DAIRYING IN SOUTH OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19066, 11 January 1924, Page 5

DAIRYING IN SOUTH OTAGO

A RECORD OF EARLY DAYS. AND A REVIEW OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS. Bv FEED WAITE.

Long years before the white sails of the John Wickliffe and the Philip luring made their appearance off Otago Heads, milch cows were eating tho sweet native grasses and chewing tho cud of contentment at many different places in the youth Island—the Deans family were running cattle at what is now Christchurch : ‘■Johnny” Jones pastured his herd round about historic Waikouaiti, while down at Port Molyneux, as early as the year 1840, Mr Willshcr was establishing what would appear to be the first herd of cattle in South Otago. Of these early Port Molyneux cattle, one hoars many and conflicting stories. The boat that brought the original mob from Sydney apparently struck heavy weather, amd only one cow was landed alive. Tics was not an auspicious start for breeding a herd, but Providence intervened in ordaining that the lonely cow should bo carrying a bull calf; and the story goes on to say: “i'rora this small beginning, a herd of some 600 cattle sprang np. Tho bull afterwards strayed away down south, and his remains were found near Wyndham. The cattle were all of a dark red colour, with a white stripe down the back. " This description would seem to indicate Hereford characteristics. The mathematically minded will be interested in the increase of one pair of animals to tho number of 600! What became of these early arrivals is only partly known. One story has it that when Wilislirr loft these parts in 1859, ho left the cattle to his Maori wife, and according to custom, tire mob became common property, and so dwindled away. More certain it is that some 59 in number were sent up to Clydcvalo to graze in 1855, and in. 1859 this part of the mob was sold at Balclutha by Mr Reynolds. Borne of the cows were reported to have brought £2O each. It is not reasonable to suppose that any of these original herds of cattle were kept isolated and intact. Nearly every ship that arrived would have some live stock on for the settlers in their new land. Cattle, sheep, and goats were constantly arriving. Of all the domestic animals, the cow was the most, valuable. Butter and cheese supplied the necessary fats for the daily dietary, and even as it is to-day, milk in abundance was necessary for the nourishing of healthy children. So from the lands the pioneers called “Home,” from Tasmania, from Victoria, and from New South Wales, came the ancestors of the common cow that now throngs the saleyards np and down Otago. Of horses in those early days there were very few. Again the cow came to the rescue of pioneering man. Her sons supplied the team for the primitive bullock sledge, and the bullock waggon of the better days to come. Bullocks supplied the motive power for the com grinding; bullocks drew the ploughs on the swampy plains and in the little bush clearings. Of what breed were these animals - ' In colour they were red, or roan, or brindled. Shorthorn, Ayreshire and Hereford apparently predominated. We often hear old men speak of the Gippsland cattle. Of what breed were they? One tiling we may be sure of—there was plenty to eat. Maji had not had time to bum and root out the succulent native grasses; the destructive rabbit had not yet made his presence felt. It is safe to say that in the first 20 years of the settlement of Otago, the cattle never went a-hungry during the hardest winter. EARLY BUTTER (AND CHEESE MAKING. In South Otago, every small farmer depended for a living on the sale of butter and cheese, bacon and eggs. Onlv the big runholders kept sheep; the cow was the stand-by of the small man. Because all milk was used, most farmers' wives made cheese. The cheese and butter was in the earliest days sent in to the towns, but when the gold ruslies took place, the hordes of miners set up a great demand for all products of the dairyfarm, and many a drayload of butter and cheese and bacon went from the fertile plains and rolling downs of South Otaro "‘up to the diggings.” ° Mr Jos. Anderson informs the writer that as a young boy he went with the rest of the family up to the Dalvev Run, where they lived from 1858 to 1862. The chief activity was sheepfarming, but a large amount of cheese was made. Mr Anderson well remembers helping his mother with the dairying work. His description of the cheese press is interesting: ‘‘The press was made by putting a mortice hole in a standing tree at the bush side, and fixing on a heavy lever some 15ft long. The chessel, containing the curd, was placed on a block, with the lever, weighted at the far end, pressing on the lid. Many people, however, simply weighted the lid with stones, without the lever. ‘Tn the early days, about the middle of tiie sixties, the firm of Stewart and Gow, storekeepers, at Balclutha, with a branch at Tapanui, took much of the dairy produce. John Gow still resides at Balclutha. Somerville Bros., of Waitepeka, also dealt largely in dairy produce in those days.” 'the gold rushes and the influx of diggers in the “sixties” caused dairying to flourish. For some time 2s 6d per lb was readily got for butter at the local storekeepers. When farm produce got lower in price, a number of settlers drove their produce to the diggings and sold to the storekeepers there. From the Taieri, Tokomairiro and the Waiwera districts, teams carted the produce to Waikaka and Switzers, and sometimes as far as Beaumont and Roxburgh. At last, about the beginning of the “seventies,” butter came down in price to 6d per lb and under, while cheese fell to under 4d. Thereupon, the small farmer dropped largely out of dairying and depended largely on sheep-raisin™. THE FIRST DAIRY FACTORIES. It was earlv recognised that butter and cheese could be much more cheaply made when large ouautities had to be handled, but many of the first attempts at establishing factories were net successful. Just which was the first real dairy factory in New Zealand is still open to question. But one of the very earliest is mentioned by Sir George Fenwick in bis article in that useful little book “Dunedin and Its Neighbourhood.” At page 151 wo read: "... The first, dairy factory for the manufacture oi cheese on anything like a large scale having been started at Highcliff, on the Otago Peninsula, in 1871, by Mr John Mathioson. The concern was owned by a small co-operative

