FARM COLONIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21130, 12 March 1932, Page 14

FARM COLONIES.

PROPOSAL AT ROTORUA. LARGE BLOCK AVAILABLE. COMMUNITY SCHEME OUTLINED. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COMIEBPONDENT.] ROTORUA, Friday. Aftor further consideration and investigation of various properties, tlio Rotorua Unemployment Committee recommends for tlie consideration of tlio Unemployment Hoard tlio establishment of farm colonies in the district. In some instances there are lands which could be purchased at practically the valuation of. improvements and there aro Crown lands which could ho made available for the purpose. Works of community value could be carried out in the samo areas. The committee definitely recommends a community settlement being established in the Reporoa district. At Wharepaina there is an area of land of approximately 10,000 acres, a considerable portion of which has already been improved and is capable of carrying a number of milking cows as well as other slock. A community settlement of approximately 50 families is recommended on this area. By careful selection of the personnel of Iho settlement, caro being taken to include as far as possible at least one man familiar with ordinary domestic trades, it would be possible for such a settlement tr> become a self-contained unit and practically self-supporting. Self-contained Settlement. In the event of such a settlement being established,ithe developed portion of Ihe land should be operated as a community farm, supplying the-" requirements of the settlement, in the way of milk, butter and meat. Any surplus produce would be disposed of in the ordinary way, the proceeds of the sale to be utilised for the supply of other necessities which could not be produced in the settlement. It would not be possible to employ the whole of the 50 families in this way, but it is pointed out that in this locality there is a considerable amount of drainage work which is urgently required, and which would be of great benefit to the farms already established. The committee recommends that all those who were unable to be employed in the actual working of the community farm should be employed in the deepening and cleaning of the drains and the construction wherever necessary of new ones. In the initial stages it would be necessary to pay the men a wage from the Unemployment Fund until such time as the settlement became developed and was ablo to supply itself.

Payment of Workers. The committee suggests that a sum should be paid each week to the workers included in the scheme, irrespective of whether they were employed on the community farm or on the drainage work. This sum would not need to be as large as that received by men employed under the No. 5 scheme, as they would be able to produce a portion of their living from the start, and, in any case, they would nob be under the necessity of paying rent. Even with the drainage work _ completed the men could be employed in the further development of the wnicn at present is undeveloped. It " confidently believed that, as a result of the operation of such a scheme, many of t» eh<? families would ultimately become settlers in the district. . . Should the initial cost of acquiring tins property be considered an obstacle m the way of carrying out the scheme, there ig at Reporoa a considerable nrea of Crown land which could be acquired at no cost, and which, although not so suitable as the property already indicated, would serve the purpose admirably, as on this block of land a considerable number of stock could be carried in its present condition. Alternative Proposal. As an alternative proposal, there has also been offered to the committee an area of land which could be utilised for the settling of families on individual blocks of from five to ten acres. This area is within four or five miles of Rotorua and is good land and in a good position. The owner of this property is prepared to make it available for settling unemployed men on the land and has indicated giving the worker the option of purchasing the land at the end of five years. This proposal, while not possessing the advantages of the other one, is still worthy of the board's consideration, as it would be possible, by intensive cultivation of these small blocks, for a hard-working family to produce sufficient to support itself in reasonable comfort after about 12 months occupation of the section. In adopting these proposals for the consideration of the Unemployment Board, the Rotorua Unemployment Committee feels that, although primarily designed for the purpose of providing relief for unemployed, these scheinos contain the geitn of a land settlement and development principle which could be carried out at very little cost to the community.