MILDURA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIII, Issue 2573, 25 January 1892, Page 2

MILDURA.

INTERVIEW WITH MR, JAMES BROWN, OF NETHERBY.

(BY OUK OWN IiETOTITER.) Mr James Brown, of Netherby F;irm, I Wakauui, returned last Thursday fro:n a six weeks' holiday, spent m a visit *vo Victoria and the famous irrigation colony of Mildura, established and carried on by iho Chaffey Brothers. Mr Brown is not altogether a stranger to Victoria, having; spent seven years of his life there before he came to New Zealand, and as his eldest son is a resident m the " golden olony," besides other relatives lhat he has there, Mr Brown could hardly say thai; he was a stranger m a strange land. To most people m New Zetland the journey to Melbourne is f.unili;ir, if not y actual experience, at least by reading J the frequent descriptions of it that appear m the press of the colony, written by those who have made the voyage, so chat no reference to it is necessary here. Suffice it to say that after a brief pjeriod ot sight-seeing m "Marvellous Melbourne " Mr Brown took train to visit the great irrigation operations he had specially made this journey to see. Need it be said that the chief impelling reason for his visit there was the fact that "to be or not to be " m the matter of a great system of irrigation for Ash burton county is a question that sconer or later the ratepayers will be called upon to decide ; and Mr Brown, who is a* member of the County Council, m whose hands the work of inaugurating and carrying out the scheme will be, desired to collect as much information on this great question as was possible. Mr Brown is a close reader and a hard student, but all the books that ever were written will not convey to a practical mind like Mr Brown's so clear an idea of what irrigation is like as a visit to the district where it is carried on, and personal inspection of the actual working out. of the process. WHEAT FARMING IN VICTORIA, Starting from the Melbourne terminus, the passenger is carried 216 miles by railway to Swan Hill; but from Myer's Flat, for 100 miles or so before reaching Swan Hill, the country is level, and m the hands of farmers, Mr Brown had, as before stated, been seven years m Victoria —a Ballarat resident—but he had never until reaching Swan Hill really experienced what might be called a hot wind, as the Australians speak of it. Here, however, he encountered one, and learned with astonishment how much perspiration m a very short time can be shed by the human body. Along the hundred miles of flat country, farming operations were going on and the country appeared to be holding its awn. On making enquiry of a farmer whom he came acrocs as to how he was ge'Jting on, the reply was that harvest was nearly completed, and that the yield would probably be three to four bags (twelve co sixteen bushels) per acre. To a New Zealancler this yield would appear small, but then the light cost of putting the crop m and getting it off the ground again has to be considered. Mr Brown ineca man m Melbourne who was cropping )ti the mailee country, and this man said lie was doing very well, and some of the settlers were making money. The ploughing was done by a stump-jumping plough, ■vliich was so constructed that when an obstacle like a stump, which would bar th i progress of an ordinary plough, was encountered, the stump-jumper was true to its name, went over the stump and resumed business on the other side. Mr Brown hr.d not the luck to see one of these ploughs, and so make a note of its construction, but there were plenty of them m the malleo country. A threefurrow plough was usually nude uso'of, and 'he farmers were not particular as to their putting mof the crop. Sometimes it was ploughed m, sometimes a broadcast sower was employed that scattered tilts seed a chain wide, and this was followed by a single stroke of the harrows. When the grain was ripe, it was harvested by a stripper, winnowed on the field, and despatched straight off to market. So that from sowing to reaping the expense of the Vic^orhiu farmer was nominal as compared with that the New Zealand fanner hud to bear. The mailee country has but recently been brought into cultivation. But it is turning out to be far better wheat land than was at first expected. In passing through this country the traveller encounters plenty of water races, much larger than, those he would meet on the Ashbutton plains, but he is surprised also to find that very many of i-heui are dry. In answer to his query he was told that harvest operations were fjver, and the races were not wanted. But it appeared to Mr Brown that the races were not used for irrigation purposes to any great extent, and that their chief mission was to supply the settlers' water holes, and for domestic use. The soil of the country about the district of Kerang appeared to be rich, and with similar soil m Wakanui the crops would be tremendous. The country was fairly level, and from official statistics; extending over 'en, years'che rainfallshowed an average of about twelve inches per annum. The pastures looked poor and parched, but m spite of this the stock looked m the pink of condition. Carting of grain was going rm, and although the stations along the railway line to Swan Hill did uot show much shed accommodation, there were plenty of platforms on which the sacks could be p; led to await transit. It was astonishing how soon, under the system of stripping, winnowing, and bagging on the field^ the crop could be run into the market. Nor is the railway freight exorbitant—the carriage of. wheat from Warracknabeal to Melbourne -216 miles —was only a fraction over scl per bushel. This much of the farmers' country on the way to Swan Hill, which is the railway line which approaches nearest to the ecufines of the Ohaffey country, but extensions of other two lines are proposed, which will reach the township of Mildura. One of these, will be from Warracknabe ll and the other from Donald, both of which places are termini. VP THE MURRAY. Ah ib is, the visitor to Mildura must detiuin at Swan Hill, and make the rest of the jouriuey by river steamer. MiBrown reached Swan Hill m the evening of the day on which he started, the journey having included an hour's stoppage at Bendigo, which he took advantage of,°both going and returning. But Bendigo had groii'i) out of all recognition by him, and while he hail been carving for himself a home at Wakanui and rearing a family there of young New Zealanders— each a work of time—Bendigo had grown nj.fco an important, prosperous, and substantial toty'U. Ho took passage up the Murray the foltywfug morning m the Ruby, a Hice paddle steamer of light draught, which affords excellent accommodation for the passenger. This passage would have been, thoroughly enjoyable but for- the mosquitoes, all of which seemed to falj. m luve with, him at first sight, and made an application of Eupalyptus oil nocessry, a cure that w.is j nearly -is bad as the disea.se. During his passage up the river he could note the quality of the land upon its banks from the brpaks that were m them, and whioh disclosed yej.n.3 of shells here and there. He was impressed ™itk the good quality of this land, and felt tint tyefe vast room upon its surface for all B.jr George Grey's unborn millions, if only the land were irrigated ; and m time tiie Murray must come to be used for that purpose. The river is? a very winding stream, and affords a pleasant sVU as well as good fishing, which is carrier! on to a considerable extent. Here and there ije s-v\y fishing stations on the banks, and yjiuyu, -''14$ c.y"d-f^h ? ayuje between 6Qlba

