FRUIT INDUSTRY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11248, 28 June 1922, Page 7

FRUIT INDUSTRY

KENDENUP EXPERIMENT SHEEP STATION CHANGED INTO FRUIT PLOTS. A -CLOSER SETTLEMENT PROJECT. A through passenger by the Niagara i» Mr 0. J. do Garis. the founder of the Kondonup fruit and vegetable settlement in. West Australia, which he converted from a 50,000-acre sheep station to smiling farms for returned soldiers and’ , others, under hie closer settlement scheme. Mr de Garis was also for many years connected, with the well-known ‘Mildura irrigation scheme, where the land is now selling np to .£450 per acre, and carrying a population of 19,000. iCeiidenup now carries a population of 7<K>. For forty years it has not known what a drought is. The soil is of rich loams, •with clay subsoil and ironstone gravel, 'Which is particularly good for the growing of apples and pairs. The average rainfall is thirty inches. The settlers are given their land on most advantageous terms; they are assured of a steady market for their product#, and altogether their lot seems to be a- happy one. Ov©t 200 of the settlers are soldiers with their families, who aTe doing remarkably well on their ten or fifteenacre plots. With the of the first hydrating plant in the Commonwealth, the inventor of which, incidentally, is a New Zealander, the settlers have been assured of a steady market for their products. AfteT being put through a certain process the vegetables are again soaked in water an-d returned to their natural condition and flavour. The financial conditions in connection with this settlement are such that the settlers are not only debenture-holders, but are actual shareholders in the profits, the scheme ‘being on a co-operative basis. "A MAIWESLLOUS CHANGED "A year ago when Kendenup was put before the public as an ideal location 3or closer settlement there were many who laughed at the absurdity of the idea," remarked Mr de Garis to an Auckland "Star** reporter. "Bven to-day, with a population of 700, with its railway ievenue increased from <£49 to «£IO,OOO within twelve months, and when the productivity of the Kendenup soil has been proved beyond question to the entire satisfaction of the settler, there are still some who will hear no good, of this settlement. To damn an Australian enterprise at its birth or to strangle it during its infancy is to rn v mind the wrong way to encourage similar developments. of which the country at the present time is greatly in need/' He incidentally mentioned that he was _ considering a proposition for establishing- a similar settlement in the Far North of New Zealand, although the matter had not been definitely settled. If this area were acquired it would be about 40.000 acres in extent, and* potato growing on a Urge scale would be undertaken, with the success h© believed that had followed hy? Kendenup scheme. Ten acres of land at Mildura now cost ,£3OOO. and this would return a settler at Least .£SOO per annum, he said, when referring to the success of thi6 irrigation scheme. Kendenup differs from Mildura in the respect that it is not an irrigation scheme, the natural rainfall being ample for requirements. The land is principally planted in orange groves and vineyards. The settlement has its own daily naper. with an efficient cable service, althoitvh 350 miles from the capital. Over .£IOO.OOO has recently, been spent on new buildings. As at Kendenup there was no evidence of either wealth or poverty, as there was an even distribution of property. Soldier settlement at Mildura had been an unqualified success. The State and Federal authorities o-ave them financial assistance, and they received their land at verv favourable terms from the owners of the estate.