THE ORONGO ESTATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17234, 9 August 1919, Page 11

THE ORONGO ESTATE.

FERTILE THAMES AREA.

CAPABILITIES OF SOIL.

EIOH DAIRYING COUNTRY.

The Oronjjo Estate, which the Governnaent has just acquired for the purposes of settlement,' lies on the west side of the Waihon or Thames River, at its mouth, and forms a brunt peninsula between the river and the Firth of Thames. It is all low-lying land of excellent character, being part of the great Haurafci Plains, but lying outside the Government drainage boundaries. It is all alluvial soil, being built up from the detritus df the Waibou River. Abe land is only a little above the tide level, but, like the Government area further i to tne westward, can bo easily protected I |. by stop-banks, and as there are extensive | mudflats bordering the estate which are exposed at quarter and half-tide no doubt further reclamations can be cheaply made. The soil along the banks of the VVaihou River and along the shore line of the Firth of Thames is all practically reclaimed mudfiats, which, when properly drained, makes some of the richest land to be found in the Dominion. Mr. B. C. Aston, the chief chemist of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, reporting on this class of soil, declares it to be too rich, almost, for ordinary farming purposes, and suggests th&t_ it should be used for raising special crops. Similar land in the vicinity grows grass most luxuriantly, and in some cases two heavy crops of hay are cut off the same paddock in one season. In most parts the soil consists of a black rich loam, resting on sea marl, with practically no peat, and it i can ba cultivated in a very short time after drainage. The OronKO Estate should make the richest type of dairying land, and later, when cultivated, should grow exceptionally heavy -crops of maize, roots, or other forms of farm produce. The estate bordering the Waihon River has good communication with Thames, or with Auckland by water, there being a road through the southern portion of it from a landing "place just opposite the Kopn Wharf. A continuation of the Turua road northward will also connect it with the reading system of the Uauraki Plains, and with the Thames Valley railway. If the Thames people carry out their long-cherished design lor a bridge across the river at Kojju it will bring the estate within a few miles of the* railway and the Thames township. The vendors of the property are Messrs. Newshamand Bloomfield.