PRICE FOR LAND

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 47, Issue 2666, 6 September 1937, Page 6

PRICE FOR LAND

SPECULATORS’ ACTIVITIES QUESTION FOR MATAMATA. Because of the unsettled claims to Maori land in the district between Morrinsville and Kiwitahi, .progress was for long withheld. During the years from 1901 to 1909 the Native Land Court was dealing with the titles to the Te Au-o-Waikato Block and the Maungatapu Block, the main tribe in possession being Ngati-Haua. When the greater part of the claims had been settled to the satisfaction of the Court, the area of land bounded by Morrinsville township, Piako and Kiwitahi was made available for European settlement. Of great assistance was the Native Land Act, 1909, which removed a number of restrictions' upon the alienation of native land originally imposed by the Act of 1894.

Speculators in the Maungatapu district soon appeared, and a large number of leasehold and freehold transactions took place in a short time, culminating in quite a boom in 1911 and 1912. The rents then varied from 2/» to 5/- an acre. Most of the land was taken up on the 21-year and 42-year leasehold system, whereby compensation for improvements during tenure was allowed. Few of the holdings remained in the hands of the natives in 1920. Some of the earliest settlers were: Messrs G. Howie, W. H. Hume, Pirritt brothers, F. Ellis, W. H. Smith, A. Storey, P. McNaughton and W. Wilkins; and Messrs Scholium, Lowry, Horne, Ashwell and Clarke.

A number of the leaseholds were changed into freeholds as time went on. The price varied from £4 to £l2 an acre. It must be remembered that a considerable part of the land was heavily timbered and swampy. Many

miles of drains had to be laid; and, during the boom period, it was easy to get offers of six times as much as had originally been paid on the nat-ive-lease system, under which the majority of the area was held. In the early part of 1905, the shareholders in the Thames Valley Cooperative Dairy Company, which had been formed in 1901, resolved that the capital of the company should be increased to £lO,OOO by the issue of 2,500 new shares at £2 each. In the middle of 1905 unofficial overtures were made to the New Zealand Dairy Association by the Manawaru Co-operative Dairy Company, which offered to sell out to the former. It was realised at the time that the company was drifting badly, and that there was little prospect of improvement, since there were two factories in the field of operations—the other being the creamery of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, a firm which, for the 1904-05 season, had made a total of over 3,000,000 pounds of butter. The number of suppliers to the Mana warn Company in 1905 was 28; the butter made amounted to 81,584 pounds; and the average price for butter was 9.26 d. The Te Aroha District Co-operative Dairy Company had 87 suppliers and the ’ pounds of butter made amounted, to 298,185. The fact that even in 1905. dairying was regarded in times of prosperity as a minor industry .is seen in this extract from an editorial in the “Te Aroha and Ohinemuri News” on August 12,. 1905. After pointing out the lavish gifts of nature to Te Aroha, the editor continues:

“The continuing good reports from the miners in adjacent goldfields give rise to great hopes for the future of Te Aroha, and there is no doubt that the ultimate success of local efforts in. this direction will give a further welcome impetus to trade generally in this district. But dairying and agriculture are at present the staple industries.”

Now it will be of interest to look at a typical profit-and-loss account of a dairy factory of the period. For this purpose we shall take the Te Aroha District Co-operative Daily Company, which showed a profit of £463 on the season’s transactions.

On March 9. 1906. a meeting was held at Matamata to decide the future of the dairying industry in the district. A large assembly was presided over by Mr John McCaw; and among those present were Messrs Wesley Spragg. Greenslade, J. G-ane (representing the New Zealand Dahy Association. T. Gavin and Wild (representing the Te Aroha District Cooperative Company) and J. S. Ambury. After some of these experts had addressed the gathering, a vote was taken—the result being a resolution to continue with Ambury’.s. For the season ending in 1907 the Thames Valley Co-operative Dairy Company made 331 tons of butte:.’, an increase of 93 tons on the former'year. Of this amount 122 tons were sent to England, the average grade being the highest in the Auckland province. InAugust. 1907, the Wardville creamery was opened by the Manawaru Co-op-erative Dairy Company. In the following year the butter factories of the Te Aroha District

Co-operative Dairy Company were re-

ceiving daily 7.200 gallons of milk.

made up as follows: Waihou. 3000

gallons: Te Aroha West. 1800; Mangaiti. 1200; Mangawhara, 800; and Waitoa. 400 gallons. The industry was gradually progressing, and one. by one factories were being erected'. In 1911 the Te Aroha West suppliers of the Te Aroha Dairy Company wanted the Articles of Association altered so that each creamery of the company had to pay its own -working expenses, since the Matamata group of creameries was found to have higher administrative expenses than the.others, who had to bear the added costs. The Te Aroha West suppliers, desiring to hold the Matamata suppliers responsible, sug-

gested the reconstruction of the company or amalgamation with the New Zealand Dairy Association or with the Thames Valley Co-operative

Dairy Company. In their turn the Matamata suppliers expressed their resentment

when they heard the demands of Te Aroha West, since they had joined the company on the express condition that all suppliers shared alike. They did not think that the terms of the bargain they had made should be disturbed; and in this matter they were supported by the directors. In the meantime at least the Te Aroha West suppliers accepted the decision. The progress of Matamata was now one of the signs of the times, and land was greatly in demand in this beautiful farming country. The Morrinsville Star and Matamata Gazette stated in May, 1911:

“Land in the Matamata district has advanced greatly in price during the past two or three years. . As an example: £2500 was refused for a farm which was bought less than. four years ago for £BOO. Town sections are mostly on the lease in perpetuity tenure, so residential sites can be got fairly cheap, though big figures are asked for business lots in the main street.

“The creamery is one of the mainstays of the town; until lately a large number of supply carts were to be seen, every morning at the building. Owing to the cutting up of the large estates the dairy farmer has become a valuable feature in the district.” The same district only 20 years later, had dairy products to the value of £1,000.000. (To be Continued).