syndicate, of which Mr Riddell . ■ • was a partner, for several years the Highcliff factory was in successful operation, a ready market being found for their produce in Australia, where Is per lb was obtainable. . . , Eventually it was resolved by tho syndicate to launch out in a new direction, and a milk supply company was formed with the object of supplying milk to Dunedin residents. From that company the Taieri and Peninsula Milk Supply Company 7, one of the largest and most successful butler-making factories in the colony, originated.” That was written in 1904, and historically it is interesting, for to-day there is some controversy over the “first dairy factory.” It is also recorded that the Edendalo Factory, established by Mr Thomas Brydone in 1882, was the “first registered dairy factory in New- Zealand.” From inquiries the writer has made from the Dairy Division, this is not correct, as in those days registration was not required. It also appears that at Greytown, in the Wairarapa, the Greytown Cooperative Factory was established in 1880, and Mr Coleman Phillips, writing in the New Zealand Dairyman recently, sets out the establishment of the earliest cheese factories as follows: (1) The Greytown Co-operative, 1880; (2) the Gilpin and Pardon purely proprietary factory at Feathevston, 1880; and then the Edendalo (Brydonc’s) purely proprietary factory near Dunedin, 1882; the Greytown and" Edendale factories competing in 1882 for the manufacture of tho first 50 tons of cheese, and Edendale winning. Edendale exported its 50 tons of cheese , to Queensland. Edendale is to-day a co-operative factory, and is still one of the largest and best-known cheese factories in the South Island. But although Edendale was part of South Otago in those early days, today territorially it is in Southland. Of South Otago, as this generation knows it, the Stirling Dairy Factory, established in 1886, was the first, and to-day it is the factory 7 with the largest output in Otago. Waikouaiti and Omimi commenced in 1889, and Palmerston before that, but it was not until the years 1911 to 1915 that the majority of our Otago cheese factories e-rnie into being, B jtter factories were not established UTu.il later. It is said that the first butter factory started iu Otago was that of Messrs Cuddie, of Mosgiel. In 1888, not satisfied with handling “farmers’ butter,” they conceived the idea of establishing a butter factory. THE COMING OF THE HAND SEPARATOR. The Taieri and Peninsula organised many groups of farmers to supply the “creameries,” one of which was placed in every mixed farming district. Here the milk was brought every morning, the cream was separated from the skim-milk, and was then sent to a central factory to be made into butter. Then came the centrifugal hand separator. Instead of running every day to the creamery with tho milk, progressive farmers purchased a separator and sent the cream to the butter-factory, and fed the valuable skim milk to the calves and pigs. But a cry was raised that the quality of our produce would suffer by this “home separation.” Science in the person of Pasteur came to the rescue of the buttermaker. It was discovered that by heating the cream to a certain temperature all the harmful bacteria were killed, and many bad and stale flavours were driven off. Tho Taieri and Peninsula Company, actuated largely no doubt by the advice of the Government experts, stuck to its creamery methods. This enabled the Waitaki Dairy Company to establish itself strongly in Otago, its slogan being, “We are buyers of home-separated cream." The new methods were a great advance on the old, and eventually the Taieri and Peninsula Company was forced to drop the creamery system, and adopt the more modern methods. Some of the creameries were taken over by the farmers in different districts and turned into local cheese factories. To-day, home separation and pasteurisation have made it possible to turn out a high-grade butter; the grading of the Dairy Division has assured that a uniform and high standard has been set for the buttermakers; and we now have the seeming miracle of cream produced on the farms of South Otago, made into butter, carried 13,000 miles, and sold in perfect condition in the markets of the Old World. ROUND ABOUT MILTON. The Tokomairiro Plain and the rolling downs surrounding it early came under the notice of the first settlers. They had the ups and downs that fall to the lot of all -pioneers; they shared in the general prosperity of the farming community during the gold ruslies and suffered as others suffered in the collapse that followed. But the discovery of limestone, and the establishment of kilns at Milbum did more than anything else to make the Milton Plain the well-tilled and fertile territory it is. Most farmers have taken full advantage of the proximity of the lime kilns at Milbum, and the phosphate deposits at Clarendon. In the eighties, dairy factories, sprang up in all districts, and in 1885 a company was formed under the title of the Bruce Dairy factory Co., to carry on the manufacture of cheese. The shares were principally taken up by the farmers themselves, and they retained the management in their own hands, although the company was not ran on the co-opera-tive principle. A substantial brick building was erected near the railway station, and operations were commenced on September 29, 1885. The Company carried on for a few years with indifferent success so far as the shareholders were concerned, and eventually the business was sold to Mr James Gray, a well-known local storekeeper. With improved prices ruling for sheep, farmers gradually disposed of their dairy herds, and Mr Gray leased the premises' for a short time to the Taieri and Peniucula Co., but lack of support soon compelled it to dose down, and no further attempt was made to start a dairy factory until the present company was formed. To-dav the Milton plain is farmed by one of tint most prosperous farming communities in New Zealand. Land values have not been unduly inflated, and, further, a,s mixed farming is the rule, the slump in mutton and wool and the succeeding slump in dairy produce was

