THE UREWERA LANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18680, 9 April 1924, Page 8

THE UREWERA LANDS.

SMALL AREA AVAILABLE. RESERVATION OF BALANCE STATE FOREST RESERVES. PROTECTION FROM FLOODS[BY. TELEGRAPH.— CORBESPONDEXT.J WELLINGTON, Tuesday. A statement of the Government's policy in connection with the development of the Urewera country was made to-day by the Minister for Lands, the Hon. D. H. Guthrie. He said that the total area iii the Urewera, block purchased by the Crown was approximately 345,000 acres, and that it was estimated that eventually, as the portions of the block adapted for settlement were located and surveyed it might be possible to open an area* of some 100,000 acres for settlement. At the present time three portions of the block in the Auckland land district, totalling 28,563 acres, were open for settlement, and three more sections in the Gisborne land district would be offered for disposal shortly. These lands were generally billy country, with small areas of fiat and easy undulating land, and the soil was a lair quality pumice overlying slate or sandstone, and was mostly covered with heavy bush, the altitude ranging from 400 ft. to 2700 ft. above sea level. The bulk of the sections lay along the Waimana River and were accessible from Waimana, Opotiki or Whakatane.

1 Mr. Guthrie said that, as 'he recognised ' that great care and foresight had to be ; exercised in opening any areas in the j Urewera. he had appointed a small com- • mission to go carefully into the question, 1 giving full consideration to the disasj irons results likely to follow the heavy • denudation of the generally steep and ! broken forest country, whereby floods in I the Whakatane and Waimana Rivers would be accentuated, endangering the • fertile settlements of Waimana and j Opouriao and jeopardising the extensive ; reclamation schemes on the Rangitaiki i swamp. The commission, which con- ! sisted of an officer of the Public Works j Department, an officer of the Lands and ; Survey Department and an experienced I Bay of Plenty farmer, had reported that : only a comparatively small portion of j the TJrewera lands was suitable for j settlement. IF was, therefore, the inI tention of tie Government, as soon as J the best portions of the block had been j defined, to consider the question of reI serving the balance as State forest.