THE MOLYNEUX VALLEY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13307, 12 June 1905, Page 2

THE MOLYNEUX VALLEY.

lI—iiIPRESSIONS OF THK COUNTIiY. '. (By Ode Special CJouuissibKEß.) . BEAUMONT TOKAK'S JUNCTION.'. Following tlio coach road to- Roxulitgh, tho traveller interested in the questitih, of railway communication should roincmbet that after leaving Beaumont (described in my previous Article)' "t!ie surveyed route of the Lawrence-Roxburgh line is lost sight of, aiid .does liot,again,appear till,the Island Block is reached, as it is following the othei"l)nuk oHlte rtvcf, ami Is; all;this way,' on practically level ground. The coach toad, however, after' leaving Beaumont, tises up, a long hill, and winds up to tho saditlo of it range of liilla which terminates at tho 'river; ami at thei Foot. of tho opposite slope is Rae's Junction or Bastings as it Was blice called, foilr miles, from Hie ieailiiiont. It is to tills foitr miles .of rbad that stock drovers giVe as wide a berth .as possible;. iridaed. it is almost impossible, to drivo sheep from tlio open country beyond over this road without loss, because the slopes oil either side bear thick, heavy crops of tlitii.' Sheep accustomed to grazing tin hitu country,, of course, do not show very. serious sykptoms'.. after being driven over this road, biit iuiiniftia coming from tlie. clear, open country wlioi'o tlitii is unknown, and especially when they are heated by driving, succumb very qiiickly. to the effects of this poisOriotis plant. 'Die gullies and slopes liefe are thickly clad with tutu and fern. The soil is u deep " sweet" loanl. Much of this ground lies avtaj' from the sun, but. there art* also ihariv sunriy slopes capable of cultivation, aiid close eiiitivalion at thiit. This, however, is not to be expected until closer settlement makes it imperative that every acre in this valley having value and environment for close settlement should bo utilised. On. the left is. tho pastoral block of somewhere about. 4000 acres held by Mr A. Moffntt; and such is tho nature of the country and the value of the climate for sheep-raising that, over and over again, sheep just off the tussock faces have brought. top prices at Buhifide y&rds. 'On the litlier side of the hill tho little settlement, of Bile's Junction is situated. Here the road from Edievale, the present and, I believe, (lie filial terminus of file line from "Wiiipahi, joiiis tho inaiil road from Lawrence to Roxburgh. It has been proposed in some quarters to continue the Waipahi line from Edievale to Rile's Junction! and so on to Roxburgh. Between Edievale and Rae's Junction there is something like a, 500 ft fall, and, when one comes to look at I lie nature of. the country and consider the cost of annual upkeep of such a line, one can only lie staggered by Mte audacity of tho proposal to waste public money on such a. scheme. The outrageous nature of this proposal can only properly be realised by 1111 inspection of the road from Kdievah: to Rae's Junction, but as tho. Government, through the Premier, has rightly and properly declined to consider this rouie nothing further need be said about, it except, that, if constructed; such a, railway would stand out. as the biggest piece of jobbery the colony has ever known, as far as Otago is concerned. With the railway through to Rue's Junction from Lawrence a line from the junction to Edievale would simply be a sheep track. I shall have something to say on' the question of routes at a later stage. Just, at, the junction of the roads is ilia residence of Mr J. Rennet, M.11.H. for Tuapeka electorate, and one cannot, know Tniipeka ■ without paying a tribute to t,ho sterling character of tho member for tho district. In season and out of season Mr Rennet lias laboured in the interests of his constituents, and there is no more conscientious member in tho House. He lias most, strenuously urged tho claims of tho T/awrcnos-Roxbiirgh route, believing it to be in the best interests of the district, notwithstanding the fact that a line from Edievale Iwonld benefit, himself personally to tho tune of about £1500. as the line would have to bo carried through his ground; and such has been his earnestness of purpose in this connection that practically all tho Olago members have pledged themselves to fight with him and for him in connection with the Lawronee-Roxbtirgh railway. Mr. Bonnet, hold; some 4500 acres of country, and, in common with Mr Moffntt. lie secures top prices for sheep fresh from the tussock slopes. THE ISLAND BLOCK. Beyond Rae's Junction tho road runs down through a narrow valley or gorge for a mile or two, and then emerges on a. tremendous plain which stretches right away round tlio Bland Block, . Millere Flat,, Teviot, Men ..Flat, Roxburgh, and beyond, and-thecoach road i? practically level from this gofgo to Roxburgh. Over the whole of this