not so severely felt as in those districts where farmers have all their eggs in the one basket. Fat lamb raising, wheat growing and dairying are all profitably carried on.

The Milton Co-operative Dairy Factory, as wo know it to-day, was established in 1912, and is a very efficiently managed concern, with about 50 suppliers. Last season 109 tons of first grade cheese were manufactured, while this season some 600 cows are being milked for the factory supply. This season, also, a start was made with a. herdtesting association, the Milton supplier's of home-separated cream combining with the suppliers of dho cheese factory. About 400 cows arc under lest; the testing being carried out at tho cheese factory.

A purebred Jersey he.rd of more than average merit is being developed by Messrs Beattie Bros., at Clarksville. OUR BIGGEST CHEESE FACTORY—STIRLING.

Going south in the train from Dunedin, one sees, just before crossing tho Glutha River, tho big brick building of the Stirling Cheese Factory—the factory with the largest manufacture of cheese in Otago. Forty years ago, this district was largely devoted to wheat, but wheatgrowing gradually succumbed to turnips, jKitatoes, and dairying. It is a matter of common knowledge that all the flat land around agout Stirling, Barelai, and Kajtangata, is first-class dairying country, perhaps unsurpassed in New Zealand and it is not. surprising, when the first co-operativo wave swept over the dairying industry, that a factory was instituted at Stirling. Stirling was named after the birthplace of the late Mr Archibald Anderson, who owned most of the adjoining land. When the railway was surveyed from Dunedin to Invercai’gill, it ran through Mr Anderson’s land for about, eight or nine miles. The strip needed for the railway was given gratis, with tho conditions that tho selection of the station site and the naming of the station should rest with Mr Anderson.

