LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16121, 8 January 1916, Page 5

LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

499,262 ACRES SET ASIDE. £ i FEW INQUIRIES SO FAR. * i I I fI)T TELEGRATH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] ] * WELLi>-GToy, Friday. ( The area of land provisionally set aside a by the Prime Minister for the settlement J of returned soldiers totals 499,262 acres. { Of this total, areas aggregating 87,000 acres l have been definitely set aside, and will J shortly be alienated by proclamation for J the purpose. The Prime Minister to-day ] supplied some details regarding the 87,000 acres. About 60,000 acres are situated i in Upper Hawke's Bay, comprising the $ Kaiwaka Block of 6880 acres, Henuaturea ' Block of 3990 acres, Awaototara Block of ] 17,130 acres, Purahotangihia Block of 26.300 acres, Te Kuta Block of 1470 acres, and other lands open for selection of 5308 acres. The whole of this land is situated on the route of the Napier-Gis-borne Railway, about four to eight miles from Napier, and is chiefly open, hilly pastoral land, mostly in grass, but part scrub and fern. It is suitable for subdivision i into sheep farms, ranging from 500 to a few thousand acres, p'obably averaging . about 1000 acres each. It is now being subdivided. Another Hawke's Bay block is in the Takapau Survey District, and comprises 5543 acres, situated on the Napier- f Wellington Railway, between Norsewood and Takapan Townships. The soil is first t class, and most suitable for dairying. The 1 block has been surveyed into 22 holdings, J and the lease expires in May next. The - Prime Minister said this land 'was emin- I 1 ently suitable for the purpose for which i : it was set apart. It was already " broken ! in," and would not require from those ; who took it up the hardships of pioneer- .' ing. The land set apart in the Welling- ' ton district comprises 71 acres of the Hall- ' Jones Settlement at Hutt and 107 acres i : of the Waddington Settlement, also at [ Hutt. Tins land is flat and rich. The ' ' Hall-Jones Settlement is available for j' occupation at once, and the Waddington I Settlement will be ready in October next. j ' In Otago are 23,000 acres of the Benmore ! \ Estate, open tussock land suitable for j pastoral purposes, in areas averaging about | 12.000 acres. The land set apart is de- | scribed as the best of the low-lying part j of Beninore. In addition, the Poukawa Swamp, near Te Ante, is being drained. | When the work is completed there will j be another 2500 acres of rich land suitable : for small holdings available. [ So far, said the Prime Minister, inquiries I from returned soldiers for land had been ' very few. In cases where soldiers came to them, every assistance had been given. In one instance a man had been placed on a sheep run in the Marlborough locality. The time they had to provide against, of course, was when the war was over and men who were fit and well -were returning home. [