UREWERA LANDS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16680, 1 March 1920, Page 7

UREWERA LANDS.

PROSPECTS OF .SETTLEMENT. A VISIT OF INSPECTION. Over 300,000 acres of land in the [ireiver:' Country have been purchased by the Government, and many settlers, including returned soldiers, are anxious to know when this land wm be available for occupation. One cause of delay in the fact that tho Natives retain interests in many of the blocks, and the Government must cither complete the purchases or _ else set about defining the relative iutcresis. The purchases are restricted in .some cases by the legal safeguards against the Maoris becoming landless. _ __ With a view to determining what steps should be taken to liavo opened up for settlement the Urewera lands purchased by- tho Government, tho Minister of Lands (Hon. D. H. Guthrie) accompanied by the Unaer-Secre-tary of Lands and the Auckland Commissioner of Crown Lands, visited the district last week. It was the Minister’s intention to travel through the country from the Galatea end «to Taneatua. via Euatahuna and the Whakatane Iliver Valley, but the hooded condition of the rivers permitted him to get only as far as Euatahuna. The Minister saw enough <>f tKe country, however, to convince him that this vast area should not remain lockfed up indefinitely, and he is now formulating proposals with a view to the settlement of the Government’s purchases at the earliest possible date. CAPABLE OF IMPROVEMENT. The Minister told a Dominion reporter that he had made a very careful examination of the country througn which he passed. He was; of-iStMlon that although the major portion of it was rough .and steep it was rich in quality and would he capable of carrying a large amount of stock when, cleared and grassed. Much has been said and written concerning the vast possibilities of the Urewera lands, but the Minister considers that the position has been exaggerated to some extent. His own impression was that while there was no question about the value of the land, it was not of the class that it was popularly supposed to be. It was purely pastoral country, and would play a most important part in the future in providing stock for the rich plain lands in the Bay of Plenty. During the journey the Minister was interviewed by several deputations of Natives interested in the Urewera lands, and some suggestions that he regards as valuable were made. One suggestion, which may play an important part in the settlement oF the Urewera lands, was to the effect that the Native shares iu the different blocks should be consolidated with a view to putting the Native interests into as few areas as possible. The work of partitioning the Native and, the Government interests is to be taken in hand as soon as possible. OUTLET ROADS. An important feature to be considered in the opening' of the country is the prevision of outlet roads, and the Minister Has decided to have a detailed survey made immediately of the main outlets. One of these, in all probability, will be by way of the Whakatane River Valley, and another is likely to come out in the vicinity of Waimana. These preliminaries will take some time, but the Minister has given an assurance that expedition will he used.

The cost of opening up the Urewera lands by means of roads and bridges will be considerable, and the Minister of Land intends to take steps by which all the lands to be benefited will bear a share of the cost. Mr. Guthrie added that as increased production is so essential he had decided ,in conformity with his policy of bringing into use wherever possible the undeveloped lands of the Dominion, to proceed with the development of the land already purchased by the Government without waiting until tho whole of the Native interests in the Urewera, territory have been acquired..