GALATEA SETTLEMENT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 44, 30 January 1945, Page 5

GALATEA SETTLEMENT

W LETTER FROM MINISTER I CLARIFYING 'MIXED IDEAS' I In a letter to the Whakatane I , County Council last Tuesday^ I the Minister of Lands intimated ■ -that he? had received! a copy of I the report of the discussion at I the November meeting of the ■ Council, relative to the deputaI . tion he had received at Galatea, I as it appeared in thfe' 'Beacon' I of December 1. It was clear that I those who were present at the I deputation had very mixed I ideas of what was said, and in I order to place the matter on a I clfar footing, he was; setting out St just what was said 1 and I what his reactions were. I The letter read as under: — ■ "Mr Wilson said that there were ■ sections immediately availI able, although not fully equipped I ready for settlement; that the camp I occupied by defaulters could be I* used for training men in collaboraI tion with the Herd Testing AssociaI tion the Supervisor of which would I be prepared to take learners around I and teach them shed work, etc.; I that the areas of sections should be I .at least 150 acres to enable 50-cow I Ofeerds, plus, replacements to be carI ried; that areas should be put in ■ lucerne, on each section before allotI inent. There Avas also some, discusB sion. about the healthiness of the I -district and the production figures, ■ hut there is no need to touch on I that at the moment. With regard ■ to housing, he said that the buildI ings need not be elaborate, a H* ;a living room and two bedrooms ■ would suffice. My reply was that ■ I did not agree with training farms. did not "cold shoulder" the sug- ■ ;gestion as reported, nor did I say ■ that 1 would not be averse to the ■ of a training camp at ■ -»Galatea. My statement was that to ■ train men in farming they should ■ be doing actual farming work, and ■ that to put them into a camp and ■ .give them lectures was not my idea ■ of training. I did not agree that ■ 150 acres, was. necesary, because in -Tiny opinion 50-cow herds are too ■ big. I agreed that lucerne was ne- ■ *cessary on all sections. As regards -actual settlement, however, I was ■ -of the. opinion , that 30 sections would not be enough, and said that jny ideal settlement was one in there were, sufficient sections immediately to support a ■ small township with all its ameni■»ties( but I thought that it would perhaps three seasons before this could be done. With regard ■to the butter factory a I enquired ■,-<liow much production would be ne■'cessary as a minimum to support a ■ factory, and was advised that the present production of Galatea would ■ have to be doubled. It was agreed, however, that the Rangitaiki Fac would continue to serve additional settlers placed on Galatea. There were several other points dis~ ■•cussed, but the foregoing touches those mentioned in your press re.port. I concluded by saying that I would discuss figures, and estimates with Departmental officers in the near future, with a view to seeing what could be done in the. way placing servicemen on Galatea. This ijromise 1 intend to carry at an early date." Cr Luxton who had reported to the Council at its last meeting on deputation said that lie had not the report, in but he still contended the scheme put forward was an ideal one. I■ Crs Cawte and Leslie cautioned the cutting up of Galatea, ■ in the event of any future settlescheme, into areas which were too small to be farmed. Cr Luxton said he strongly favoura reply going forward to the letter. The reference to the 'cold--.shouldering' mentioned by the Minwas not reported by him as to the scheme, but to the fact that, he (the Minister) was to the returning of the into Strathmore, and the farmof the estate by men who had willing to light for their counThe idea was, never suggested students should be put into and given farm lectures. Galto his mind was ideal for teachpractical, farming in all its asThe. Council decided to refer the of drafting a suitable, reply ■to the letter to Cr Luxton and the Editor's note : We liave looked up files in connection with the reconcerned. The paragraph by the Minister regarding reads as. fol- — Cr Luxton said another suggesby the jocai spea'kers was that

the military defaulters who were now employed on the estate should be removed back to Strathmore. and that their camp should be utilised by Grade B men of the present war who were keen to take up farming, but who needed training before doing so. This suggestion was coldsb.oultlered by the Minister#,