THE N0RTHERN WAIROA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2582, 17 August 1909, Page 3

THE NORTHERN WAIROA.

- PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. A PROMISING 'jKRRLTORY. {By the -Northern Wairoa correspondent of the ‘‘New Zealand Herald.”) Never at any period lias there been what may be called a land boom on the "VVairoa. Extension of settlement has been, and is now, carried but in a systematic manner. Not a day passes without a wide aggregate of improvements being made on farm holdings, and the foundation of the successful developments everywhere apparent is -muscle and brain backed up by small capital. Northern Wairoa farmers are not slow to recognise the superior benefits of Ivaipara climate and soil, for, despite the disparagings anent the latter, Wairoa returns have long challenged comparison, and favorably competed with those from long-established districts. Pastoral lands change hands slowly. Buyers every week arrive from the South, in quest, chiefly of dairying sections ; they mostly return disappointed, for the present holders are loth to part with their possessions, and go ■forth seeking new homes. Recent years have seen a cutting up of several large estates. The Maungaru Block, 10 miles from Dargaville, has passed into the hands of industrious settlers, who, during their tenure have effected surprising improvements. A further sale of 600 acres at the Northern Maungaru boundary is reported, and on;y two other sections remain to lie- disposed of. It is interesting to recall the history of this block. For many years id was the property of the late Mr. W. S. Graham, and was a run for anybody’s cattle. The dairying industry was unthought of, and the value of the Wairoa territory was ridiculously un-der-estimated. The area of the block was some 20,000 acres. During the late Sir John McKenzie’s term as Minister for Lands, a movement was made to entice the Government to acquire the property for closer settlement, at the price of 5s per acre. But the Government at that time was focussing its 'whole attention on the South Island, and refused to entertain any idea of •purchase. Mr A. E. Harding. _ after vainly seeking to alter the Minister’s •opinion, formed a syndicate, which pur- ■ chased the block, and in the course of Thalf-a-dozen years the enterprising speculators had the satisfaction of beholding it peopled by settlors of the best ’type. Governmental assistance in the district under review is an almost unknown quantity. Private enterprise has initiated and completed almost every work of importance. Incidently it may he stated that for 10 miles the Dargarville-Whangarei roacl runs through Maungaru, and that land values have increased from 5s to £5 per acre, also that in place of being an linremunerative area, thousands of broad acres now bear rich grass, and depasture thousands of kino and sheep. The Karaka JBlock, which lies north and west of Maungaru, is another instance of what private activity can at-

tain. Some few years ago it was practically waste land, had in the early days "been acquired from the Natives for Is 6d per acre, and the old Union .Sash and door Company had acquired on it some 30,000,000 feet of kauri for less than £IOOO. The timber has been worked off, and, thanks to the ■energies of Mr. A. E. Harding, the block has been subdivided, is now occupied by as fine a class of men as the Dominion can boast of, and cattle and sheep dot the hills and valleys, which, a decade ago, were clothed with native bush. Road facilities are still sadly lacking; given such, the Karaka and •other such areas would give a decided impetus to Kaipara commercialdom, immediately opposite Dargaville there is a large property owned by Mr. Maurice Harding. The part in' evi<!on':c from the borough is mostly tithberwith some 12,000,000 feet of kahi-kaet-ea, but beyond this there Is a wide extent of fine pastoral country, which extends to the Mangonui River. It is reported, that the latter portion will shortly be placed on the market, and many inquiries are being made regarding the terms and conditions under which sections may be obtained. General attention is now being directed to the peculiar areas which have earned for the north the misnomer of “poor.” There is a stretch of 200,000 acres of gum land, extending from Kaipara North Head to Maungamu bluff. It is intersected by many valuable holdings of alluvial flats, and contains a fair portion of swamp land, which, in the near future, will become coveted agricultural areas. But the high lands are of sandstone formation, were originally kauri forests, and have yielded in gum wealth a sum per acre which no farmed sections can hope

to proemcc. lor years tneso low-lying ranges have been neglected and classed as non-productive, but a change is ooming o s er tlie scene ? ancl here and there well-grassed properties denote that, responsive to expert and yet pheap treatment, these gum lands will repay cultivation. .Bordering on Dargaville there are some areas of this class of country which for verdancy cannot be excelled, and an examination of the grasses with which they are clothed proves that at a nominal cost they can be brought into satisfactory tillage. Till recently 1 their values were assessed at shillings per acre, now they are reckoned with pounds, and investigating strangers have not been backward ill acquiring cheap parcels. One Taranaki buyer has purchased 800 acres on the coast line between Dargaville and Maunganui Bluff for a sheep run, and. intends making Paspalum di lit a turn his chief grass. This plant has made surprising headway throughout the Wairoa. It thrives on the roadsides, is at home on the hilltops, and grows with such vigor that it actually seeds out of season. The Wairoa River flats are often commented upon. They aggregate 100,000 acres, and if brought into close tillage would carry a beast to the acre. Except to the practised farmer, their richness at first sight is not obvious. They lie so low to the river channel, and’ in everv case the frontages do not indicate the”basis of fertility. Strangers who, for the first time, view the Raupo fiats from steamer deck are not slow to express their doubts as to the stockcarrying capacity of Wairoa s_ ibrn

lands. But a shore inspection^immediately reveals the richness of the soil, and the condition of the stock verifies its high fame. At Tatarariki the homesteads are not perceptible from the river. One requires to go close on a mile inland to view Wairoa’s premier landscape. And, owing to the sinail improvements visible on the river banks, the critical visitor is led to . declaim against land monopoly and holding for speculative purposes of areas adjoining to the shipping points, the same thing occurs on the stretch from Te Ivopuru to Dargaville. From the waterway j the scene appears a waste, but on the main road connecting those two towns farmhouses are -plentiful, and settlement is being well prosecuted over some thousands of fertile .acres. Inquiries .regarding this rich ■- i,y. -.Jr-.

countryside reveal the fact that.'sec.tions are acquirable under easy conditions, only a nominal deposit, being necessary, but drainage expenses are costly. improved sections fronting both the main river and the main road are on. the market at, £l3 per acre. To bring such territory into modern heart would involve a further expenditure for tile-draining and grossing of £7 per’ acre, and the .land would; then rank as a beast to the acre territory. Kaihu Valley lands are being brought into clear touch with Dargaville. Apart from the railway facilities, pastoralists requiro good main road connection with stock markets. This the County Council has recognised, and each year sees decided improvements. A county bridge is being erected at Maropiu, and will open connection with a wide oxtent of Crown and Native lands at Tutamoe and Kaikara, and bordering on the Awakino tributaries. The structure has an 80ft. truss span, with two 25ft. spans, and is being built at a cost of £4OO. The Maropiu railway station will, on completion of the bridge contract, find itself out of place, and to be of best service to settlers will require moving a mile further up the line, where it will connect the Kaipara road.