AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 105, 31 March 1884, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE.

J € . Firth's Estate.

[Auckland £aper.j] '^ ■By a Visiftjir^;- ./ Space will not inflow us to IJay^onefour h of whit we^puld like to say of the great and useful work done on his estate, or of the provision made for the j comforc of those employed upon it. The river has been cleared of snags and ii ni l a.dejaavigable.*^Bisidgea have erected and roads have bceu made. About £15,000 has been spent by Mr. Firth, on th.es© objects aloue, -without •»» farthing of public, money being asked ; lt>f tb'e purpose- ' ' All these facilities are ■ now at, the free use of the! public, and entirely at their com mand. '(Especially does'ihis apply to the thousands spent m clearing the river, which is and will be the chief common hig]iWay for. fijli^ whole' greafdistWct of sthe5 the Thames Valley till tlie railway, now m cp.u.rsej of formatidu, to some extent supersedes it/ ! ; " ; =iJ;:!.-:V-i j We left Mata Mafa aniiftalhospitable' owner much impressed withUhe -greatvork being clone m opening re^ claiming the count) y. We saw m it a nipnurhent of what perseverance and ' skill backed by capitalj'can do^ ;vpdiWe. hea'rhly_wished Mr Firth tlfe.{*uccess that, his enterprise de#puves. j Of this success o.ur'siibauquent experience left rus no doubt, for no one can traverse the magnificent Thames Valley, with its gold mines,, . its rich /agricultural country, its exoelleut water communication, it«j fields of coal and its "mineral hot springs, without.a strong conviction that it must soon grow into orieof the most populous and most prosperous districts m the. . Colony. " The' Thamesr Rdrorua "Railway passes through Mata" Mata and will hasten the settlement but railway b^np railway the future of the district is" 'assared. The miners at Waiorohga'mai and Te Aroha^and along *he wliole course of the Thames will, of themselves, "afford ' a large and good market for the produce of the valley. The time is evidently. x no,t. far distant, when Mr Firth- Should find' 1 good cuattoni^rs fox* theilarid lie is reclaiming, or. for any ..pth^r, portion of the* great estaiewhi^) he so worthily occupies and owire. ;' • t ' i _'/ j , f Mata yre visited 'sJtne of the ho ! t springs about 2;i miles from the homestead. Mr Firthv has "fclie nearest of ' these springs; enclosed and fitted for the use of his people. Here we found the farm hauls' » hoirbatlKJ.jaßck $old ! sUow6l*a)^ Tliehot baths are SHturafcd 7 with potash j J^fi4. v fliiner j al««. ,-jI* f is a,, .bath., iii^^which crowned head might delight, and baths of this kind abonnd on the estate and m the district. In the beautiful town "ofTe" Arbha 'there tfve sfmilar baths belonging to the town and situated m the public domain. They are, carefully tended and are open to every family Cn payment "of-Ss ,peu aanum ■ Gold sho wei^ baths are attached to then), and wHen the railway is completed we 'have, pq doubt that Te Aroha will bel restored' jt9i D s?gF ea J ; i num !l er 3 i?| search of health. The situation is delightful. '■ At th.c, ba'CJ^jiise^ t^, lofty Te Aroha^ rich 'in gold* densely wooded, and abounding >m bea^fc'jfaV views. In front there b the Upper 'L n^a m es> an( i beyond there are the fertile a'ud-jkeautiful vallies of the river, and of Waitoa and Piafcq, . The. distauceftS'Te 1 - A A*dha from Mkta Mata homestead is abou"fc 20 miles. ; Thence we toobr "steamer to Q-rahamgfcowinj arriyinff ,m about r 7 . houra; From (^rahamStown we got tO Auckland the next morning after a Very enjoyable trip, which we could stro.^g"^ yecipoin-. mend fo <othgvs desiribus of '.seeing ono of the most promising, most beautiful and most extensive districts of i/ oe P ro " few. juot ? visited t *h em,>aiiltorm: -jin vIM of!t^ gfew vaJisyH; °f, the, Piako, the. Waitoa,JJpper Waikatq,: '^rtdthe'Tha'ni^antfor the rich lanJs jth^y- ,oQntain.T t j -valleys aire.^y^t'iu'g'bniy Ibr'the advance of settlempntj: to addgrcatlyrto^the wealth ;of ,the; colony^ to become the seat of prosper- , ops. towns and va^iedind.astries, and?'to Ibe the bright and beautiful liomef ;'pf numerouT and' thriving people, i ' ' "• ,—• T f—.':\ ■' : --or r .