohibitive, although reafforestation of the tailings would possibly be adopted. Coming nearer to Greymouth, Nemona and New River were operating in creek beds, the country being valueless for farming; Bundi had operated on land which was similarly valueless for farming; White’s Electric was dredging mainly swampy lagoon, useless for agricultural purposes and its neighbour, Barrytown, was also oil swampy lagoon land which, by the system of drainage and the removal of flax and roots by the dredge -would become an asset to the district; Blackball Creek, Argo and the Brian Born had been previously mentioned and Ikarriatua was fully dealt with by Cr. Hannan at the County Council meeting. In connection with the lastmentioned, however, the inain point to be borne in mind was that only 200 acres could be classed as good farming land, the remainder of the 1,800 acres claim of this big money spinner being rough, gorse-covered riverbed. Mossy Creek and Worksop, in the north of the area under review were operating on land which, at the best, could be classed as poor grazingcountry and the dredges were leaving it no worse than before.

In conclusion, Mr. Faris said that it should be borne in mind by critics that the gold mining industry which, to-day, ranked as tlie main revenue producer for war purposes, was one of the principal factors in raising the W r est Coast so quickly from the depression and that it was rapidly becoming one of the largest and most stable industries in the Dominion. It should not be hampered by any obstructive criticism that could tend to further restrict and hamper the opening and operation of more modern dredges. A more liberal attitude on the part of agriculturalists would open to the industry still more areas at present closed, and would bring, in the wake of the dredges, still more prosperity to the national wealth and the workers of this Dominion.