MAORI FARMERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21963, 6 March 1946, Page 2

MAORI FARMERS

HELP TO PRODUCTION LAND DEVELOPMENT “To-day the cry ‘Maori land lying Idle full of noxious weeds,’ is heard less frequently than 10 years ago,’’ said an official of the Native Department, Wellington, in an interview. He illustrated his point by saying that Maori land development schemes now embrace an area of about 1,700,000 acres, of which over 800,000 acres were being farmed or improved. The number of individual farmers was close on 2000, and they, with an equal number of farm workers, supported dependants estimated to exceed 20,000. Maoris embraced in the State development schemes had 64,000 dairy cattle, 37,485 run cattle and 347,476 sheep. Interest and maitenance payments by Maoris had increased from £5500 in 1931 to over £650,000 last year, and since the development scheme started totalled over £4,000,000. Progress in the development of native land was naturally much more advanced in the North than in the South Island, where there were three main schemes, the largest being an area about 2800 acres at Colac Bay, Southland, which was standing bush in 1930.

A party headed by the Minister of Native Affairs, Mr. H. G. R. Mason, recently held a conference in that area, which was now ready for the use of modern stumping and logging machinery. The Ministerial party included in its itinerary a visit to Maori students at Lincoln College.