Mr Jos. Smith, a respected director of Stirling Factory, informs the writer that before freezing and dairying on a largo scale started, the conditions of the country were at a very low ebb. The railway was opened from Dunedin to the Railway Bridge near Balclutha on September 1, 1875 ; and about 38 years ago the Stirling Dairy Factory ‘Co. was launched. For some years tho directors had a very hard row to hoe—shipping and marketing conditions were very defective. There was no Produce Cool Stores then as there is to-day, and tho company lost a large quantity of cheese through it rotting in the sheds at tho wharf. "I* or several years,” states Mr Smith, “the settlers supplied milk to the factory at 2£d per gallon, payable by three months’ bills. I wonder what the suppliers of to-day would say to that?”

Year by year the output of this factory has increased, and only this season many important enlargements have been made. One of the most interesting features of this factory is its pig-fattening farm. The disposal of whey from a cheese factory is generally a matter of anxiety to the directors, but the motto of the Stirling management is “Waste not.” Each year, therefore, many hundreds of store pigs are bought and fed on the whey, suitably supplemented by other foods. This year it is very satisfactory to note that a profit of over £6OO has been made off pigs alone —a very profitable and useful little side line.

Tills year a herd-testing association has been formed in the neighbourhood, and great interest is being manifested in the weeding-out of the “robbers” and the discovery of the real money-makers.

Some very creditable pedigreed herds are being developed in the district. Mr A. A. Jensen has a nice team of purebred Friesians; Mr H. 0 Anderson has a very high-testing herd of high-grade and pedigreed Jerseys; while Mr Donaldson is very enthusiastic over the establishment of a herd of Red Polls. This interest in pedigreed cattle is a bold step in the right direction. Further down “the Island” is tho wellknown Paretai Cheese Factory. This factory is one of the more recently established, dating back to 1915. There are over 30 suppliers, many of them with large herds. The make last season was 212 tons of cheese, 2993 crates of which were exported. FRIESIANS. The Kaitangata Dairy Factory was established in 1917, and last season had an output of 105 tons of cheese. For many years Kaitangata has been famous for its coal; but in the dairying world it is none the less celebrated for its black-and-white cattle. For here is situated the Gordyline herd of Friesians bred by Mr George Aitchison, perhaps the best-known man of all the Friesian breeders in New Zealand and Australia. Round about Gordyline is some of tho best dairying land in the dominion, rich heavy soil that grows great grass when many other districts are well-nigh burnt up. This country grows swedes, turnips, oats and hay—everything that is needed to keep up the butter-fat production right through the winter. Mr Aitchisen recognised the good qualities of the black-and-whites many years ago. It was in 1896 that he bought his first purebred bull from the original herd of Mr John Grigg’s at Longbeach. In 1898, a cow, Lassie, was obtained from the same source These were typical Dutch cattle, and Mr Aitchison was fortunate in his foundation stock. Lassie produced four heifer calves in succession, and each one proved to “tip-topper.” In 1906 a bull was procured from Mr Nowton King, of New Plymouth. This new one, Nazli do Kol, eventually proved, when his daughters were tested, to bo one of the outstanding bulls in the dominion.

When semi-official testing commenced a team from Gordyline was entered, and Gladys II was the first cow in New Zealand to be awarded a semi-official certificate. In those days, when cattle received no special attention except liberal feeding, it was a great achievement to have all the cows in the herd averaging 6221 b of fat. Indeed it would be a great achievement to-day—even for a pedigreed herd. And the Cerdyline herd lias got better and better as the years have passed

Mr Aitchison has always had a keen eye for type and constitution. The cows at Gordyline are all of the same type, the real old black and white cattle. And they have distinguished themselves in tho show ring, not only in New Zealand, but in Australia. A hull bred at Kaitangata brought credit to New Zealand by recently annexing the championship at the Sydney ■Royal Show.

