THE HAURAKI PLAINS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4382, 24 February 1922, Page 1

THE HAURAKI PLAINS.

A GREAT DAIRYING CENTRE. (By Thos. E, McMillaA, in the “Dominion,” Wellington.) Increased production in our primary industries must come mainly from two phases of cultivation, namely, the bringing into profit of virgin soil, and the application of methods of intensive farming all round. To the Hauraki Plains both of these principles are being applied. The Transformation. Fifteen ypar,s ago 3 ’* the Hauraki Plains was little more than a wilderness, a vast swamp where excellent duclf-shooting awaited the sportsman; the great plain, composed, of! debris', marine mud, and decomposed animal and vegetable matter, was the home. Of the bittern and- the pukekp. Today it is dotted with fertile farms, each with its homestead and dairyshed, end bids fair to become a dairy-; ing Eldorado, but of more stable pros-' perity than gold-tmining ever was. The Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr H. M. Skeet) expressed to the waiter the opinion that, of the 40,000 or 50,000 acres which may roughly be called the Hauraki Plains, 12,000odd acres are equ,al to anything Ln New Zealand for dairying purposes, and perhaps as good as any land in the ' world for the of dairy cattle. Furthermore, the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, lit has been freely reported, has made experiments with the soi.l, and the. conclusion arrived at is that! the cen-i tral portion of the plains could be cropped for forty-three years In succession without needing reinforcement by artificial manuring. As a matter of fact, for the first year or two the land is actually too rich. It is genersjlly agreed that, with the exception of its peat lands, the Hauraki rfla'ins must within a decade be all ckt-up into 50 and 25-acre farjmsl; it isVbecoming so valuable that the holders must work the land more and more* intensively, following somewhat the methods' adopted in the agricuTtural districts of France. Proof of Productiveness. Last year the New' Zealand Co-op-erative Dairy Co., ptd., erected at Ngatea (central settlement of the Plains) one of the most up-to-date dairy factories in the Auckland province. The company estimated that a capacity of about 800 tons would be ample to meet requirements, but already this factory is handling an output equivalent to 1100 tons of butterfat per annum, ,and next year will m all probability pass the 1500-ton standard. The quality resultfe are equally as inspiring as t,he record of quantity, practically the whole output reaching first grade and superfine this season Electricity for the Farms.

Tn the very near future the Han-\ raki Plains is destined to enjoy the boon of electric current for the driving of milking machinery and ligating and heating purposes in every farmhouse. As yet no commercial centre of magnitude has arisen on the plains, tjhe needs of the district being supplied | mainly from Paeroa. It happens that the-town, of Paeroa enjoys great geographical advantages; it is the natural road, railway, and river centre for, t.he Hauraki Plains and Thames- Valley Districts, and som.e day the East Coast railway Will be linked up from Tauranga, joining the Waihi-Paerda line, and pass on from Paeroa across the Hauraki Plains to Pokeno, junctioning -with the present Main Trunk line. On ac-‘ count of this singular geographical situation, Paeroa was tjhe town , to be reticulated by the Thames Valley Power Boardj; incidentally, it was the first borough in New Zealand to be served with electric current from a hydro-electric station (Horahora, via Waikino), under the Power Boards Act. The lines are now being constructed from Paeroa to all parts of the Plains, and next season at the latest many of the farms will know the steady hum of the electric motor. Improved Communications. One of. the great drawbacks of early settlement is the lack of suitable communications, but such shortcomings are gradually being eliminated. A few months ago a daily motdurbus service, to and from .Paeroa and -the various, settlements on the Plains was established, and is proving a great success, a benefit te the on the Plains and to the commercials in the town alike.’ More recently still, a daily' mail service on the same route has been established, so that during the short space of less than half a year considerable advancement has been made. Dredging Operations. Readers who take an interest in

the things that have a vital bearing on the welfare of this countiry of primary producers will have read the reports submitted tp Parliament by the Minister of' Lands (the Hon. D. H. Guthrie) ’in respect to the drainage operations on the Hauraki Plains. The vast dredging operations carried out over a period of some fifteen years for, a classic in the art of swamp drainage in New Zealand. Of late the works have been speeded up as a result of improved machinery imported by the Government chief drainage engineer (Mr J. B. Thompi son) when on his recent tour in tihe United States. It is an education to the uninitiated to see these dredges at work. The whole of the Plains is gradually being artificially intersected by navigable canals, or main drains, into which all the minor intersecting grains empty. While developmental works of such magnitude are being carried on there need be no fear of the country’s future. Our exports must increase in volume, the population multiply, and the secondary industries enlarge. It is for these national- purposes, apart from purely local interests, that a Parliamentary party arranged for to make a tour of the Hauraki Plains and Thames Valley Next April. First 1 hand knowledge is the best education.