APPENDIX No 5

Report of the Engineer for Goldfields Water Supplies (Mr. P. V. O'Brien, M.I.C.E) on the country between Norseman and Esperance, dated 30th August, 1912.

To the Hon. the Minister for Mines.

INTRODUCTION.

Esperance as a township may be said to have "come into being" in 1893-94 with the rush to Coolgardie Fields.

Horse and camel traffic was heavy on the Esperance-Coolgardie Road from 1894-97. After 1897 the road traffic decreased, and since 1899 it has consisted of one or two wagons and the weekly mail.

At various intervals during the period 1897-1902 petitions or agitations, or both, were worked up for a railway from Esperance to Coolgardie.

In 1902-03 a railway survey was completed Coolgardie to Esperance. In 1909 the Coolgardie-Norseman section was built. (Opened November, 1909.)

The question of agricultural settlement north of Esperance was never seriously considered, so far as the writer knows, till about 1910. Previous to that date people favoured a railway argued that it would reduce the cost of living on the Eastern Goldfields and at Norseman; that it would reduce the cost of material for the mines, and make Esperance a watering place for goldfield people.

In 1910 a considerable amount of land selection took place north of Esperance, and a strong agitation for the construction of the Norseman-Esperance section occurred.

The Agricultural Advisory Board drove from Norseman to Esperance, disagreed, and reported separately to the Minister of Agriculture.

A Bill for construction of Norseman-Esperance Railway was introduced by the present Government in 1911. This Bill passed the Legislative Assembly, but was rejected by the Legislative Council, apparently for want of knowledge concerning the country.

In December, 1911, the writer was instructed by Mr. Collier, Minister for Mines, to examine and report on the country between Norseman and Esperance, especially on the question of water supply for settlers, etc. The scope of the report was left open to the writer.*

EXAMINATION OF THE COUNTRY.

The services of Mr. Surveyor Middleton were secured and he, with a suitable party, commenced work in February this year, and finished early in August— time 6½ months cost about £1,200. Mr. Middleton's report attached hereunder.

It was arranged that the examination would extend over an area 80 miles by 30, that is, from Esperance to 80 miles by 30, that is, from Esperance to 80 miles north, and 15 miles east and west of the railway survey. The 80 miles was fixed as the limit of safe rainfall, as accepted at present, and the east and west distance from railway survey (15 miles) was taken as the maximum a farmer can profitably work from a railway siding. This area measures 1½ million acres, and is shown on Plan 1 with explanatory notes.

Usual method of examining country in Western Australia, and in fact other States, is, the examiner or inspector drives, rides, or walks through parts of the country and judges it by the surface soil, or by the timber, if any, or by both. In many agricultural districts the practice has been found satisfactory, but in the mallee the surface appearance of the soil is not a good indication of the soils below, therefore other methods entailing more work were adopted.

Method of Examination adopted.— Mr. Surveyor Middleton had to traverse the country in all directions collecting water supply data. The Surveyor General was interviewed, and he readily agreed to recognise he classification of the country by our surveyor going over the same ground later on.

• The writer estimated £1,000 would be required for a thorough (2nd Line is Unreadable Text)

Our surveyor's duties up to this stage including boring to locate R.L. of subterranean water, boring and sinking holes in search of good clay, and when found making usual tests for quality; collecting samples of surface soils and sub-soils and forwarding to Perth for examination; mapping in the country rough surveys of catchment areas, and classification of soil judged from inspection of numerous holes sunk— also any other information likely to be of value.

Later on, after some progress reports arrived from our surveyor, I instructed him to make some surveys at Esperance between the Jetty and Dempster Head, and collect sufficient data for a design and approximate estimate for harbour works, should they be required.

The Hon. the Minister did not instruct me in this matter.

Having the means of obtaining this necessary information quickly, accurately , and economically, I instructed our surveyor accordingly.

I consider the harbour and railway problems are really part of this report, as the whole question of condemning or opening the large area under notice cannot be thought out without all probable public works being reviewed.

Description of Country.— After Surveyor Middleton finished his work, I spent three weeks travelling through the area, inspecting the sites selected for water conservation, etc., and made notes generally.

The total area of land within 15 miles of railway survey and from Esperance to 80 miles is 1,540,000 acres; of this 1,028,000 is mallee land, and the balance 412,000 acres is known as coastal sand plain.

The mallee land gently undulating throughout consists of red loan, light sandy loan, patches of grey loan, with sub-soils of good close loam varying to loamy clay, and in parts clay. The grey appearance the surface presents along the coach road has caused many people to believe that the country is a miserable sandy waste.

The grey colour is caused by rain and wind acting on the loans or clay, and deposition on the surface a fine layer of sand, mostly disintegrated lime stone. this sand is soft, not hard and sharp, and it appears to be contained in surface and subsoils throughout the mallee belt.

Proof of the above may be seen on the spoil banks of the Government tanks constricted last year along the coach road by this Department. A film of grey sand has already been weathered out of stiff clay, which was excavated from a depth of 12 feet.

In Mr. Surveyor Middleton's report attached is a detailed description of the soils, subsoils, and limestone, under the heading of ""Soil, description of, within the Mallee Belt"". I cannot improve on that description, and therefore refer readers to it.

Coastal Sand Plain.▬The undulating ""sand plain"" (better described in my opinion as ""open downs"") between Esperance and the mallee, measures about 25 miles north and south. This belt extends along the coast for many miles, and is covered for the most part with short scrub. The surface is generally sandy, with clay below in places. I am of the opinion fresh eater will be found at fairly shallow depth in many places along this sand plain country, but failing that, having good clay and a 21 inch annual rainfall over the average width of the belt, there should be no difficulty in conserving water.

Here and there peaty swamps exist, which if properly worked should produce excellent root crops. Having a good rainfall the sand plain will, if properly improved, become good grazing country. About 176,000 acres of mallee land and 45,000 acres of coastal ""sand plain"" were selected up to March of this year. In that month the area this report deals with was reserved from sale