great area the characteristics with regard to climate and soil arc similar to those prevailing at Beaumont. There are months and months of still, cloudless days in ''summer and autumn, and, indeed, in the winter season the majority of the days are clear and bright : while tho soil is river silt— fine, friable, mid inorganic, containing a high percentage of phosphates. After erasing the Beaumont Hill one really enters a totally different climate from that of the seaboard, very much warmer in simimor and autumn, and with a finer, though colder, winter; and the nature of the country undergoes a complete change also, though it is not. after all, so many morn foot above sea level than Diiiicdiii. is. Immediately after (lie road emerges from tile.shadow of the hills it runs on to the far-famed Island Bloclr, an area of beautiful flat land iollowing Hie course of the river, subdivided into small • holdings. The land is exceptionally rich, oiul capable of growing ■ almost anything that will grow in these latitudes, and ono or two orchard, 0 , whie.li have been established here prove, 'by tlioijj enormous yields of peaches and apples, how very suitable the place is for fruit-grcwing.. All the Island Block formed nrut. of j\toa Flat Station at oiift time, but. I understand I,he major portion of it, if not the whole, has been disposed of. On the left-hand side of the road the abrupt, faces of the Moa Flat country, rise up hundreds of feet. Moa, l'lat Estate having jdinod Mr Burnet's rllii in the little gorge before mentioned. Along the base of the hills the soil is suited in every way for fruit culture, having a' Warm, sunny aspect, thft shelter of the hills, and the greater degree of sun beat consequent upon refraction from the steep faces behind, A very considerable area of the Island Block, at. the tippet end, is as yol. a "Maori liesd" swamp, but ulien this ia drained— aiid I suppose it will be before loiig— it. will be capable of'growing the heaviest crops. DESTRUCTION 7 OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS. Any man having any regard for the welfare of the Province of Otago cannot hut feel angry upon beholding the awful wasto of splendid agricultural land 'thiit is going oil iu the Island Block-Miller's Flat district through mining and dredging operations. I know that. Ihe mining first opened up this ..coilutry; I recognise what great benefits tlie industry has conferred, and is conferring, upon the Province of .Otago; and I have j gnnasT-.il ■■

every respect for tlio iiioneera itdw l£d tlia way to these! fields; hut I hold tlifi cfpihion that areas of ■noli soil should hot . be destroyed for ever by tlrgdging, for tn& BakS, of one ewjs Wliioh, after all, factor the destruction of. tlio larid; Glgaiifiji heaps of' Useless shingle tailings ; iio\v miiK i the. spots.where there' too onCe tie'res of j fertile soil,- ithil iht? awltil devastation is going ci! iiiglit and diiy. I a hi not pr£ | pared to say . that something could not be ■ itonii-in the direction of stripping the paddocks first, and then levelling the tailings and replacing the soil, but if .the presentterrible waste is to be continued, the sooner, the Government steps iu and puts a, etfip trt this kind of, thing the better for tho odloiiy , at large,. If phenomenal returns..were being, obtained otic miglit more readily find an exoiise, though oven iv'itli ldtiOoz a week the destruction woiild.not lid justified; biit Hits yield of gold is liot phenomenal,-and the faintest shadow 1 of for this wasto fif good lahd is gone. . ■ MILLER'S FLAT. . On the other side of the-river from the Island Block, lies a.splendid area of country known as Miller's Flat, aiid it follows down the river to somewhere about opposite Rite's Junction. It is a very extensive stretch of flat country, all suitable for agriculture, anß. indeed,'it is nearly all in farms. I should' not say this district possesses tli6 - same as the BeaUmoiit for verj : close niiltlvatioiv as I do not .tliiiik.it. is so admirably suited to friiit-groit'ing, but, ot 66jirs6, it is quite capablo of a vfery great degree of closer cultivation than it, is undergoing at. the present time. It is all good, Sigrionlttiral ltliid; etptitl t.b producing heavy averages'of oats, wheat, and barley, etc,; but how call one expect, the sSttiei'S togtoW extensive crops in the absence of railway communication, when the cost of cart ing takes away all the profit. All the Molyneux A'alley is fit for wheat-groivirig, and for that m.attet, it will grow wheat aS well as any other part of the colony will; aiid, moreover, tho. grain is briglit aiid clean and alwaj's of tirst-trla=s iiillling ijuiiiity, i'he area fit for cultivation in tlik vicinity of. Milton Flat. toftnship must total over 100,000 acres.. Then, again, the liill-slopeti in front of Ounagladii Station are being cultivated to good purpose, and