PASTORAL LAND DESTROYED

Southland Times, Issue 23538, 18 June 1938, Page 6

PASTORAL LAND DESTROYED

Gold Dredging And Sluicing

WEST COAST AREAS SACRIFICED

EFFECT ON PRODUCTION FROM FARMS

(Special to The Times) GREYMOUTH, June 17.

Exceedingly valuable agricultural and pastoral land in many parts of the West Coast is being destroyed, without any possible chance of its being again used for farming, because of sluicing operations and gold dredging. This statement was made at Greymouth today by the Mayor (Mr F. A. Kitchingham) in welcoming delegates to the annual conference of the West Coast provincial branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union.

“Until a few years ago,” said Mr Kitchingham, “legislation provided that,, before mining rights could be issued over farming lands, the warden’s duty was to see that the land was not destroyed, as far as was practicable. This operated fairly well, but did not suit the mining companies and some farmers, who, because of financial difficulties, wanted a quick return. They sacrificed the land for all time for a return of one crop of gold. “In 1934,” he continued, “that protection had been nullified by legislation providing that it need not operate if the cost of complying with it was likely to be greater than the improved value of the land for farming purposes. The result was that for all time a national heritage, the land, was being destroyed.” Another serious difficulty confronting West Coast farmers, said Mr Kitchingham, was erosion, which was almost a national calamity. In the Grey Valley especially, the manner in which the rivers were nibbling away good, fertile land was really alarming. Too much land was now given over to gorse. The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) had said “We have the matter in hand, but it must be dealt with on a national basis.” In the Arahura Valley, many farmers had been practically ruined and it was hard to predict what would happen in the Grey Valley. Referring to the tremendous progress made in farming on the West Coast, Mr Kitchingham said that in 1929 cattle sent to Canterbury totalled 1837, compared with 8167 last year, export having more than quadrupled in nine years. Sheep and pigs railed away in 1929 totalled 23,500, compared with nearly 56,000 last year. In 1923 the counties of Gray and Westland exported only 460 tons of butter, whereas with a big quantity of cheese, whereas in 1936 export butter reached 890 tons, but very little cheese was exported. Suppliers to factories in those two counties in 1923 numbered 827 but in 1936 the number had fallen to 659. These figures called for consideration, the speaker said. Possibly some suppliers were sending to outside factories, or there was an aggregation of land going on, or land was being dropped out of production. Since 1923, sheep in those two counties had increased from 54,000 to 82,000, and today they had 2000 horses, 6500 pigs and 46,000 cattle. Greymouth was largely dependent on the farming industry, which was growing, whereas the timber industry of the West Coast was dying.