OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS.—No. 21.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 101, 7 April 1884, Page 2

OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS.—No. 21.

[by our special reporter.] the willows. There is not a more genial fellow among the settlers of the district of Poverty Bay than the spirited proprietor of “ The Willows ” Mr. A. C. Arthur. This choice plum of the soil of Poverty Bay is adjacent to Mr. C. Agnew Brown’s station, the homestead being situated 5| miles from the town of Gisborne, and can be reached by travelling through Matawhero or along the Awanui. The estate comprises 600 acres of flat land. It is bounded by the Big river. A small strip of land belonging to some natives divides Mr. Arthur’s property from that of Mr. Brown’s, described in sketch No. 20. It is another slice of the late Captain Reads’ property. From the highway the splendid new house erected by the proprietor together with the outbuildings are seen. They present quite an imposing appearance, and are the cynosure of all who pass that way. Entrance to the grounds is gained through a large white gate, very similart to the gates to be seen in travelling through English rural districts. The lay-out of the homestead has quite an English appearance, a good wide roadway leading to the house. The beauties of the residence, however, can be better appreciated on a closer acquaintance, for the nearer the approach the more apparent becomes the retied tastes of the proprietor. The windows open on to the spacious verandah. These are all draped in costly style. Venetian blinds either let in or exclude the light. The internal appoint-

ments are excellent. The furniture is choice and durable, and in every respect well appointed. I felt at once, on entering the portals of this pretty place that my host was an Englishman. My conjecture was right. Mr. A. C. Arthur, I found, hail from the good old county of Hereford—a county where its leading people are noted for the tasteful decoration of their establishments and the good cider they make and dispense. They are also famous for the pride they take in perpetuating the breed of the celebrated white-faced cattle peculiar to that historic old county. Mr, Arthur has held possession of this estate 5| years, but, unlike the people he came from, he discards cattle, even to a milch cow, and devotes his enc gies principally to sheep fattening a’'d gr s M?ed £ 0. ' j. The land he holds, fre n t. : rich riture of the soil, is specially adapted to these pursuits. Mr. Arthur allows his sheep to graze on the hills and at The Willows he puts the fat on them. It must be a very lean and poor F-jrt of animal that would fail to quietly increase its weight whilst feeding on such a rich carpet of pasture as that to be found in the paddocks on this estate. At the time of my visit I saw 4,000 sheep busily engaged reducing the rich clover that had sprung up as an undergrowth where grass seed had been growing. Better samples of animals are not to be seen on any station in Poverty Bay. The Willows is divided into twenty paddocks, in addition to which there are the home enclosures, and a very good garden, where can be seen some very good vegetables, and plantation of young trees for transplanting about the estate. This year the wool clip was 112 bales. Five hundred and fifty acres were this season put under grass seed, but through a scarcity of labours 100 acres was left uncut and the sheep turned in upon it. The general cry amongst our settlers this year has been that it was a matter of impossibility to secure sufficient labourers, either Europeans or natives to cope with the work, The natives have proved very useful and as a general rule willing to work and obliging to employers; but not so in the case of Europeans. There are a number of very useful contrlv. ances about the Willows. The wool-shed, though not the largest I have seen, is very compact, being fitted up with every contrivance calculated to faciliate operators during the wool shearing season. The dip is made of concrete, and considerably wider than many I have seen. Facing the house, a little to the right, is a wind-mill which pnmps water for the stock and supplies four paddocks. Mr. Arthur, I noticed, had gone to considerable outlay in river bank preservation in pile fixing to divert the current and tree planting to preserve the bank. Although this station has always escaped the devastating action of the floods, prior to the work that has been effected considerable land had been washed away. Now the river is silting on the Willow’s side. In walking over the paddocks, which are all laid down in grass, I noticed almost an entire absence of Scotch thistles, and the around was in every other respect particularly free from those useless weeds that preponderate on many other stations. Now, on the adjoining farm, Mr. Agnew Brown’s, there are in some paddocks so laden with thistles that should a shipload of new-chum Scotchmen arrive in the colony and be dropped down on this spot, they would leap for very joy, and (imagine they were still on some enchanting spot in their dear old native land. One would verily think Mr. Brown was a Scotchman from the tolerance he gives the old useless weed, though so much beloved and its praises chanted by Scottish sons with occasional bagpipes accompaniments. Some say the presence of tnistles on the {and is a proof that it is good. However, that is a matter in which opinions somewhat differ. Mr. Arthur has taken care to remove them as quickly as they appear, and show signs of healthy existence. Mr. A. C. Arthur, who has resided in New Zealand about 16 years, exported about 2000 sheep last year, and was prepared to export 4000 could he have obtained steamer accommodation. He was the first to export sheep from Poverty Bay to England under the refrigerating process, but this special enterprise on his part was very disappointing, consequent upon the Mataura’s cargo being a partial failure. The loss thus sustained by Mr. Arthur has not in the least shaken his faith in the ultimate success of the frozen meat trade, 2jr within a f weeks time he intends shipping 500 sheep to Wellington ■to be frozen and sent home. The grass seed this year does not appear as heavy as usual. This is accounted for by the wet spring and a continuance of wet weather. Last year Mr. Arthur produced from some paddocks as much as 40 bushels to the acre; averaging the whole of the paddocks, there were 30 bushels to the acre. I noticed at The Willows three Horpsby mowers, with extra speed gear, which I am told are the only machines in the Bay that have been found capable of mowing the seed where heavy undergrowths of clover have resulted from the wet spring. I think I have previously stated that Mr. Arthur does not breed stock on this station, but usesit as a fattening farm. The general carrying capacity of his land is seven sheep to the acre. One year the average was Bj. Another year 11 jto the acre were kept right through the summer and were fat when sold in the autumn. In reference to grass seed, last year a number of bags weighed nine bushels. This, lam in* formed, is a weight very rarely attained. This year the average is seven bushels. There is no question that Mr. Arthur has a most excellent estate in The Willows. I anfl| sure it is the generally felt wish that he may live long to enjoy it. He has certainly pulled down his barns and built larger ones. And about his residence, stables, coach house, and every etcetera there are modern appliances and all requirements. I may add that th 3 plan of Mr. Arthur’s new residence was drawn by Mr. Warren, and the building contract carried out by Mr. Skeet. The spot next visited was Te Arai. To drop in on the way and take a peep at host Cohen, at the Royal, Matawhero, was a temptation irresistable. (To be continued.)