G.—lo.

Kaiwhare. The above scheme, situated ten miles from Kai koura and about eighty miles from Blenheim, is quite a recent venture under the Native land development policy. The area is comparatively small, consisting of 514 acres of easy hill country mainly suitable for grazing purposes, although a small portion of the hills is arable land. The soil for the most part is good and capable of holding English grasses. The climate is equable and the rainfall is adequate and well spread over the year. This section was acquired by the Natives in exchange for small and valuable areas in Kaikoura Township, some ten miles south. In its native state, covered with fine mixed bush of pines, totara, kowhai, and the smaller native trees, it was leased by the Maoris to a European settler. Later, due to the improvements not being maintained, the property reverted rapidly to manuka scrub and ngaio bush, and came back to the Natives. Approximately 300 acres of the block are now cleared ; four new subdivisional fences totalling 118 chains have been erected, and 186 chains of boundary fencing have been re-erected and in places made rabbit-proof; and the Puhi Road fence was in course of construction at 31st March last. The stock now comprises 60 head of young cattle and 103 sheep. One of the brightest features is the loyal way in which the Natives have worked on their scheme and the willingness shown when alongside of them construction work on the South Island Main Trunk Railway was readily available. This speaks well for the excellent control exercised by the Native foreman and also for the men themselves, who have proved to be a very fine type of worker. Southland (Oraka and Kawhakaputaputa). Comprising the Oraka and Kawhakaputaputa blocks, collectively known as the Southland scheme, this area extends over 2,500 acres, of which 1,600 acres are under development. It is situated at Colac Bay within easy reach of the Tuatapere-Riverton Railway and accessible by good roads from Invercargill. There are 18 settlera established, while 13 additional labourers were engaged last year, the total other dependants numbering 63, thus making the total number of Natives under the scheme 94 persons. Many of the Maoris at the sout-henT extremity of the Island had been accustomed to depend mainly on fishing and mutton-birds for a livelihood. The Oraka block is within easy distance of the local railway-station and school, while the cheesefactory is only four miles distant. From the highest point, 300 ft. above sea-level, the country slopes gradually towards Colac Bay on the east, where the land is sheltered, and towards Kawhakapatu Bay on the west, where it is exposed to the south. The Kawhakaputaputa block comprises land of similar quality to Oraka. When first brought under development in July, 1930, the land was mostly covered with heavy bush. There are still some sections unoccupied owing to difficulty of access. With the assistance of unemployment contracts the work accomplished was 15 acres of stumping, 200 acres of logging, 70 acres of scrub-cutting, 77 chains of fencing, and 78 chains of draining. The live-stock tally at 31st March last was 355 cows, 115 other dairy stock, 30 run cattle, and 349 sheep. The butterfat production was 37,222 lb., from the proceeds of which the Department retained 25 per centum (£518), the other receipts being from sheep sales, £491 ; cattle sales, £137 ; and wool, £34 from 596 lb. The success of the scheme is now almost entirely dependent upon the diligence and application of the settlers, and with the present prices for butterfat and wool their prospects are hopeful for the ensuing season. The satisfactory field supervision of the scheme is supplied by local officers of the Lands and Survey Department at Invercargill. Wairau. In view of the very different nature of this undertaking, a synopsis of its birth and development is presented. In January of the year 1930 a plan and a report of the Wairau Native Reserve, comprising an area of approximately 960 acres of low-lying rich land on the banks of the Wairau River, distant approximately seven miles from Blenheim, was prepared. Apart from 95 acres of commonages and reserves, the whole area was then being farmed by individual Maori farmers belonging mainly to the Ngati-Rarua and Rangitane tribes, or else was leased to Europeans, but due to periodical floods in the Pukaka Stream and the low-lying nature of the land the area which could be handled to its full economic possibilities was very limited. It was obvious that if the natural richness of this land was to be made available, protection from floods followed by an adequate system of drainage was a sine qua non. Some stop-banking had already been carried out by one or other of the River or Drainage Boards then in existence, and the necessary protective works entailed a linking up with these existing banks and the main bank traversing the Wairau River, so that the whole area would be " ring-fenced " with stop-banks or high land. In the summer of 1933 concerted action was commenced by assisting unemployed Natives in that locality, and the work was pushed ahead, with the result that by the autumn of 1935, 235 chains of stop-banks 7 ft. in height had been completed, and at the same sime a system of internal drainage inaugurated. This drainage presented some difficulties, as the area comprised in the scheme is practically dead level and little more than 1 ft. above sea-level, but by a system of lateral drains connected to two main arterial drains leading to two electrically operated pumps, each capable of handling 100,000 gallons per hour, the area has been reasonably eflectively drained. The pumps are not required to cope with the water continuously, as flood-gates have been installed at various outlets, and with a normal flow in the Wairau River the drains are emptied by gravitation. To date the drainage system has entailed the construction of nine miles of open ditches, while, in addition to this, 40 chains of an existing ditch on a European freehold, which is wedged into the scheme, was improved to permit of an additional main outlet. Together with 64 chains of lateral drains constructed in this same area, the land actually benefiting is approximately 850 acres.

76