, find 701bs weight each, wsre being cirried ' up from the stream, THE WATER BAG. On the sbeamor, at the railway station 1?, at every housr, and carried by every pedestrian, horse man, or traveller by wheeled vehicle is tho omnipresent canvas bag. for the conservation and con- \ t veyanca of drinking water. It is simply a bag made of stout close woven * canvas, with a flexible pipe inserted m tho bottom, and long enough to be taken up to the top of the bag and wound round it. In a metaliic vessel water will soon become lukow.mn m an atmosphere like that of the country through which the Murray winds, but m a canvas baa the water is kept at a gratefully cool temperature. MILDURA. Mr Brown reached Mildura oa the i third day afUr leaving Swan Hill. There is no wharf at Mildura as yet, tho steamer simply pulling close into the bank, but when he left, Government had invited tenders for the erection of a wharf. When he looked round the township his tirat impression of it was that it was too big by a Ions? way for the country round about it. But this impression was dispelled by subsequent experience, as he found that although most of the settled blocks had been cleared and cultivated, and the settlers had been devoting their labor and attention assiduously to that work, many of the roads m the outskirts had not been cleared, and it w;is these lines of bush that broke the view, and at first sight greatly circumscribed the' appirent area of land for outside settlement. Mr Brown had heard much about Mildura being a new colony that was to be run wholly on temperance principles. He found out that so far as "no license " was concerned, the statement Was quite correct; but among the very first individuals he met on leaving the steamer ' were two men who were very palpably i drunk. Further on he encountered a Scotchman, with far more than "a wee drap m his o'e." In fact, he was about as " fou " of whisky as a piper's bag is full of wind. He saw more "drunks" after that, but the day being Christmas, die over indulgence was perhaps excusable. Mr Brown was expected by a cousin of his-a thoroughly practical fanner— who has made his home at Mildura, and he soon mot him, His relative's plase was three miles away from the steamer's lauding point, and on tho. way to it, they calbd m at the holdings of several orchardists. One of these, whose work of course had boeu interrupted by the ■ holiday, was m course of sending his apricots to market. He had got a box and a half per tree, was to receive % per box, and this would yield him the handsome return of £50 per acre—and that from trees less than four years old. TUUJi itEl'OllTH. Mr Brown is * grand man for finding things as they are, and when he goes out for information he draws not bridle until he has run down the whole quarry. It was impossible m the brief interview he had with the writer to give m words the whole history and description of the Mile' ura, colony as he saw it; but he had brought away with him a good deal of literature on the the subject. Some of this he had bought m Melbourne on his arrival, for perusal on Ihe way, and the statements made m these volumes he had put himself to great pains to verify. On« book issued bj the Chaffey Bros, contained official reports presented to Parliament by Government officers specially authorised for the purpose, and reprinted articles from tho chief Australian journals. That work Mr Brown had carefully perused and compared with what he actually saw of the c.ilony, and ho m forme I his interviewer that m not ->ne instance had he found the least exaggeration. This work he was good enough to annotate for quotation and reference, .specially marking the descriptions of thy working given m the Governmental report whish he had verified by actual observation himself. THE IRRIGATION WORKS. Mr Brown obtained an introduction to Mr E. 0. de Garia, an agent m Mildura for the ChaftV.y Bros., and this gentleman >*'as good enough to drive him round the colony and point out the works of the irrigation system, and to the kindness of this gentleman Mr Brown is indebted for many facilities given him for observing what was going on. Mr Brown briefly ran over the history of' the colony from 1887, when Chaffey Bros, obtained a cession from the Victorian Legislature ■>f 250,000 acres of land m the northwestern territory for their irrigation enterprise, with water rights from the rivers. The license to occupy this area was granted for a term of years, with the right to acquire a free grant of it on the fulfilment of certain conditions as to expenditure upon it. The minimum expenditure stipulated for by the Government was £35,000 within the first five years. To June 30, 1891, the amount actually expended by the Chaffey Bros, was £275,000. A population of over 3000 was now settled m Mildura, including about 350 school children, public buildings had been erected, including post and telegraph office, etc., and a State school for 220 children. A second school of a similar capacity would be wanted soon. Another condition of the cession was the erection and endowment of an agricultural college. The college has been built, and 16,000 acres set aside for its endowment. Of the 25,000 acres first surveyed and cab up into tei^cro blocks, and the 12,000 acres recently surveyed, more then 10,000 acres had been sold, one half of which is under cultivation, a large proportion being under yines and fruit trees, for which both soil and climate are specially suited. One of the vineyards that had only been twentytwo months planted had yielded several several tons of Gordo Blanco grapes. These had been converted into raisins, dried m the sun, and marketed at one «.h illing per pound. Four principalpumpi ng stations exist, for the working of which engines are used aggregating 2000 h.p. The largest engine—Bso h.p.—is capable of driving six twenty-inch centrifugal ' pumps, and raising 60,000 gallons per minute thirty-five feet high; another of 500 h.p., oan lift 40,00Q gallon*, while a third plant, capable of lifting 650 tons rf water per minute is used for filling an immense inland lake or "billabong," whence the main supply is drawn for the irrigation channels. Usually the billabong is filled by the flooding of the river Murray, but ifc was thought that to be on the safe side a pumping plant was necessary should thd ordinary flood? fail. The channel to the billabong from the river is 10Q feet wide and four feet deep. The main irrigation channel is twenty-five feet wide at tho bottom, four feet deep, and five and a half miles m length. At a higher level another channel fifteen feet wide at the Ijf ittom and fov^ v feet deep has been made, and it has a length of twenty-fire miles. There are many miles of distributary channels completed and more are m course of construction. The main channels are carried as the grades of the country serve, and tlio Chaffey Bj:os undertake to brin^ water to tho highest corner of oaoh man's section. The settler's first duty is to see to the proper grading of his block, and if that is done well, and according to *;he instructions the experts give, the work of the irrigator goes on smoothly," but if badly, he may find a tree hare or there standing m a po.(jl, qi; left out of the influence of the drenching altogether. The main or distributing channel passing a settler's property is pierced at intervals with a 2^in pipe, fitted with a metal valve. The settler has to give three days' notice to tlie ranger of his intention tq irrigate, and the wiiter is sent along to him at the notified time. For its reception l>e lias already ru.'n a,'small funw along <3twJ»