Mr Aitchison is recognised as an authority on all matters pertaining to the breed ho has done so much to develop in this country. He is the official demonstrator for the Friesian Association in Otago, and a year or two ago had the honour of judging the Fviosians at all the. important shows in Australia. The influence of Mr Aitchison and his herd is very pronounced in South Otago. More than anyone else in theso parts has he made it possible for dairy farmers to procure heavy-producing stock suitably acclimatised to local conditions. His life work has been the raising of. the standard of one of our most important breeds of dairv cattle.

An excellent young herd is also being developed in the district by Mr L. Colbournc, tho foundation females being all bred from cows in the f'ordyline herd, each with over 6001 b of butterfdt to its credit. Mr Colhmmic's young stock has been very successful in tho show ring. GOOD PROGRESS AT OWAKA. The conditions in tho Owaka Valley are distinct from those of the other dairying districts in Otago This was a land of bush, with homes carved out of tho wilderness by axes in willing hands. It needed stout hearts for the pioneer farmers of this bush district. tint to-day they have their reward. Plenty of clear running water, great blocks of standing bush for shelter, and a. wealth of good grass for pasture make the Owaka Valley a pood place to dairy in. There is a group of small cheese factories down this line—Ratanui, opened in 1912; and Railhead and Tarara, both, in 1.913. But in Owaka itself there is established a modern butter factory-, which was opened about a year ago. A substantial

brick building, with every modern appliance for the manufacture of a high grade butter, it is a monument to the sturdy self-reliance and community spirit of the dairy fanners carrying on business in the Owaka Valley. As the years go by, and the suppliers realise the asset that a good dairy factory is to a district, this factory is destined to produce a. very large amount of butter, for the district beyond Owaka itself is really only being discovered and developed. There is a great future before the industry in the Owaka Valley.

The Popotunoa Hill, under the shadow of which the town of Clinon lies to-day, is the centre of a district that is not given over entirely to dairying, but from the very earliest times of settlement, dairying has been a very important phase of farming. In tire “Reminiscences” published in 1912, ftiere is an interesting reference to early cheese-making. The Wairuna station was first held by Mr William Gordon Rich, as far back as the early “fifties. On this station a man named Dalgleish was employed as a shepherd. “Dalgleish had to milk some 20 cows, the milk being made into cheese, ■which was sold at Is per lb. The cheese press was a simple and primitive affair. . . . Kakas were plentiful in the bush, and acquired a liking for the cheese. They took every opportunity of satisfying their liking for the delicacy, much to the detriment of the cheese-cloths, which were not easily obtained. ’ ’ The township of Wairuna to-day is a few miles w r est of Clinton. Here, in 1910, was established the Wairuna Co-operative Cheese Factory. Though in comparison with others, this factory is a small one, having last year an output of 51 tons, it has been a great boon to the settlers in the neighbourhood- Over 300 cows are being milked to supply the factory this year. The cows in this district are mostly Shorthorn and Ayrshire grades, but during the last few- years, pedigreed Friesian bulls have been used in increasing numbers, and already the improvement in the young stock is very noticeable. Next year an effort is to be made to form a He.rd-testing Association, as the farmers are fully awake to the possibilities of the necessity of heavy culling.

