A New Victorian Province.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6487, 3 October 1892, Page 4

A New Victorian Province.

The north-west comer of Victoria is the " Mallee country," a vast territory running back to the South Australian border, of an area of 12,000,000 acres, and covered with a low, thick, useless scrub called mallee. Up to a few years ago the Government got a wretched return from it as a pastoral area, but neither the landlords nor the tenants got any satisfaction out of the bargain. Ten years ago or so a method was discovered of clearing this land of the scrub. A heavy roller was run over it which flattened the mallee down, and then a fire burned it Off. Still it was only fit for grazing. But then came the discovery of the stump-jumping plough, and this rendered it amenable to cultivation. While the mallee country remained a grazing area, it was a vast harbor for rabbks. But now the agriculturist has taken it in hand, he can clear it for 4s an acre of the scrub with the roller, rtin a vermin-proof ring fence round it, put the stump-jumper on to it, and reap 10 bushels an acre of the best wheat in the world from it. Mi Lascelles, of Lascelles, Dennys, Austin, and Co., has had more to do with the reclamation of this area than any other man in Victoria. He was one of the old pastoral lessees, and seeing the possibilities in the roller and the stunmp-jumper, he remained a lessee when the Government revised the terms a few J fears ago. The r«sult is that he holds no ess than 121 square miles of country on a long lease round Lake Corrong. He has encouraged settlement on what is known as the thirds system. The tenant goes on the land free, and pays Mr Lascelles onethird of his production, keeping two-thirds himself. In this way he has succeeded in surrounding himself with a thriving tenantry, in whose midst he has established the township of Hopetoun. Sixteen miles on what may be termed the civilised side of Hopetoun, is the Government railway terminus of Beulah, to which the line has been carried from Warracknabael specially in the interests of Mallee settlement ; and Mr Lascelles, after a persistent fight, has just succeeded in obtaining Parliamentary consent to his scheme of constructing a railway out of his own pocket from Beulah to Hopetoun. The Government is safeguarded by the right to buy the line back from him at six months' notice", and he is to receive for \i only £2000 a mile, no matter what it may have cost him. This is a very notable experiment in settlement, bigger in its way than Mildura, and Mr Lascelles, if he makes a heap of money out of his 121 square miles of unpromising country, will well deserve it. He has had four or five good seasons in his favor. How the settlers will fare in a season of drought — the average is only ten inches a year — goodness knows ; and there are many people who prophesy a tremendous scuttle out of the Mallee one of these fine days. Just at present, however, settlers are flocking steadily on to it ; and the hopeful are looking forward to the time when the whole 12,000,000 acres will be transformed into one vast wheat-field.