TROUBLESOME SECTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19311, 26 April 1926, Page 12

TROUBLESOME SECTIONS.

VACANT PIRONGIA LANDS. MOVEMENT FOR OCCUPATION. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] TE AWAMUTU. Saturday. Residents of the township of Pirongia and neighbourhood have for many years been troubled through the fact that ther£ are many sections belonging to absentee owners, some of whom have not been heard of for many years. Originally the settlement was formed by soldiers after discharge at the conclusion of the Waikato War. Some of the recipients of land grants have continuously resided at Pirongia or Harapepe ever since, but others who received grants were attracted by the gold fever to Thames and ! elsewhere. Adjoining owners occupied | some of the sections, but others were alI lowed to become overgrown with noxious weeds and for years have provided har- | bnnrage for rabbits and other pests, i The County Council has on several oetaI sions dealt with the problem, even to i the extent of inducing the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland, to have most of the neglected sections re-surveyed with a view to having them auctioned as provided for in the amended Counties Act of 1920. »A meeting was held at Pirongia last evening, presided over by Mr. T. C. OlracQ and attended by many settlers, also by Mr. Stewart Reid, M.P., and the council member for the riding. The whole position was thoroughly discussed, after which it was unanimously decided to again make representations to the Minister to have the balance of the sections surveyed and individualised, with a recommendation that they be offered for sale, preferably in convenient sized blocks instead of in the original acre sections. A committee of settlers was set up to co-operate with the County Council for the advancement of the project.