When the Wairuna Factory was first established there were no dairy farmers in the real sejise of the word in the district. But there is some first-class dairying country in the vicinity, and now there are some herds of 50 cows, and up-to-date sheds and milking-machines, are- increasing in number every year. It is worthy of note that there have been only two chairmen of directors since the establishment of the company, Mr W. MTndoe holding office, for the first four years, and Mr H. Steel filling the position from then till now. THE VALUE OF SOUTH OTAGO DAIRY PRODUCE. The tins of cream one sees at the little railway stations when collected into the big city butter factories make many hundreds of tons of butter in a year. And thd totals from our cheese factories seen in the aggregate are evidence of the great value of the product of the South Otago cows. As far as can be tabulated, they are as follows: CHEESE FACTORIES. Output. 1922-23. Name. Tons. Turnover. Alii ton 100 £ 9,845 Kaitangata 105 9,100 Parotid 218 17.267 Stirling 460 45,383 Wairuna 51 5.164 Ratanui 33 4,000 Tarara 27 5.480 Railhead 25 2,400 Totals ... 1033 £95,640 Note.—The figures given under “Turnover” .are taken from the balance-sheets where same are obtainable. The others have been estimated. It is difficult to arrive at the value of produce made in the butter factories, hut taking the Chitha (proprietary) and the Ownka (six months only) it is estimated that butter to the value of £61,141 was made in the district. Adding the £95,640 cheese value to the £61,741 for butter made in South Otago we get the total of £157,381 worth of butter and cheese. It must, be remembered that the big Dunedin butter factories all draw from South. Otago the Co-operative Dairy Company of Otago, (he Taieri and Peninsula, the Waitaki Dairy Company, and L. S. Dyer, of Mosgiel. To this must be added a certain amount of “farmers’

If herd-testing and the use of pedigreed bulls arc factors in the graduig-up of an ordinary herd, then it must be admitted that Owaka is forging ahead. Here was started the first herd-testing association in Otago. At the fourth annual meeting of the Owaka Cow Testing Association held recently, Mr A. 0. Ross, Government Dairy Instructor, instanced the advantages which had accrued to those dairymen interested by herd-testing. Below are some particulars of this year’s testing ; Highest herd (252 days), 3641 b. Lowest herd (213 days), 1931 b. Highest cow (274 days), 5131 b. Lowest cow (2i7 days], 1331 b. This indicates the progress the association has made in the four years' work. In the second season of testing there was a decided increase of butter-fat per cow. The third season showed an increase per cow over the second season of 551 b per cow. The past season's work showed an increase of 201 b over that of the previous season. The figures show that for the four years' work- the association’s average per cow works out at an increase of 971 b of butter-fat. When we see that one herd lias averaged 3541 b of fat, and that the lowest herd averaged 1931 b of fat we begin to realise that there is a greatfuture before herd-testing in Otago- And it is a movement that will assuredly put money into the pockets of the dairy farmers. What Owaka is doing can be done in every district in Otago. It is not “too much ‘Trouble’’ to the progressive dairymen in the Owaka Valley. It is paying them handsomely. HOME SEPARATION. Where there are not enough cows in a district to support a cheese factory, homo separation is resorted to. And even in some districts where there arc enough cows, farmers prefer to separate on the farm, and rear calves a-nd pigs, instead of going every day a mile or two to the factory. The* cheese factories, of course, generally can pay a better price per lb for butter-fat, and this is as it should be, for whole milk is supplied in one case, and only cream in the other. So in all the mixed farming districts the cream is railed to central factories in the cities, or collected by motor lorry and thus transported. From round Lawrence and Waitahuna, Brighton, Taieri Month, Milburn, Wangaloa, and suchlike mixed fanning places, the cream goes to Dunedin, Mosgiel or Balclutha. At Balclutha, there is a proprietary butter factory, the Clutha Dairy Company, which draws its supplies from all over South Otago. Waiwera South is the natural railing centre for all the cream that conies from Greenfield, Clydevale, Ashley Downs, and Taumata. Here at Waiwera the tivc Dairy Company of Otago has a cream depot, to which motor lorries transport the cream from all the surrounding areas. There are over 200 suppliers to the depot, some farmers, in the Waiwera district milking as many as 80 cows. In olden days the land along the foothills of the Kaihiku Range was almost wholly given over to dairying. In the latter part of the “fifties” and in the early “sixties,” Mr Alexander M'Neil, of Caldervan, milked some 170 cows and kept over 100 pigs. He once sent out to the old Waiwera Hotel a sledco load of bacon aud butter, which cost Mr Telford just £IOO. Mr Robert Campbell, of Glenfalloch, on the banks of the Kaihiku, also milked a large number of cows in those early days. But when the gold rushes were over and butter went back to 4d per lb, the cows were done away with and sheep took their place. But now the wheel lias swung full circle again, and once more herds of 40, 50, and 80 cows are grazing on the clover and cocksfoot of the Waiwera. THE CLINTON DISTRICT.

