HAWKE'S BAY PROVINCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20767, 9 January 1931, Page 13

HAWKE'S BAY PROVINCE.

NAPIER-WAIROA RAILWAY. AN INTERESTING ESTATE. GREAT PIONEERING WORKPROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT. BY OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER. No. V. I had not time to visit the country between the railway and the sea in southern Hawke's Ray, though it is very interesting and contains a great number of excellent farms and sheep stations'. .My course lay northward, chiefly along the route of the East Coast railway. When last I travelled along this route the head of the railway works was at Eskdale, a few miles north of Napier. Now the banks and cuttings extend to Wairoa, nearly 80 miles away, and from Wairoa there is already constructed a section 24 miles in length which connects it with the harbour of Waikokopu. There are, however, several gaps in the main line, the chief of which is at Mohaka, where an immense viaduct has to be built which will take, it is estimated, about two years to complete. Already this line, which is completed for a length of 30 miles, has stimulated the subdivision of large estates and the creation of small farms to a surprising degree.

From what 1 could hear this class of work is likely to continue, for in spile of agricultural depression, new settlements are being created by the Government and the Native Land Board, and there were reports of further activities as I moved northward.

There is much greater scope for closer settlement in this part of Hawke's Bay than is generally supposed, and furthermore, there is a decided tendency among the young men of the district to take up holdings whenever they are offered on attractive terms.

Magnitude of Task.

I had the pleasure of spending a weekend at "Tutira," the property of Mr. H. Guthrie-Smith, which is situated about half-way between Napier and Wairoa. Those who have read this gentleman's most interesting book, "Tutira, or the Making of a New Zealand Sheep Station," will understand the special fascination such an estate would have for anyone like myself who looks upon agriculture as the greatest industry on earth, and the making of farms and estates as the most romantic and absorbing of all work. It is a truly remarkable thing that in a country like New Zealand, which owes practically everything to the utilisation of the land, so little should ever have been written about land settlement, and we owe a great deal to Mr. GuthrieSmith for his splendid work on this subject. Since I have seen "Tutira" for myself I can understand more fully the magnitude of the task of breaking it in to productive use.

Picture Tutira half a century ago as 60,000 acres of bracken, fern and scrub in a wilderness of fern and scrub. High irregular plateaus broken by gullies and precipitous cliffs; valley and ravine, spur and ridge coming down from the inland ranges to the undulating country by the sea. Imagine the confidence and faith of two young men, both minors, and recently from a famous English public school, taking up this wilderness with the view of subjugating it! I' aith and hard work can do wonders, but I scarcely think that the survivor of these two, the man who for a lifetime has been responsible for the making of Tutira, fully recognises the magnitude of the task he has accomplished. Small-Farm Country.

South and north of Tutira there is a considerable area of undulating country covered with a fine and well decomposed pumice soil, resting for the most part on calcareous marl. There are probably 25,000 acres of this class of country lying adjacent to the nearly completed railway. It is this class of land which is beinp turned into small farms. At Tutira itself part of this once large estate has been given up for subdivision and the same thing has been done with the Putarino Block to the north, while still further north plans are being made for further cutting-up. Since the railway is now running from Napier to the lower middle part of this arable country, I can foresee very rapid changes in the near future, for the railway makes the use of fertilisers possible in this district now, and whether the settlers turn over altogether to dairying, or keep on as small sheepfarmers, or combine sheepfarming with dairying, they can increase the production of the' land beyond anything dreamt of now. These friable, easily worked soils are capable of very rapid improvement, and there is no reason why they should not, as in the Waikato, when worked to the fullest degree, be made to carry nearly a cow to the acre or five to seven sheep. When this comes to pass, as most assuredly it will, the present so-called small holdings will be considered large enough to make two or three or more smaller farms. Railway and Motor Freights. The railway will undoubtedly do much for the country immediately "along its route, hut, it will also do much for the further back country. There is little doubt but thajt the use of fertilisers can be made to greatly increase the stockcarrying capacity of all the pastures in this part, of Hawke's Bay. But the use of fertilisers up to the present has been prohibitive on account of cost. With the carriage of concentrated fertilisers by rail and the use of the motor-lorry these costs can be greatly reduced. ' I was (old by the manager of one great carrying firm that they are now bringing in fat lambs from the stations at id per mile per head ; mature sheep, l-3d per head; young cattle, 3d per head; full-grown cattle, 5d per head. He assured me that even these costs could be largely reduced if they had freight both ways. It would be a very simple matter to find freight if the station owners would use fertilisers, more fertilisers, more fat lambs and other stock, more stock, more fertilisers and so on. The difficulty of spreading fertilisers on the high broken back country is undoubtedly great, but it is certainly worth while; the pack-horse is a very active animal, and by no means dear, and if all the accessible country only is treated it would have a big effect 011 Hawke's Day.