Part 8

Page 603
image 68 of 100

This transcription is complete

the balance is poor mallee country and useless. I am four miles from the railway. I have about 200 acres cleared and some partially cleared. I have three miles of fencing. My water supply is from a 500-yard dam from nine to ten feet deep. It is a permanent supply. I am a single man. I have an iron house, no stables, and a shed for my machinery. I have not got a full working plant, only four working horses and poultry. I reached nine bushels the first year; 12 bushels the second; 11 bushels the third; four bushels the fourth; nine bushels the fifth; eight bushels the sixth year. I have not had any fallow, although I believe in it. I do not think wheat growing alone will pay. I am not on the Agricultural Bank or on the Industries Assistance Board. I had £500 capital. My liabilities now are £200. The timber on my place is all too big to roll. The Government would not tackle it. I do not think there is much in farming. For the same amount of work I could get a better living at something else. I think the land should be cheaper. I am paying 11s. and 9s., and consider 3s. would be a fair price. There is a lot of poison on my block. I have made an application for a reduction. I do not consider my land has any unimproved value. I think it should be brought under a poison clause in the Act. The land I cleared has plenty of poison on it, and has had every year since. I have been seven years clearing the poison, including six years cultivation.

9296. To Mr. VENN : There is one great drawback here in regard to our machinery. We have to send to Perth for every part we require. It takes a fortnight before we get it. I think it would be better if the Government standardised the type of machinery, and insisted that the parts should be kept in the district, or else themselves establish a depot in the district. They should prevent private firms from selling who are not prepared to stock parts locally.

(The witness retired.)

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JOHN WILLIAM BROWN, farmer, Needilup, sworn and examined :

9297. To Mr PAYNTER : I have had five years farming here and seven years in the old country. I have 1,000 acres, half first class land, the balance second with 30 acres of third. I am 20 miles from the railway. I was paying 10s. for the first class, which is now reduced to 6s. 9d. I have 240 acres cleared and two-wire fence round it . I have a 1,000 yard dam, nine feet deep. This is a permanent supply. I am a single man. I have a bush house, stables for my horses, and a machinery shed. I have a plough, harrows, drill and harvester, and a chaffcutter, seven horses, and poultry. I share plant with my brother who is a mile away. I am a client of the Agricultural Bank, to whom I owe £500, and to the Industries Assistance Board, and for machinery £100, and at the store another £100. I am cropping 280 acres, 80 acres of which is fallow. I have not been able to do more, as my brother has gone to war and I am looking after both places. I use 60lbs. of seed and 651lbs. of super. My average yield has been for one year nine bushels, and another year seven bushels on 60 acres. The rest was a failure. Last year I got nine bushels, and this year 12 bushels. I think a man should have 600 to 900 acres of land cleared and altogether should have at least 1,000 acres of first class land. I had about £50 to start with, and a horse and cart as capital. I do not think the present land laws very encouraging with the railway so far away. Our principal difficulty now is in obtaining fencing material, without which we cannot keep sheep. There is no poison on some of our land, and we could run sheep on some of our cleared country.

(The witness retired.)

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BERNARD POCOCK, farmer, Needilup, sworn and examined:

9298. To Mr. PAYNTER : I have been four years in this district. I was for two years managing for Mr. Dodge, at Wokalup. Prior to this I was in England, where I have been farming all my life. I have 1,000 acres, 900 of which are first class, the balance mallee and useless. I paid 13s. for this; I have applied for a reduction. I am 19½ miles from a railway. I have 300 acres cleared and 150 acres partly cleared, with two and a half miles of fencing. I have 1,000 yard dam, and a creek supplies water for three months of the year. I am a married man with two sons. One boy 13 years old, rides 19 miles in and out to school each week. I have another boy ten years old, who has never been to school. There are only five children of school-going age in the Needilup district. I have a three roomed house of salmon and Yate split, lined with hessian with an iron roof. I have no stable, but am putting up a machinery shed. I have full working plant, seven horses and two foals, a cow and a calf, and five pigs. I had £100 capital and am a client of the Agricultural bank. I owe the bank £360 and the Industries Assistance Board £150. I am putting in 250 acres this year. None of this is fallow, although I believe in fallowing. I sow 70lbs. of super. and 55lbs. of seed. I find Lotts the best variety. This is generally used in our district. Other varieties have been tried, but this is the best. I consider a man should have 1,000 acres and should have 500 acres cleared before commencing to acquire plant. The present land laws are good, and I should be quite satisfied if the railway was brought out. Then I should be content to go on. I am reducing my account each year with the Industries Assistance Board.

9299. To Mr. VENN : It is good grazing country when cleared, and I think should carry on an average a sheep to two acres on the uncleared country, and on the cleared country a sheep to the acre. I think that this would be a good dairying district in time. We shall have to get rid of the poison of course. The rainfall is 16 inches. The cost of clearing averages 25s.

9300. To Mr. PAYNTER : There are no cases of distress here now. The Industries Assistance Board helped those in trouble. None of the settlers have left their holdings since the Industries Assistance Board came into existence. We have to go to Katanning for a doctor; a district nurse is badly wanted.

(The witness retired.)