Plan To Develop Big Area Of King Country Maori Lands

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23044, 7 September 1949, Page 5

Plan To Develop Big Area Of King Country Maori Lands

Plans are afoot to develop about 500,000 acres of Maori tribal lands in the central King Country. The longterm programme is one of the most ambitious yet contemplated in New Zealand.

Areas will be developed gradually and the work will be accelerated as suitable tractors and other implements become available. Besides bringing idle lands into production, the promoters have as their objective the rehabilitation of Maori ex-servicemen and other suitable members of the Maori race. Contractors are working on the Kuratau, Pukawa and Ivorohe areas, near Tokaanu, and in the near future it is intended to start on some of the Taupo blocks. The land will be used mainly for dairying and sheep farming, but some of the areas will be afforested. The tribal area commences at the Waikato River, midway between Rotorua and Taupo. and extends through Manunui and Kakahi so as to include all the Tokaanu area. 300 Tons of Grass Seed for Rotorua One of the largest amounts of grass seed to be mixed in New Zealand for a number of years is massed on the floor of a Palmerston North firm’s store. It weighs 300 tons, and is valued at £65,000.

The seed, of various grasses, is being mixed to be sown as permanent pasture. It was bought from dealers throughout the country by a Government seed purchasing officer for the Lands and Survey Department It will be sent to the Rotorua district, where it will be sown over 16,000 acres of undeveloped pumice land which is being broken in.