sign-in
Home
/
Mallee - Part 2
/
Image 137
Mallee - Part 2
Image 137
image 48 of 89
If you need a symbol, fraction or a wider dash please highlight, copy (Ctrl C) and paste (Ctrl V): £ — ¼ ½ ¾ ⅓ ⅔ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞ ⊚ 🡹 /|\
good returns and are well grassed. The rainfall is between 13 and 14 inches. The estate has been cut up, the intention being to lease farms of about 1,500 acres for a term of seven years. At Tumby Bay several large wheat stacks were seen on the wharf. The return journey was then made to Port Lincoln, good grazing country being passed through. On the way the reservoir site on the Tod River was inspected. It is intended that the water supply scheme, which is to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, shall supply the district right through to Thevarton, the water being conveyed by gravity. The Commission returned to Adelaide by boat, arriving there on the 21st of March. Leaving Adelaide early on the 22nd March, the Commission reached Loxton the same evening. The Commissioner of Crown Lands accompanied the party. After leaving the hilly districts adjacent to Adelaide the road runs into flat country, timbered with mallee of all descriptions. The rainfall records indicate an appreciable diminution the further east one travels. The following day the State Farm at Veitch's Well was visited. Full information respecting this establishment appears in the appendix. The average rainfall in the district is 12-91 inches. Mr Goode's farm was also visited. His returns for the past season were high, although inclement. weather was responsible for damage to about 90 acres of crops. The Commission then travelled around the district of Taplan and Noora before returning to Loxton. The return journey to Adelaide was made by rail. Good stubble was noticed everywhere, but practically no stock has been procurable since the 1914 drought. Lameroo—Pinnaroo. On 26th March the Commission travelled to Lameroo by rail and were accompanied on a tour of the district by the District Clerk ( Mr Townsend). Portions of the country here closely resemble that at Grass Patch and Swan Lagoon, having a clay subsoil and being timbered with the same class of mallee as the Esperance lands. Sub-artesian water is obtainable everywhere at a depth of 200 or 300 feet. The following day Pinnaroo was reached, Parilla station being inspected en route. The Commissioners were the guests of the Pinnaroo Council, the District Clerk (Mr Hannaford) accompanying the party on its tour. The country here, too, in parts closely resembles that at Esperance. Returns of from 30 to 40 bushels have been recorded in the Lameroo-Pinnaroo district this season. During the trip some of the councillors and local farmers were met and a considerable amount of useful information received. At Lameroo the average annual rainfall is 16 inches. All available land has been selected, the present general value of farm lands being from £6 to £8 per acre. Approximately 440,000 bags of wheat are stacked at the railway sidings in the Lameroo-Pinnaroo district. Horse teams of ten or eleven are commonly used, the animals being in remarkably good condition. Mallee stumps here find a ready sale at 12s per ton, and it was stated that 400 acres produced approximately 1,000 tons. On the return journey to Adelaide Mr O' Loughlin, member for the district and who holds a large area at Pinnaroo, was met. Mr O' Loughlin was for eight years Commissioners of Crown Lands and was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for three. He was a member of two Commissions which reported on the Pinnaroo railway question, and to prove his faith in the district made an early selection of a large area near Pinnaroo upon which he is now established. A lot of information was furnished by him to the Commission. The country in its natural state is most uninviting. Mr O' Loughlin stated that early analytical reports as to the Pinnaroo soil being too poor for successful wheat growing were soon exploded. The district is one of the principal cereal growing areas of the State whilst the railway is one of the best paying. The Commission returned to Adelaide on the 29th March, and left the same day for Melbourne. VICTORIA. The Commission arrived in Melbourne on the 30th March and after interviewing the Hon. the Premier (Sir A. Peacock) and the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr W. Hutchinson) it was decided to make a tour of the mallee districts of Victoria under the guidance of Mr A.S. Kenyon, C.E, Engineer for Agriculture, commencing on the 11th April — Mr Kenyon not being available until that date. The Commission spent the interim in recess. Leaving Dimboola, the route followed was via Rainbow, Hopetoun, Sea