PUKETURUA

Matamata Record, Volume III, Issue 140, 10 July 1919, Page 4

PUKETURUA

* A PRETTY DAIRYING CENTRE. The township of Puketurua lies , in a basin of flat well-watered country seven miles from Putaruru on the line of route of the proposed Te Avvamutu-Putaruru railway. The settlement is reached by a fairly level unmetalled road which runs through a large area of unbroken ti tree-clad Maori country relieved here and there by homesteads and clearings of cultivated holdings. Two pretty streams, both said to be filled with trout, are passed on the way. Near the road at one point there are beautiful falls, .which present a spectacle worth going a long way to see. The stream tumbles over a rocky precipice 20 feet high and spray is tossed high into the air, while the water rushes on through whirling rapids for some hundreds of yards below the falls. The outskirts of Pukoturua are reached upon surmounting a hill directly overlooking the settlement. The scene is a striking and pretty one. The dozen or so dwellings are to be seen, situated in the midst of well-tilled farms ranging in size from 100 to 250 acres. Hills skirt the settlement and form a natural boundary to the place. The settlement of Puketurua as a township dates back from 8 to 11 years. There were settlers on the place 34 years ago, and these pioneers were responsible for planting the lovely clumps of pines which stand out in marked relief against the lighter green of the grass which surrounds them. Mr G. Floyd occupied a holding at Puketurua 34 years ago which he leased from the Government. Mr J. S. Brown held another area there at that time, while Mr M. Barr had a piece between them. The three settlers grazed cattle over a wide unfenced area, over which the cattle roamed at will. Actual settlement began eleven years ago when Mr W. H. Barnett purchased the 98 acres which had been held by Mr Floyd. Then followed Mr W. Pearson, Mr J. Peters and Mr H. Lipcombe. The last named took over an area in the settlement three years after Mr Barnett commenced operations. There are now seventeen settlers at Puketurua, who between them milk 400 cows. There are a oheese factory, post office and store, and school with an attendance of 30 in the settlement. It is [the purpose of the dairy company to add another vat to the factory, and it is expected that before long a hall will be built.

Evidence of the progress of the settlement and the increase in the value of land may be taken from the fact that land that could be purchased a £1 per acre eight years ago is now selling at £2O per acre. Puketurua forms the junction of several important roads, and from the centre of the settlement, highways radiate in the direction of Putaruru, Waotu, Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Tirau. Tbe settlers are confident of the place as a dairying centre, and look forward to the pushing on of the Te Awamutu-Putaruru railway through the settlement with keen anticipatory interest. They find the breaking-in of the country hard work, but their experience is that after the first few years of cultivation the land responds splendidly to top-dressing and regular working.

Puketurua lies in the area in which the Putaruru Rabbit Board operates, and is one of the areas in which universal poisoning is carried out annually in the first fortnights of June and September. Settlers at Puketurua do not seem to regard the rabbits as a serious menace, but there is no doubt the oountry is infested with the nuisance, and that the pest calls for more effective handling than it has received. The difficulties of the settlers are increased by tho fact that extensive areas of unbroken Maori country lie adjacent to their properties, and that theso areas afford cover for thousands of the rodents.

The Arapuni hydro-electric works lie within two miles of Puketurua. The building of the Te Awamutu-Putaruru railway, the breaking-up of uncultivated waste of Maori land, the completion of the hydro-electric scheme at Arapuni, the effective grappling with the rabbit pest, all these are factors which should ensuro tho future of Puketurua as an important dairying and commercial centre.

A striking illustration,showing the difficulties the back country farmer experiences in connection with the rabbit pest was given to a “Record” reporter at Puketurua on Monday. Speaking of the rabbit pest, a settler said that ho did not believe there was a rabbit on his place. He had carried out extensive poisoning and fumigating operations and believed he had eradicated the nuisance. If there were any on his place they were near the homestead where |

poison had not boon laid on ac count of the poultry. The reporter left the settlor and traversed two paddocks which the former said were included in his property. During tho walk, a distance both ways of about two miles, over 100 rabbits were disturbed. The rodents swept across the visitor’s path in dozons, especially on a gully-side of sandy loam which separated tho two paddocks, and near the edges of tho paddocks. The settlers in the district seemed to be lulled into a senso of false security with regard to the pest, and do not seem to realiso tho extent of the menace. Their difficulties are increased by tho fact that large areas of uncultivated Maori land lie adjacent to their holdings.