side of his'rows of fruit trees, at the end ! of each of which the channel h.-us been j pierced, and the water i.s taken m one stream to the row, whore it is divided and sent down the prepared furrows. The flow is kept up uiiuil it has reached the fulllengtli of the furrows, nnd then shut off. The soil is of three classes— the pine ridges, of a sharp red sand that grows m its virgin state little else than a good sized indigenous pine ; mailee, also sand, but stiffer ; bluebu h, not so much timber, stiffor soil, ' but. poorer, ooiko sotilers prefer one, s-nno another, but all give excellent results under irrigation. SETTLEMENT. The land is sold at £21 per ncre with an inalienable water ri<_'ht. iOacb owner is a member of tha Mildura Irrigation Company, and for the maintenance of the works a rate of 6s per acre is imposed, but this the settlers gladly pay. The settlers have the sole control of their settlement, and the district hiving been declared a shire last March, local 1 government is m their own hands. (Everybody at Mildura seems to fancy he has got the best section : there is not a single grumbler to be met with. There are nice houses on nearly all the sections, and the whole pace has an air of prosperity. It appeared to Mr Brown to be just tho sort ol land that irrigation would suit, and the enterprise of tho Chaffey Bros, is a lesson to all the Australasian colonies. The land without 1 irrigal ion would be as barren as the most hopeless desert on the face of the earth ; but with it, it has been transformed into a perfect garden of Eden. There are many monuments m Melbourne, and the Melbourne peopla owe one to the Chaffey Bros., bat whether the Melbourne people erect one or not, m Mildura they have erected one for themselves that will keep their memory green while water flows and the green grass grows. Mr Brown returns to New Zealand with larger views on the question of irrigation.