AN IRRIGATION COLONY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 996, 3 April 1891, Page 20

AN IRRIGATION COLONY.

There was a time when the Malice scrub country of Australia was condemned as being utterly . worthless. There are vast tracts of this scrub, much of it lying in dry parched districts,

which by no stretch of imagination could be called inviting to a settler. The scrub could, it is true, be cleared, but the want of water rendered the country to all practical purposes a dry barren desert, A few year’s ago two gentlemen from California, the Messrs Chaffey Brothers, took up some half million acres of this despised land on the banks of the river Murray, in Victoria, and by means of irrigation have made one of the most flourishing communities in the whole of Australia. They have literally made the desert to blossom like a rose. The soil underneath themallee scrub is a rich chocolate loam. It required nothing but sunlight and water to make it extraordinarily prolific. The clearing of this scrub has let in the sunlight, and splendid pumping plant and miles of channels have poured water by millions of gallons on the soil. The result is little short of a miracle. Heavy crops of grapes have been gathered this season from vines planted but two years ago, at this settlement, now known as Mildura. Raisin vines, apricots, figs, oranges, and lemons are being cultivated with great success, and the Zante currant vine is thriving magnificently. No injury has been sustained from blight or insect pests. The Chaffey Brothers have worked wonders so far on this special settlement. Business sites originally sold by the company for £2O are now worth from £4O to £2OO. The rapid march of settlement has necessitated a corresponding extension of the irrigation works. The main channels are now extended for a distance of ninety miles, and the subsidiary channels for 140 miles. The sale of land for the past six months has been substantially in advance of that of any previous like period. To push on this scheme of irrigation the Chaffey Brothers (Limited) are now calling up more capital and are issuing 33,017 special shares to be called up to £l. Full particulars of the scheme appear in another column.