TAIRAWHITI LANDS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19135, 2 October 1936, Page 8

TAIRAWHITI LANDS

SETTLEMENT PROGRESS BOARD'S ANNUM; REPORT GOOD PROGRESS MADE (Parlianmntary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. "The Tairawhiti district may be regarded as the birthplace of the present policy of developing and .settling the lands of the natives, and assisting them in their farming operations —a policy which has for its ultimate object the settlement of the .Maori himself as a self-supporting member of the community, the keynote to this achievement being the re-establishment of the mana or prestige of the tribes which had been deranged with the advent of the civilisation of the pakeha. The vision and understanding which was the basis of the native land development legislation of 1929 seemed to lan the co-operative spirit of the Maori into activity under ttie guidance of such policy," states the annual report to Parliament of the Board of Native Affairs, .of which the chairman is the Ht. Hon. M. .1. Savage, Prime .Minister and Minister of Native Affairs.

The. report is a lengthy uocument, and deals in detail with the results achieved during the year, the .stalling and occupation of the multitudinous schemes launched under the settlement legislation, the finances and returns of the respective projects! and the many other considerations involved in the development of the "Ngata, policy" of putting the Maori in occupation of his own lands. The report records, that settlement was commenced on the East Coast in January, 1930, when an area of 13,762 acres was,'gazetted under the Act. of the previous year,. and the Mohaka scheme was undertaken. To-day, there are seven schemes in operation in the Tairawhiti district, covering an area of 59,234 acres of good pasture lands, on which 155 units have been .established, while 10 areas are still being worked as sheep stations. It is claimed in the reportthat the success, of these projects is already assured, and that they will soon manifest the consummation of the ideals embodied in the land settlement policy. OPERATIONS ANALYSED A statistical review of the operations in the Tairawhiti district analyses tile position of the .respective blocks as under:— lakatahu block, near Te Araroa.— Area 418 acres, worked as one unit; operated by a manager, with six adults and five children as dependent occupants. Stock, 224 dairy cattle and 46 other animals.

Waiapu-Matakaoa, a blanket scheme embracing small 'blocks, of a total area of 12,350 acres, comprising tribal lands of the Ngatiporou people. —Area under development, 8886 acres, occupied by 81 units with 181 adult and 298 minors as dependent occupants. Stock, '276 head of run cattle, 1438 daily cows, and 7924 sheep, with 71 other animals. Poroporo, inland from Port Awanui, comprising 5449 acres of rich land.— Area under development, 26C4 acres, with 12 units and 14 adult and 49 minor dependent occupants. Stock, 650 run cattle, 200 dairy cows, and 4000 sheep. Tuparoa, embracing- 28 blocks of a total area of 8777 acres.—Area under development, 8504 acres, with nine units, dependent occupants numbering 27 adults and 30 children. Stock, 10v7 run cattle, 243 dairy cows, and 8837 sheep. Mohaka, comprising parts, of Mohaka, Putere, Waihua, and Waipapa blocks near Mohaka village.—Area under development, 7481 acres, with 49 units and dependent occupants comprising 109 adults and 160 children. Stock, 1410 dairy cows and 3744 sheep, with 750 1 goats for blackberry destruction. Kahungunu, previously known as Mohaka extension, comprising the balance of the Mohaka 'block lands handed over by the Lands Department in 1933 for developmental purposes.—Area under development, 1631 acres, with four unit farms, and dependent occupants numbering 21 adults and 31 children. Flock, 31 run cattle, 26 dairy cows, and 944 sheep, 1 Waihua, formerly designated Ngamahanga, also handed over by the Lands Department for development in 1933. Area under development, 40C0 acres, with three adult and four juvenile dependent occupants. Stock, 397 run cattle, and 6113 sheep. The total area tinder development in the Tairawhiti district is 33,524 acres, worked by 156 units or managers, with 361 adult and 577 juvenile dependent occupants. Run cattle on the schemes total 2432, dairy cattle. 3542, and sheep 31,562.