butter” of inferior quality, supplied to the local grocers, and by them milled and sent to Dunedin. The value of the dairy produce from all these sources may he set down conservatively at about £200,000. WHAT OF THE FUTURE ? As the cows bring in ready money every month, it is obvious that oven the man who goes in principally for sheep must always keep a few cows. It has been the Jot of the woman on the farm to attend to the few cows and the poultry. In fact, without the long hours worked by the women in the country butter in the older days could not have been produced so cheaply, and one does not have to go far in any country district to-day to find more than one widow supporting herself and a family by the sale of butter and eggs. Then there, is the heavy flat land around Milton, Kaitangata, Stirling, and Parctai which is pre-eminently dairying land. Consequently, whether sheep and grain go up or down in price, cows will always hold an important place in South Otago farming. And if oow'S must bo kept, why not the best? It costs no more to feed a good cow than it does to feed a poor one. One sees with thankulness the spread of the pedigreed bull of dairy strain. Otago still lags behind in this movement. Wo have a smaller proportion of herds beaded by pedigreed bulls than there is in any important province in New Zealand. But the slogan of heavier weeding, better breeding, and more feeding is beard very often in South Otago to-day. There is much to be thankful for in development of dairying hero in the south, but there is certainly room for a great deal of improvement. THE TIMBER INDUSTRY. Extensive Milling Operations. Many Years’ Work Ahead. The possibilities of the Gatlins district as a timber-producing area were realised soon after the land was opened up, and a large sawmilling industry was established. As far as can be learned the pioneers in this industry were Messrs Guthrie, aud Larnacb, of Dunedin, who established a mill at the mouth of the Gatlins River. The industry was a flourishing one in the late “sixties” and “seventies,'’ and the site of the big mill is still a well-known landmark in the district Vessels used to ply regularly between Dunedin and Gatlins River, which, by the way, was named after Captain Catlin, and until the construction 'of the railway large quantities were carried by sea. The forest contained enormous quantities of black pine, red pine, and totara, for which there was a ready market. For a time large quantities of timber w’erc destroyed, partly on account of the lack of transport facilities and partly because the value of the trees from a commercial point of view was not realised. In recent years, however, the timber industry has been developed to very large proportions, and in the opinion of those who are competent to judge the busd falling to the railway will keep the mills going for some 20 years at least.

In due course the big mill was closed down, but since then other mills have been started, and for many years the district lias been one of the principal sources of supply for the requirements of Dunedin and other places in Otago. As soon as the milling timber in one area has been cub out operations have been started elsewhere, aud now the mills have got well back into the bush. Extensive tram lines have been laid down so as to minimise the cost of haulage to the railway, which derives a substantial revenue from the timber traffic.

