HUNGRY FOR LAND

Chronicle (Levin), 8 May 1948, Page 5

HUNGRY FOR LAND

Over 20B Servicemen Atterid A Balfct Just a part-of the very large and eve-iFgrowing army of land-hungry ex-servicemen awamiig tneir opporttrnity to settle on, their own farms, the majority of 281 applicants for three sections at Opiki -fissemhled at the p-ipe Band Ha!! in* Princess; Street ' yesterday afterndon to watch a hallo.t, con.du.cte"d by the Lands- and StarveyDepai'tmeht. • , It was deeided to hold .the ballot: ih Palmeiiston iSlorth, to show the people of the distriet the necessity of olfering eveny availaljl'e aere of la.ud foi? the settlement of e'X-servieemem It wais? ina.de clear that although other sections: in the Afanawatu ai;e offering at the mo, ment, 'tliere has not been nearlyenough land made available to satisf" the demand. * The sections. at Opiki make up the property formerly owned* by Ihe lateAfr. H.. Seifert. it is fiat, well-drained' land,, planted in rye and clover grasses, and is' seven miles from the Tokomaru Dairy Factory and half' a mil'e fi'om* the Opiki Scliool. The soil is a-Mu-yial deposit 011 clay formation with a few acres at the baek of section four of peatv prigin. Tlie suceessful: applicaut for tlie- filsl section of 72 acres, one food, 26 perehes in area, was Air. M. C. AleAloon, oi Floek House, Bulls. Air. R. L. E.ufl'ell, of 1 Ilerald Street, Wellington, was the ■meond successfXi] applicaut for this_ section and he will take over ttu-' iai-ixi if Air. Al'cAl'oon, turns doyvn tiro oll'er. 1 Tlie suceessful applicaut for , the seeond section, of 60 acrgs, three roods, 16 perches, was Air. A. de J. Gle-re, of Stanway, Halcombe. Tlie* seeond appl't cant was Air. J. S-. Ash, of Ballance I'load, Pahiatua. Sections six and seven i-n block f'oua-, which make up one farm, went to M'r. J. H. Allison, of Rangiotu, and seeond was Air. E.- T. Hensnian, of Shortt Street, Alanawata Ileads, Foxton. Applicants for the sections eame fro-m Taranaki as well as the Wellington distriet. This was because dairy farm ing- conditions in botli areas are similai and if a man has mastered' the Taranaki-, ■conditions, he will lind no difficulty in settling down in the- Wellington area. The farm at Opiki has been held by the Rehabilitation Departinent -for about a vear in wliieh tinxe new houses and. sheds have been built. Th.e section have been fully stocked up* for the coming season.