Lake, Lascelles, Manangatang, Ouyen (including a visit to the surrounding districts), Irymple, and Mildura. The return to Adelaide was made via Murbein, Moorna ( where Mr B. Chaffey kindly entertained the Commission and made facilities available for an inspection of the surrounding localities) Renmark and Morgan. During the Victorian tour information was collected from local bodies and representative settlers, reports of meetings being attached hereto. Mr Kenyon has furnished a very able and comprehensive statement, which is attached, concerning the mallee lands of Victoria and it is therefore unnecessary to enter into a detailed account of the conditions and characteristics of the country. The Commission left Adelaide on the return journey by the s.s Zealandia on the 21st April, arriving at Fremantle on the 26th idem. Observations on Mallee Lands of Eastern States — Your Commission has learnt from its visit to the Eastern States that in South Australia and Victoria the Governments have realised the necessity of providing in all new settlements before selection such facilities as water supplies, railways, and roads. In Victoria water is conveyed for hundreds of miles in open channels for the development and settlement of mallee lands. Reservoirs or tanks are provided on the holdings and these are periodically filled from the channels. Roads are cleared to a width of fifteen feet and loose or sandy portions metalled before settlement is permitted. The more recently settled mallee areas consist of open grassy plains with mallee and pine ridges, the rainfall being about 12 inches. Spear grass, similar to that found in the dry parts of this State, is evidence everywhere, but such succulent varieties of grass as dandelion, trefoil or clover, are absent, which points to the fact that the mallee lands in Victoria and South Australia, although good, are drier than those of our own State. The travels of the Commission in South Australia were extensive than in Victoria. The number of teams loaded with wheat was remarkable in South Australia consisting of from 8 to 14 horses in a wagon, carrying from 80 to 120 bags of wheat. In regard to Victorian mallee conditions, and the steps taken by the Government to develop the lands, a close perusal of Mr Kenyon's reports is recommended. Mr Kenyon has been associated with the mallee lands for the past 25 years, and is recognised as an authority on all matters relating to them. It is acknowledged that South Australia leads in the settlement and farming of mallee lands, and South Australian farming implements are preferred in Victoria to the local article. Mildura is an example of what can be done with water in dry country. The water is pumped from the river Murray and conveyed to the settlement by open channels, from which garden plots are flooded. The country around Mildura is of a salty nature covered with saltbush, bluebush and native fig. Undoubtedly the river being navigable for hundreds of miles, and being fresh water, is the key to prosperity in large areas of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. Statistics and Statements of successful farmers go to prove the following facts: — (a.) The fair crops cannot be expected from mallee lands until the fifth or sixth year after cultivation; (b) That better results are obtained from light ploughing, viz, 2 to 3 inches, than from deep cultivation. Most of the fallow inspected was 2½ inches deep. (c) That all mallee land improves with age and cultivation. (d) That it is customary to work fallow five or six times before seeding, the land being first harrowed then cultivated or gone over with skim plough, then harrowed and cultivated again, the contention being that the land cannot be worked too much. (e) That big teams and wide implements should be used. Eight or ten horses teams are usual for one man to procure the maximum return from the least manual labour. (f) That it is disastrous for a mallee farmer to roll down and burn too much timber, as, if not kept under when once started, the suckers are harder to deal with than when the mallee is in its natural state. Another point is the necessity of making fire guards around rolled areas to prevent the burning of unrolled mallee. Should this happen, a settler will be thrown back years in the development of his holding. (g) That to obtain success in mallee country a settler must have transport and marketing facilities. He should have some capital. He must have a knowledge of working horses, and must have the strength, and be prepared to work long hours under hard conditions. (h) That both South Australia and Victoria place no value on soil analyses of mallee lands. Many reasons have been advanced, a popular theory.
Save edits
prev
|
next
|
all images
|
history