throughout this district the grass rind clover give good illustration of the fertile character of the land. The river is .spanned at the totfnship by a very handsome and substantial bridge, I I and it is proposed by some 1 that the railway j .should cross the river Jiere and proceed lip j | the Moil Flat side to Roxburgh. I-lowever. the question of routes will be discussed later. Below the bHdge, on the Miller's . Flat side, arc several good fantis, and there ; is it very large area of flat lime, stretching right round to the. gorge at Roxburgh. The flat is really in two pieces—the Miller's Flat, .sido being all good land and tit for growing ahuost"'any kind' of crop, but the Teviot. Station side again is somewhat, gravelly. There, is a very comprehensive area of ibis gravelly flat, included iu the Teviot Station; and the owner is of opinion that a, great deal of it would not be suitable for the growing of wheat or oats. Adjoining tlie 09.000 acres of BeaiHiiorit—all splendid stock-raising country—is" Ormaglade, comprising about 4t)O0 acres Of frefihoitl and about 45,000 acres' of leasehold. On this station there is a great extent of come of tho very bpst agricultural land iii the die-' trict, and there can lie 110 possible doubt that iii tho years to come, when the Molyneux Valley is carrying something more like the population it ought to be carrying, Ormaglade will bo one of tho properties cut up into suitable blocks. I propose to deal with the questioii of lands for settlement, in a separate article, and in the meantime pass on to TEVIOT STATION, one of the finest properties in all the Molyneux Valley district, and one wliioh, : had .there l>e-eii railway communication, • would undoubtedly have been cut up long before this. -Through the kindness and genial hospitality ot" the owner—Mr D. MacFarlane, formerly of Hakitarainea Station—l was enabled to view pretty well . all Teviot Station: and, eveii having some ; idea of.the iinmeiise resources of the Molyneux district, I confess L was more than astonished to find what an enormous scope of magnificent land lies back from the river valley. Looking at Teviot from the. river, it-is difficult to realise there is first-class agricultural land above tho level ..of the flat, because vising up from the.plain is a rocky face more or less thickly , clad with matagoiiri scrub, and that is aliout all that meets the eye. A drive, .over the country above will, however, abfolntely convince oven the most sceptical. Teviot Station comprises about 74,500 acres. Of which 24,500 actes are freehold. At present' 31,000 sheep aire, carried* about two-thirdii being. haitbro'ds and the balance merinos. Some 10,000 acres are under cultivation as represented by j English gl'ass, and there is a total of not less than 17.000-acres fit for cultivation, j while at present there are 1000 acre,? down | in turnips for winter feeding. The run extends back to Galloway and Linnburn Stations on tho other side, and bounds with Beaumont and Ormaglade on the river Bide. : A feature of the land having value for cultivation is thiit, it requires idisofutcly; no manure, and overy. bit of it is silt. How j the deep river silt caiiio to be spread out over all those terraces'.and slopes is a (problem for geologists;, biit there can be no mistaking tlio fact that the soil is silt, ; and very rich at that. Starting out from I tlio pretty homestead—a really typical New I Zealand station home—and passing the long j woolslted (which, by the way. is said to be i the largest in the Australasian colonies, and [ is capable of holding from 7000 to 8000 sheep), the station buggy; with Mr Mac"Earlano'in charge of the whip and a merry 1 little party on board, left the flat ono I morning en route for tho teri'ta' above; A detailed description of the country passed ■ through on that drivo would) of course} he • wearisome; but even-the most elaborate, ' description could hardly succeed iu convey-' ! ing an adequate idea of the very beautiful I country passed through. Paddock after paddock of the niost beautiful English grass ! was traversed, for, though very late in tho : season, tho gross was still good all over tho I properly, A most- noticeable featul'e wds j tlio systematic measures adopted for the . extermination of rabbits on the property. I i Rabbit-proof fencing of tho best possible ! standard is being carried forward over the country; taking in largo block's. As each block is seciirely fenced, war is declared' ; against butiny, and cvel-Jf possible weapon ■ is brought into play until the rabbits are thoroughly exterminated from, thiit. block; then another block is taken, and so on. i A very great area has been - thoroughly cleared in this manner, and the result has been most gratifying j ilideed, the results ! are apparent to even the most ordinary ! observer, for outside a rabbit-proof fence , tho ground is almost absolutely bare of grass or vegetation, while inside thefe is a thick carpet of feed. How hungrily this rabbits must look through those fences sometimes, and how heartfelt must be the thoughts they think about tlio awful cruelty of tile man who invented rabbit-proof fences! The difference is most marked, arid, indeed, reminds ono of irrigated .land in some parts' of Central Otago, such as at

