BARONET AS SQUATTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18631, 12 February 1924, Page 10

BARONET AS SQUATTER.

LARGE STATIONS BOUGHT. W. AUSTRALIAN AREAS. PURCHASE PRICE, £160,000. [from ova own correspondent.] SYDNEY. Feb. 6. An English baronet, Sir Richard WaldoGriffith, has just paid £160,000 for Towera' and Lyndon stations, two of the biggest pastoral properties in Western Australia. The baronet married -an Australian war nurse in London. She was his cousin, Miss Griffith, of Collie, W.A., and some time before .the marriage met with a motor accident which fractured her spine, with thq result that she will be bedridden for the rest of her life.

The seller of the properties was Mr. Twitchen. For 34 years he has rarely ieft the vicinity of the stations. Though he lived among blackfellows and gins all that time, he never forgot his English mannerisms, and still retains a drawl and Oxford accent. Each evening lis wore full evening dress to dinner, although an overseer in bush riding clothes might be his only vis-a-vis. Last year he sold 2000 bales of wool and 30,000 sheep from the two stations mentioned. But his ipost famed- possession is the "cooler." This was a room, 18ft. by 18ft. built of cpncrete. It was a double-walled affair. Between the walls was several inches of charcoal insulation, through which ran perforated pipes. The floor was of concrete covered with boards, which allowed a coopJiiig draught to circulate. On the roof was a huge iron pan which was filled with This dripped through the pipes on to Hie charcoal insulation. The "cooler" ion the hottest day was always many degrees below that obtaining anywhere else in the district. In it Mr. Twitchen spent the major portion of the day. Towera and Lyndon each consist cf about 560,000 acres; both are exceptionally well improved. The latter now carries 60,000 sheep, and the, former 47,000. About 700 miles of fencing, enclosing 50 paddocks, have been erected, also a fine 16-stand shearing shed of centreboard design. Sir Richard and Lady Waldo-Griffith arrived in Western. Australia about six months ago, aid since then the baronet has travelled far and wide seeking suitable land in his wife's native State to replace tho broad British baronial acres.