GALATEA ESTATE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 502, 8 April 1933, Page 6

GALATEA ESTATE

f reply by mljmister CRITICISM OF MANAGEMENT RESENTED BY MR. RANSOM ROADING AND PASTURES In conriection with an article dealing with the Galatea Estate, which appeared in our issue of March 9, we have received the following reply from the Mihister of Lands (Hon. E. A. Ransom) : — "Were it not for the fact that a totally wrong impression of Galatea | and of my department's handling of the estate may be conveyed to readers of the 'Rotorua Morning Post' I would ignore the absurd and erroneous statements contained in an article appearing in that newspaper on ' the 9th March." ' "As an indication that the writer knows nothing whatever about his ' subject," said the Minister, "he. refers to Galatea as high country. Galatea comprises 20,000 acres, arid with the exception of 800 acres is practically level land lying at an altitude of only 600 feet. The writer states: 'The position is that the flats which had been well grassed are carrying 'practically no stock, in fact on the paddocks bordering the main road there were only half a dozen beasts ' to be seen and perhaps fifty sheep.' ' ' "This paragraph is practically un- ' intelligible to me and my officers, but it is apparently written deliberately to convey the impression that the department is expending public money 'in regrassing portion of the estate and 'then allowing the new portion to deteriorate for want of good husbandry. The position is that with the exception of 360 acres sown in October, ' 1932, the whole of the 1880 acres in new grass was sown recently and is not yet capable of carrying stock. Of •the 360 acres sown in October 200 acres is in the middle of the estate and was put down following a crop of chou moellier. When the director of the fields division made an inspec- [ tion on the 8th February, it was carrying no less than 1500 sheep and 250 head of cattle. The balance of the area is on the Whirinaki Road, and was sown after one ploughing. 'It did not make such rapid growth as the chou moellier area, but at the ■time of the director's inspection there was no second growth visible, and to refer to five months pasture 'running out' is ridiculous. I can only assume that the representative of the 'Morning Post' is basing his criticisms on the condition of the old pastures fronting the main road, which has not yet been developed and which represents the weakest portion of the estate. Pending the establishment of good pasture it is only being used as a run-oft', and it is quite possible that : on the date of his inspection he saw very little stock. At the moment the property is carrying 15,500 sheep and 1620 head of cattle, and the whole of this stock is at the disposal of the Department of Agriculture for the proper stocking of 'the newly developed areas. Fencing "Without any justification whatever the writer of the article takes it upon himself to assume that because there is a quantity of fencing material on the ground it will be allowed to rot. That is anything but fair and reasonable criticism, and I 'am astonished at a newspaper of the standing of the 'Morning Post' publishing such matter. In the interests of economy the whole of the fencing material was proeured from a bush on Crown property in the locality. Up to date 4000 chains of new fencing has been erected, and the balance will be erected as the development work progresses. All praetical farmers will appreciate the necessity on economic grounds of delaying the erection of subdivisional fencing until the development ivork has been 'completed. They will also understand that totara posts have a longer life if they are well seasoned before being ■■placed in the ground. Roading "The writer refers to sixty miles of road which was constructed by the 'Public Works Department, was hand--ed over to the Lands Department, and which is being allowed to deteriorate. Only the internal roads are being controlled by the Lands Department, and these will be- reconditioned before the block is opened for selection. The main road, which apparently requires regrading, does not corne under the control of the Lands Department. Expenditure "In order to stress the point the writer of the article under review informs his readers three times that unless the estate is settled immediately £80,000 of public money .will be thrown away and that a like amount will have to be found 'to do all over again the work which has been done.' This statement can only be r'egarded as utter nonsense. Apart from the absurdity of the contention, the figures are not even approximately correct. As a matter of fact it is estimated that the estate will returr at the very least 3 per cent. on the total capital expenditure up to the 31st March, 1933. And this despite !th'e fact that it has not been possible to stock the property to its full capacity on account of the prosecution of the development work. Fuiure of the Estate "As I have stated publicly on several occasions the intention of the Government is to establish at Galatea a dairying settlement of about 140 sections. For the past fifty years the estate has been used exclusively for grazing purposes and therefore it is •not in a condition suitable for the establishment of dairy farmers. The first essential is to recondition the pastures, and this is being done in such a manner as to»ensure that eaqh 'settler will have at least fifty acres of good pasture from which he will be able to obtain an immediate return. The estate was acquired for the purpose of finding reproductive work for unemployed and eventually to establish at Galatea a dairying settlement. I have been pressed to settle the area in piecemeal fashion, but I am determined to adhere to the

original intention of settling the block •when the department is in a position to ensure that each settler will have a fair area of good pasture and of obtaining a maximum return from the property pending the completion of the development work. Events have proved^ that it would have been a short-sighted policy to have settled the area when the Crown obtained possession. It is'.not difficult to imagine the plight of new settlers endeavouring to dairy on indifferent pasture in a locality situated thirtyfive miles from a dairy factory, and with the value of their product down to 72s per ewt. on the London market. "It is peculiarly significant that although Rotorua is the centre of the district in which the Government is carrying out the bulk of its land development operations my administration should so often be the subject of adverse criticism from the principal newspaper in that district. I greatly regret that in view of the serious statements contained in its representative's article the management did not refer it to this offiee before allowing it to be published. "Finally, I may state that the. stock at Galatea is in excellenfc condition and that the grassing and cropping operations are giving results which exceed all expectations."