Galloway - Flat or : Eaniscleugh'' Flat, cob-1 'tfasttid with S soil whioh does' hot fefeeite water. At;.presKiitthe'rfe ig'about .50 nlilfs - of fencing on the' property.' Viiitiiig. the; turnip fields I was shotfn one area after' l anothtsr, all. showing most'-beautiful tilrnijis; • The . roots . were > very largo and = growing closely together ; in fact: it was not possible ispihfltiines' to- step between'' tlid turnips, So that a-grazier ir.ay readily, reckon what a tremendous quantity of winter feed is available there.' 'A considerable,area of tile lartd laid down in turnips lias only been ploughed once, turned ..over . from., tho .silver ..tussock. and then 60wn down without manure of any .kind; and-yet these astonishing results are obtained. ;,one> portion of the turnip area had.bepn ploughed the .year, before and .left to lie fallow, iihd this season, instead of its being ploughed again, the diSti harrows were ■ rlui T5V«r it'ah'd'tiirnip seed sown broadcast, with tho rcSiilt that'll most, magnificent crop has. been Secured ftt .a .fost of about 4s 6d per acre. Despite the assertions of Sduthlanders who try to convince the people ifi tliis district'of necessity .for railway communication with Iritercargill for the piirposd" bf-' bringing.:"up mitcli-Ueedcd rii&ntircj hb manure of any kind, was iised oil the area sown broadcast, and yet results were obtained which would turn farmers iii soriio of the do\Vn ; country districts greeii with envy. Wherever, the eye turned in that day's drivo over the estate there could lie.secii nothing, but glorious iireas of undulating and first-class agricultural aiid pastoral cbuntry. A good portion.liad been under isjjrub; but clearing . ami burning, have beeii steadily.prosecuted, and up" 7 ' there is comparatively "little scrub left, 'jlie country •diTthtae slopes' arid terraces lies fronv 1200 ft to iaOOft above sea level, and, even on the rim. itself, there is no bad winter country. Soific,magnificent, views wcfei .obtained,on this drive, and the'.Witness photographer tfeiil-nfter thsnl tiil his .camera would hold no.more. From.one point; of.vantage the gorge of ■ the river near Roxburgh, backed by Mount Bengal', aiid t.bp Old Mftii liango, ! with (lie Ilea Flat Ctliuitry to Ihd left, could lw seen; fioni o.nothor, Jliller's Flat, with the river winding a\v!iy tloVvii to the Horsasboc Betid, appeared: and then, in another direction lay the beautiful Orinaglado, country, and nil aroundi stretching away in evei'y direction, were the .magnificent acres of Tevioi. The- soil everywhere over- the property is dry and warm, find almost anywhere on the 17,000 acres referred f.b it would grow alniost anything in tlio way of wheat, barley, Oats, turnips, etc. AYhat irlofious country this would be for gi-ain-gi'owing. Thousands of .acres might hear golduii crops of froiii 90 to iOO bushels per acre; but wliiif is Ihe use of •owing grain when it costs as miich to. cart'it'to a railway, as it is worth? This might, easily be one of the richest-produce-growing districts in Otai?o; at present it is it sheep station. Much bf this land has value aiid environment for fi'iiit-growing. I will spoak of tho faces liear Roxburgh later, but, referring. now. particularly to the sunny valleys over almost all tho property, I am. confident stone friiit and apples could be grown well there. There are hundreds upon hundreds df acres of rich, deep soil on siinny, sheltered slopes there where apricots, peaches, Dears, il&lariuos, walnuts, aiid apples could be grown as well as in some of the orchards iii the valley, and practically no irrigation would be retpiired. I was conducted over ono paddock which, at the end of May, was still showing thick grass and Mover, and ample ovidencc was forthcoming to show that in summer the clover here had been up to the saddlegirfhs of riders who passed through it, Sheep could almost'be lost amongst tho grass and clover, so ltixuriunt was tlio growth; and for the growing of lticcrne or clovcr hay for winter feeding this coutitry can have ho equal in the interior. Oniv about 300 acres so far have been utilised for. grain-growing, and that, was for station mtrnoses, but the magnificent crops obtained gave Mr ifacFarlano adequate testimony of what lii* country is capablo of producing, and he for one, were a railway taken through, would sow large areas in grain. On 'l'cviot Stilt-ion alone there is enough agricultural country to keep a small town going, and