ACROSS THE SEAS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1687, 1 March 1913, Page 6

ACROSS THE SEAS.

FROM WALES TO PATAGONIA,

THEN TO NORTHERN TERRITORY.

A STORY OF .COLONISATION,

Ono of the most interesting movements in tho history of modern colonisation is about to tako placo in the migration of ] x a Welsh colony ■ for 15 years established 1! in Patagonia-'to the Northern Territory, bi In 18li8 a number of Welsh families seeking to break nWoy from the conditions of life in Wales, which were then, extremely hard, decided to rungo across tho seas and seek a new land. In this v manner they settled in Patagonia, on the 0 Chubootr River, about (iOO mites to) tho t south of Buenos Ayres, and there 6lowly 0 and laboriously, with only primitive tools and little knowledge, and harassed night . and day by tho Indians, the settlement started in to eke out on existence. It was a fearful struggle for. a long while, , and on more than one occasion tliey wero ( perilously near starvation. Shortage of j water -was the chief drawback. The Andes ) simply, absorbed , tho moisture out of tho western winds liko a, sponge, and drought shrivelled the land. It was a clear enso of irrigate or starve, and those hardypeople, with no more modern appliances ■ than tho squaro spade and wheelbarrows ; commenced, and ultimately completed, a , canal 25 miles long, over 30 yards wide, ( and 15 feet deep in placcs. In such a way they made a garden out of a desert. , The second generation throve, and the - third generation would havo reaped the reward of tho industry of their pioneer parents, were- it not for tho changed conditions wlii:li oame with tho annexation of what was "No Man's Lend" by tho Argentine Government. Tired Out. Tears ago Spaniards and half-breeds, attracted by the Welsh garden settlement, became troublesome. They oven pegged out the canal lands and applied and obtained from tho Government titles which tho makers of tho laud had' omitted to obtain. Petty acta of oppression, lack of safety for their ivomentind, objectionable neighbours, and obstacles to trade havo tired out the bm.v'o Welsh people, and for ten years past they—now numbering , been on tho look-out for pastures new. In 1902, 350 .of them left for Canada, but the climate did not agree, with them, and at) over -40 years of died. / Delegates in search of a nesting ground visited New Zealand last year, and were delighted with tho country, but received no encouragement from the Mackenzie Government, and went on to Australia, ] where they were better received. When in Wellington the delegates stayed with Mr. Robert Williams, of Island Bay, late soft goods expert to. the Customs Department, and fie, becoming interested in them, resolved to seo for himself what the prospects ~ of settlement were like in the much-talked-of Northern Territory. He obtained a month's holiday, and another month's leavo of absenoo without pay, packed his valise, and left for Sydney, cn route to Port Darwin, and the backyard of Australia. Spying Out tho Land. Mr. Williams-reached tho north during tho seventh month of rainless weather, stayed thero x month, journeyed continuously by train, river, and horseback, and declares the land to bo one of rich - promise-a land of milk and honey. In- • deed, so much-is ho iinpressel with tho chances offered in tho; Northern Territory that he has resigned a lucrative appoint- - ment in the Customs Department, and in a month's time is off to tho Daly River, which flows into. Anson Bay, in tho Indian Ocean. On tho Daly River are miles upon miles ; of rich river flats, where the grass grows , that high one can tio it in-knots across i a hprso!s ,back, .andiithero-the, Patagonian , Welshmen aro to tako up land under tho ■ easiest conditions on earth.. Millions of wild fowl inhabit the-scrub and bush, ; thousands of Asiatic buffalo wallow in-the. ; river at sundown, and there aro Brahma '• cattle and wild horses. Last year.4oo,ooo i buffalo skins were exported from tho dis--1 trict, and each was -worth a ,£l. Ono r nian ho met shot on an average eight a [ (lay, and though that man could sign his ' cheque for <£25,000, he was still shooting thein. The buffalo were hunted on,horseback with .303 tifles with shortened barrels (22-inch), and wero used like a. revolver. A powerful weapon was needed - for the hide was about an inch thick, and 3 on one occasion Mr. Williams and his r friend fired six. shots full at a bull, bub 3 lie only snorted, and wont off quite un--3 affected. S ' .- ; ' - The Japanese. 9 Tho climate is not bad at all. It must bo good, for Mr. Williams went to tho Northern Territory shortly after undergoing an operation, and was for days in » tho saddle (a thing he had never done bes fore) without being unduly fatigued. f The thermometer danced up to 102 degrees 0 Fahr., but averaged about 80 degrees. On . tho highlands further inland the temper- [ aturo was more moderate. On tho Ropa 1 River frost and ico wero experienced last '• winter. The good land will grow anyi- thing—corn, wheat, cotton, rice.- and tho tablelands towards. the Queensland bor--1 der, are calculated, to bo ideal for dry '' rice-growing. ■ - The Japanese threat was a real live one. Though the number , of Japanese actually in the Northern Territory aro decreasing, they aro swarming down amongst tho adi, jacent islands, and in Java, which is o only four days' steam distant. Still, i- tliero are a great many of them there, and o Mr. Williams met,with those who had o witnessed them drilling among the caney fields, in wTiich .they aro employed. Jape anesc, too, aro the chief clients of the lug- -- gcr-owners of Port Darwin; Ho spoke r with.a Scotch engineer, who had heard of ■r ono lugger which had been , absent from g Darwin for. 108 days, and ultimately *- returned with a very moderate cArgo of 't beche-de-mer, but paid up promptly tho >1 money owing for the hire of the vessel, t> and for another six months' charter in 5" advance. There was little doubt that tho vessel had been engaged in survey >• work along the northern coast. Ono could I s not mix with the heterogeneous population '* of Port Darwin without becoming n '• "white Australian," and tho question was, '] of as vital importance to New Zealand as* <j Australia. " Mr. Williams has prepared a voluniin,e ous report on tho Northern Territory, s which includes many extracts from tho reports of' several experts who had been commissioned to report on various phases of life, and tho resources of tho great lS Northern Territory. The report has been y made voluntarily for tho edification of his i- countrymen in Patagonia, and a copy of it n has been forwarded to tho Commonwealth is Government.