LOST WEALTH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19023, 25 May 1936, Page 12

LOST WEALTH

Rolling down to sea” •N.S.W.’S WASTED WATER SYDNEY. May 14. “If the Upper Hunter River district was situated m China, there would never ha any dearth of water for the crops. iSen if man-driven water wheels am home-made dams- were the solution o the difficulty, the Chinese fanners would lidti lose, such a. wonderful opportunity of Conserving the wealth of water that at present is wasted.” The foregoing remarks were made by DiV Chen,..Consul-General for China, dur-ing-a visit to Singleton. ‘,T am not suggesting,” lie continued, “that all the rural population should adopt this rigorous course, but to one who lias seen water • conservation problems, such as you. have here, faced successful! v by. sheer force of man powci, pruhiflvelv applied.' it does seem amazing that * your already rich pastoral country should he deprived of that vast quantity of water Which rolls down to the Pacific Ocean -in the 1 winter time. “I have seen in mv own country, thousands of acres similar to your pusturns'with the same irvigational diflicui ties, overcome, rushing wasted "water dammed up, and all tnis done by the poor peasant classes, with no great machinery or concrete construction work. The people have .had to do it to live, and I Wish* T could show you the acres or which I speak. So when I have lived in such a rich and fertile country as yours, when I have seen your great resources and .the wonderful facilities close at hand, r just think that it is so great a pity to see The money, for. that is what it is, g'» rolling. .do.wn to the sea.”