if ever there was an estate which is suitable for close settlement this is one. Behind Teviot, again, tiierc aro several farms which are altogether, out of view .from the river valley. Two tine areas are held by Mr Cockburn and Mr Forbes, and a visit to those would afford suffioient evidence of the value of the rest of the farming settlement. For 1W -acres of farm land there £900 has - been refused by the owner, Mr Forbes, who has a holding of exceedingly rich and,.well-cultivated and carefully-farmed land. Mr Forbes has obtained a consistent yield of 60 bushels of wheat per acre. He and others have been -compelled to burn their crops off because the strength of the, growth catiESd the .straw, to fall over badly, .and, no doubt, the difficulty- of getting tiie' prdoiiee to market assisted ih the decision •to burn off the crops. Mr Cbclcbtirn, wiicSe Hioltling adjoins that bf Mr Fdrbfes, find 9 that his laud grows oats and barley best, and the yield obtained averaged. 50 to 60 bushels per acre in each case.' The barley grown in this locality is equal to that grown at Hawea Flat, an exceptionally high (|Uiili}y, On Mr Ko'rr's farm, again, .which is on the slopes in front of Orniaglade, and above Miller's Flat, oats and barley c-aii be miiitvafed to perfection, and the saine applies really to the whole bf Miller's Flat. With a railway up through the valley to Roxburgh, there can be no question but ■ that" Teviot should he subdivided, and a Very large'portion of 'it could be cut into farms without materially ' detracting from the. pastoral -'areas, tacause comparatively speaking, a small area ..lhmld suffice to servo as winter country, in the eaSs of such run's as Morvbn IMIs, Tarras, and Ardgowan, in Central Otago, for instance. a very large area would be required for winter stocking, as thai country, while rich, is ever so inucll higher than Teviot, and requires a'larger acreage of pastoral rim. The .land over almost the whole of Teviot is well.-watered- by smalt streams, while the Teviot River, rising in a pretty sheet of water known as lake Onslow, flows down through the run, joining near Roxburgh. Standing at one of the trig-stations, facing towards Ormaglade, I saw a stretch of miles of beautiful grassy slopes, and away behind, again, towards Peiitlheitgh, over at Callaway, was a stretch of first-class undulating country going right, away to the sky line. ORMAGLADE. , On Orniaglade Station, again, I saw thouands ofi -tiercs of rich land, every inch of it suited to agriculture. This estate is the property of Mis Fraicr, and is managed by Mr Menziesr. while Messrs Murray, Roberts,, and Co; are agents for the owner,■ who is absent, .from tile colony. In addition to tho large area of pastoral country held, there are 7000 acres freehold, and about. 12,000' sheep are grazed. The Orniaglade country <| of more 'broken character . than that on Teviot, but it is still good agricultural'land. Turriipfl of first-c-laM qtiaiity al'e raised herb for winter feed, but only sufficient grain for home consumption purposes is grown,' In the case of.OrjnSglade, again, the river,silt with phosphates prevails, and'manure is unnecessary. ' THE RAILWAY - ROUTK. With slicli a wonderful stretch of country of swell excellent agricultural qtiaiity available, the ipiesfcion suggets itself whether the railway coming lip from Roxburgh would be iti the oelitru of the tributary areas if taken over the river at Miller's Flat. However, that, is a' C|iidstioh with which I am not at. present closely concerned more than that it is my duty to point out that in the future Ormaglade and Teviot Stations will undoubtedly bo subdivided into farms, and will be carrying a large population and sending forth tremendous qiiaiit-ities of produce, and these areas-should bo served by a, railway, either ,by tho, ne«r proximity of -llio main line or by the construction of a. branch. It ]ms been pointed cmt to mo that the railway coming up tho Miller's Fiat side' of tlio river ttmlil be continued on tho soma side to opposite Roxburgh; hilt. I am ni)t prepared to advocate that, lieiieving that, crossing the- river higher up than Miller's Flat, - the line could be ' made to 6erve all Ormaglade and Teviot, and a|so Moa, Flat and the South Roxburgh district to the best advantage. One tbihg, however,'is Vci'" dear,and that is that a railway from ■ ftcriot ! through Moa Flat would never ebrVo the district; I thiiilt I have sliotfn tho titter fallacy of that', proposition put forward by southern agitators. One half of Moa Flat •is amply terved by Fdicvalo . terminus, and the other half lies ill to the Slolyneux Valley, rfltd would lie well , served by the railway from Lawrence to Roxburgh; and there can be absolutely' no question that, in the interests of tlic district and of the colony at large, the railway mnst come up the Molj'Welix Valley frdtli fjeatitfloht.