NARROWING MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 72, 26 March 1934, Page 7

NARROWING MARKET

EXPANDING FAEMS

NEW AREAS BROKEN IN

A PLEA FOR FOREST

While oversea, countries are shutting down, on primary.product exports, huge areas in countries like Australia are being broken in to production.' Where will the produce be soldY "■■■' Sydney advices. of March 13 state that Mr. Bruxner, Deputy. Premier and Minister for Transport, had just returned to Sydney from a tour which, covering two of the' least-known portions of New South' Wales, illustrates not only the immensity of .the State, but also its variety of wealth and resources, and the settlement that is the accompaniment of a planned developmental programme. * , . "The Minister's tour embraced, for example, Urbenville on the Queensland border, and 560 miles "from Sydney; Tooraweenah, which is 416 miles from Urbenville arid 274 miles from Sydney. .Although separated .by these long distances, Urbenville. and. Tooraweenah have several things in common. First, they have remained for long years out of the direct line of access . and development. They are also lands of great mountain peaks very similar in. character as they terminate, at heights of from 4000 ft to 5000 ft, in huge'spires and rugged crowns composed of- solid < rock'which has withstood jr.he storms ' oil the ages while the softer -material, originally surrounding them has been, slowly dissolved to form_ the „ rich lowlands and valleys. Surrounded .by tall trees and undergrowth, they form two of the most picturesque ; parts of the State. Today, thanks to the;building of roads, they- . are becoming better known and are blossoming into thriving centres where, even during these days of difficulties, . the- people: are tackling their problems with renewed vigour because, for the first time, they can see the light. ■ •-. • BOEDER SIGNPOST. :, "Urbenville ■ and Wodenbong ar» near the. centre- of'a great: area of almost:virgin scrub and fosest land rich, in soil and rainfall. .There .; one- sees beautiful brush country, with .every kind of sub-tropical growth, that can , charm the - eye, and with running 6treams intersected; from time to. time, by impressive waterfalls. Overshadowing all is the massive- peak of Mount Lindsay; rising majestically' 5500 ft and 8 standing on the border-of New^ South ". Wales and Queensland like a .mighty signpost. ' • ...-'■ "Looking down from -the- shoulders of this mountain over ther.valley .of the Upper Clarence, one can see lesser peak's, of similar character, : the. :names of which give an indication of their characteristics—theße'ehive, the Crown, Edinburgh Castle,.and many lesser-ones. At the foot-of these lies'the'- country that is gradually being transformed into, a, closely-settled and well-cared-for area.', A few yearsi ago it.would.. . have- taken' three; days to travel from Lindes^y,. Creek:to;v Gffetilliaj: 'at the head "of thY Richmond,' and'! ■ "dose' to the railway line that connects the two States. .Now "one can'do the journey in a few hours, passing ; through magnificent', country,, well .watered ;■ and sheltered by:the.jnassive*mountains just above. To Teach Urbenville. from Tenterfield was impossible in' rvrei weather. It was a trial of endurance • even in dry weather. Today it is, probably one of the most pleasant' journeys in the State, passing, asr it;dbbs,; mainly through great avenues of. ..beautiful trees, with an ever-changing, panorama of mountain peaks arid.: open flats." "On all sides one sees activity. • JJew houses are springing -up. . There are new fences, new farms; aidr the necessary outbuildings,-and,1 -among -the people, a spirit that breathes "progress. _ -PINE BASALT COUNTRY.^, "From there the Minister.travelled down the New England, highway through the ciosely-settled districts of Glen Innes, Armidale, and Tamworth, put through. Gunnedah,'on/ the, Ox-ley highway, which,, only recently," has forged its way from Port Macquarie up the Hastings- River,. :along the' old rough track that the intrepid .'explorer followed. This road is-still::.stretching out into the great central wes'f, thrpdgh the thriving town of *' Copnajiarabran, and making towards Tooraweenah. There again one sees-iSNatur'e.'s- spires and battlements, only in an entirely different setting. In the 'place of the sub-tropical flora and the dense scrub are the great stringy bark and gums on the-hillside'; and in the the most useful, and one of the most beau- • tiful, of all trees—the Kurrajong. "Bound the little energetic town of Tooraweenah is -some of the .finest basalt country one could wish to see. Although developed to .the extent of growing magnificent ci-ops of highgrade wheat, and some lucerne, it is only now, with the entry of additional p enterprising landowners, that the value ■■• of this piece of country has-been'fully realised. It is the home ■ of: lucerne. Today one can stand waist-high. in a i paddock of 1000 acres, the carrying capacity of which it is difficult to realise. The ancients rightly gave to this plant a name which, interpreted, means the king of fodders. Today, in this new-old country,-it-is destined-to put Tooraweenah on .the map. NATURE'S INFLUENCE. "Geologists say that the Warrumbungle mountains are among.the oldest existing earth formations. Aday among them, certainly impresses one with their appearance of absolute durability, and their power to resist not only- the onslaughts of the past, but the encroachments of the future. "In a few months, perhaps, the Oxley highway will be through from the sea to its connection with the Great. North-western highway at Trangie. It will place this district' within easy, reach of rail at Coonabarabran Or; Gilgandra, and it is safe to say that there will- develop one of the great fattening centres for stock, comparable with any; part of the State. "To traverse these places brings home the meaning of access , and of what progress will follow in its train, but it also gives a warning that this ver3 r progress, or what is considered as such, might be overdone. The eager settler, it is felt, is sometimes too ready with the axe. The Lands Department, it is also felt, -may, perhaps, be too keen to throw open land.- These massive mountains, with their capes of trees and bush, are what might be" termed the great 'drip cloths' in a thirsty land. Upon them f alls. the fiuty of steadying the beat of heavy rain, and of allowing the refreshening moisture to trjckle through its million "'-. leaves, and down ; its million trunks slowly to water the rich pastures that lie beneath. - ' "For this reason it is felt that to settle a few people on this high country and destroy the natural protection will mean the ruination ultimately of the real utility country that lies below : it," - ;. ■;; .". .•-•.-■. ■• v .:..