WORST DROUGHT IN 40 YEARS

Chronicle (Levin), 16 August 1946, Page 5

WORST DROUGHT IN 40 YEARS

FIYE MILLION SHEEP FACE DEATH Received Thm'Sday, 8.15 p.m. SYDNEY, August 15. A fleet of thirty lorries which has moved day and night in the past fev? weeks, has transported 140,000 sheep to relief country, from the droughcstricken Bourke-Cohar area. With insufiicient railway trucks either to "bring fodder or shift stock, graziers in northwest New South Wales have organised the road plan to avert disastrous stock losses. The drought is referred to as the worst in 40 years and 5,000,000 sheep are threatenad with death by starvation. The graziers state that assistaiice must come cmickly hecause the next three weeks will he the period of gravest danger. It is considered prohahle that only one-fifth of the north-western wheat crop will survive the drought. A losing battle is heing fought to keep alive tens of thousands of ewes near lamhing. In Southern New South Wales a heavy snowstorm has saved the Tumut Valley from what was.feared would he a record-hreaking fiood. The snowfall arrested the thaw which hegan after inches of rain had fallen on the vast snowfields. This small portion of ihe State has heen getting four-fifths if the total rainfall. Svdney's record dry spell ended with a fall of four points of rain, since when there has heen sunshine but aooler temperatures. BUSHPIRES IN QUEENSI.AND. Bushfires are raging over a hig area of Southern Queensland menacing nomesteads, station property, stock and army buildings and destroying the last remains of winter fodder. Thousands of acres of grasslands are burnt out and some farm crops destroyed. Women and girls clad in pyjamas last night helped to fight the grass fire in a Brisbane suburb which threatened homes. The fire was the most extensive and WYvrst 'for* more-Ahair,40"yeaTS"dne' to the phenomenally dry period.