In the early days of the industry wharves and jetties were built, and a very complete harbour equipment was installed. Extensive tramways were laid down leading to the lake, but at one time the logs were rafted down to the mill. A large number of men were employed, and the locality of the sawmill was a very busy centre. Inhere has been a substantial development of the timber industry in recent years, the increased facilities for transport, coupled with the realisation that the destruction of good bush involved a commercial waste of considerable magnitude, leading to the utilisation of large areas for sawmilling purposes that were simply destroyed ny fire when the original settlers went on the land. The first mill on the way from Balclutha is situated at Glcnomaru, and is owned by Messrs Dryden and Sons. This firm started operations about six months ago, and has some six years’ work ahead of it. The next mill is at Ratanui. It is now the property of Messrs Wm. Goss, Ltd., of Christchurch, but was at one time owned by Dawson and M’Kecknic, well-known timber merchants in Dunedin, and later by Messrs Christie and Begg. The bush on this firm’s holding is expected to provide work for the next 10 or 15 years. The mill at Houipapa is now owned by the Houipapa Sawmilling Company, but it was also in the hands of Mr H. P. Moss at one time. The capital in this company is held in Christchurch, to which place the whole of the output is sent. Mr Sharpe owns a mill at Tawanui, whore operations are being carried on in a birch forest. A syndicate, which was recently formed, has taken up a very large area at Tapanui, and is now' engaged in crushing metal and making a road, the intention being to convey the timber to Dunedin by motor vehicles. Messrs Cray and Carmthcrs started a mill at Tawanui about three months ago, and are engaged in cutting black pine principally. Messrs Kean Bros, have a mill at Pukctiro, and the area of bush at present held by them will probably provide work for a few years yet Mr Colin Campbell has a pretty big area at Puketiro, and will be cutting a large quantity of black pine shortly. Messrs Tobin and Moncur have removed their mill from Houipapa to the Caberfeidh district, and will commence cutting there almost immediately. Mr Ballantyne, whoso operations are principally confined to cutting birch, also has a mill at Caberfeidh. At Macleunan the Maclcnnan Sawmilling Company has just about cut out the area on which it has been working, and its intention is to put a tram across to Papatowai and start on a 600-acrc block there. Messrs Latta Bros., who arc carrying on operations at Stuart’s Siding, are putting up a second mill, which will bo ready in a few weeks. They have a very large area of bush, and it is estimated that It. will keep them going for at least 20 years. Messrs Campbell and Sons, who iiave. a private siding about a mile past Stuarts, also have a pretty big area, which will hist, for some considerable time. At Tahakopa Messrs Ritchie and Young, who have been carrying on operations for about two years, have about another two years’ work ahead of them in their present area, and Mr Andrews also has a fairly largo extent of bush to cut out. Mr W. M’Lachlan, who had a mill at Tahakopa for many years, has secured another area, and will remove his mill to the new ground almost immediately. Messrs Hogg and Co. have*cut out their bush at Tahakopa, and have gone over the saddle into the Kahuika Valley, where they have acquired a very largo area. Messrs Wright, Watson, and Harrington have two mills, both of which have large timber resources behind them. The Lauriston Timber Company has ttic most up-to-date mill in the district, and it is now erecting a second one. Two firms —Messrs Roxburgh and Dickson (Maclcnnan) and Mr Stewart arc engaged in cutting logs and bringing them to the railway for conveyance to Dunedin, where they arc sawn into Limber. In the course of a conversation with Mr Jas. R. Mitchell, of Balclutha, our representative ascertained that the first sawmill at Tuapeka Month was owned by Messrs Herbert and Co., the wellknown merchants, of Lawrence. A party of men, including John and Dick Tyson, , Tom Williams, and MTntyre, all of whom ,

were expert buslimeu and men of splendid physique, undertook the work of getting logs for the mill. They had to go about four or five miles above Tuapeka Mouth to get the logs, and they would spend weeks at a time in the hush cutting supplies of timber, which was snigged down to the river. A raft was then constructed, ami the logs were conveyed down the river to the sawmill. The tusk of guiding the raft down the river was somewhat difficult, and great care had to be, exercised. After lauding the logs at the mill the men would go hack and carry out the same operations again. For a considerable time there was a demand for sawn timber for the gold diggings, to which it had to he carted. Later on a sawmill was errccted in Baiclutha, where there was a good demand for timber for building purposes. The logs required were rafted down the river, being landed close to the mill, and when they were pretty well used up the men would return to the bush and got some more ready.

At a still later stage Mr Tyson established a sawmill at the month of the Beucleuch, in the Blue Mountains, but he still got his supplies of logs above Tuapeka Mouth. This mill was driven by water power, and a tramway was laid down to facilitate haulage operations. By this time there was a good demand for timber, a groat deal of which was required by the settlers for building purposes. After a time the tramway started to slip, and was responsible for a good deal of expense. The industry gradually went back, and eventually it died out altogether. All this happened before the Gatlins district was known as a‘ timberproducing district.