2nd Progress Report - Part 1

image 12 of 99

This transcription is complete

The most unfortunate drainage settlers we saw were those on the Seven-Mile Swamp at Torbay-Grassmere. These men are practically ruined through no fault of their own, and should be given an opportunity of taking up land elsewhere on very easy terms. The effect of this scheme has been that after an expenditure of £10,448 in attempting to drain an area nearly level with the sea there are less than 70 acres under cultivation as compared with 472 before drainage.

IRRIGATION. This is a subject which has been much misunderstood in this State, and has frequently been the field of picturesque and optimistic reference by irresponsible writers on agricultural topics, without consideration, of its adoption to local conditions. Broadly speaking, the application of water to land cannot be commercially successful unless the land itself is in a condition to utilise the water to advantage. it is not an open sesame to profitable production when applied, for instance, to poor land, to sour land, or undrained land. And always the relation of cost to production and of available markets for the product must be carefully studied before installation. The State has been fortunate in securing the services of a capable irrigation expert, and while that officer is retained, no grower need lay out an irrigation project without obtaining his advice. There are numerous small installations in operation throughout the South-West, and of 322, concerning which the Irrigation Office has supplied details, the growers report that 230 are payable, 37 are not, and 55 growers have failed to report either way. These small installations are principally established for the production of fodder crops and the watering of orchards and potatoes. The growth of irrigated Lucerne has not been a success. Lucerne is not a dominant growth, and when irrigated is gradually subdued by the overmasting couch. Generally, we have not been impressed with the success of the plants we have inspected, but as irrigation methods become better understood the introduction of small plants will probably be a continuing feature in the South-West and may be left to develop along natural lines under the care of the Irrigation Department. The question of irrigation on a large scale is different and more complex. The State has practically limitless water flowing to waste from the Darling Ranges every winter, but the area of good land available and suitable for irrigation by damming these rivers is limited. No further irrigation schemes on a large scale should be attempted until the proposed irrigable area is drained, and until a very clear understanding is arrived at as to the use to which the irrigated area can safely be devoted with advantage. In planning such an undertaking, all the responsible Government officials should act together and in concert with the representatives of the land owners in order that a definite understanding can be arrived at by the best brains at the time available.

Harvey Irrigation Area.—General complaint being made to us with respect to the working of the irrigation installation at Harvey, we inquired into the matter. The Government was also approached for an inquiry, and the Government, not knowing that we were investigating the matter, despatched the Engineer-in-Chief for a report, which he duly submitted. It was then discovered that the Commission was taking evidence on the same subject, with the result that the Government has handed us the report of the Engineer-in-Chief, and is leaving the matter entirely to the Commission. Our report is as follows:— To understand the position at Harvey, we must go back into its history. It seems to have become popular for orange culture in the days when fruit was dear, when the land sold freely for citrus planting. Portions of the district are undoubtedly very suitable for the purpose, but the land is uneven in quality. It is laid down as a standard for successful orange culture that the soil should be a deep, free, rich loam, with a water-table not less than 6ft., and preferably 8 to 10ft. below the surface, except for a few days at a time in the winter. Where these conditions do not obtain, there may be an ephemeral success, but the end can only be a failure from a commercial point of view. The Harvey orchardists, buying their experience as they went, bought the land and planted it in a face. Herein lies the whole trouble. A proportion of the orchards on shallow ill-drained soils were doomed from the start. As time went on, the water-logged condition of portions of the area in winter maid drainage imperative, and the Government advanced money to the settlers through the Harvey Drainage Board for this purpose. A number if the holdings were tile drained three and four feet deep, and a man drain was excavated to carry the water away. There was trouble with the main drain, which could not properly deliver the winter water, with the result that the water frequently backed up in the subsidiary channels and interfered with the free drainage of the orchards. The tile drainage, it will be noticed. was only capable of lowering the water-table at most to, say, four feet. With matters in this state, an irrigation began. It was found that the trees required summer watering, and no doubt it was expected that assistance in the summer would help to balance the winter conditions. At first the Government refused, but in 1912-13 it was decided to establish an irrigation area at Harvey, and as the preliminary investigations seem to have shown that its lay-out would require a portion of the Harvey Estate, the unsold balance of that property, some 8,100 acres, was purchased. Negotiations were then entered upon to inaugurate the scheme and discussion arose with the Harvey people, some of whom seem to have been sceptical as to the success of the scheme when they learned that the water was to be distributed by upon channels. It is clear that the local opinion was divided, but the engineers considered that it was feasible, and, finally, in a conciliatory spirit on both sides, the following agreement was arrived at:— (1.) That the Government undertook for £34,000 to put up the weir, provide the channels, and deliver the water at the highest point of the blocks over an agreed area of 3,310 acres. (2.) The annual rate was to be 17s. 6d. per acre.