The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1920. THE ORUAMATUA LAND SALE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3434, 13 March 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1920. THE ORUAMATUA LAND SALE.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News.”

The most. extensive subdivision and sale 01’ land yet held, in this district is that of -the Oruamtaua property, tconsisting of some twenty—three thouisand acres‘, siztuatetl about fifteen ti miles froin Taihape. It'ls understood ithat the owners, Messrs Lowry and Watt, placed the Uruamtttua land on i oifer to th.e Government as being eminyently suitable for soldier settlement, iparticulai-l,y for such soldiers, who‘, owing to ill-fortune at the war, could not take on the more strenuous dairyfarming, but (:‘roverninent did nothing, i despite the fact that a body of young linen, some of them sons of inanagers of this and neighbouring estates,‘ were lanxioug to take up this very land. I These young men had been accustomed ' to the district, knew its real produciing value, and they were quite willing to pay :17 price that induced Messrs Lowry and Watt to make the land available if the Government. really 'wanted it We had in vthis otlice full iparticulars as to area and value, but {the land authorities remztined silent. :Recognising the growing demand for "the subdivision of such estates, the o\\'ll(l'S decided to subdivide and sell ithe land without further reference to ithe Land Department. This subdi\‘i—i Sion has been effected, and the land is t to be sold by auction in the Taihape iTown Hall, on Saturday, 27th. March, iby ;\lessrs Hoadley and S‘f€\\'lll‘i, of Napier. The auctioneers will Open an ioflice in Taihape on Moiiday, so tliatt tall ini‘.'orination with respect to the [sale may be readily available to any ipl‘O:~‘p(.'('.i‘lVo buyer. In the subdividling, surveyors have done excellent ywork, and have secured for (.‘{'.t'_'h of ‘the nine farms a fair proportion of itlat land. There is a good deal of iOl‘l!£lll1:lill‘.1 that is ploughable, and ’ good oat crops, and some of ‘the finest root crops Seen in the district are those on that estate every >‘t?ll.".(‘vll. Questionably better land a. little nearer town is being readily bought by old s<"ttlt‘r_; at from twtity-fi'.'e pounds up to forty pounds an acre. Only fifteen miles from Tzllilapt‘, Ortittninturi is still looked upon as i)B.('i~lillo(_‘li.<, and it will most likely fetch soinethin;_»; like i)?u'}{block prie.os, but when it is rea‘ti:~ed that it is within an h_our’s car journey of Taihape it can hardly be termed backblot-.ks. The twonty—three thousand acres have been cut up into nine farms, ranging in area from five hundred to four thousand acres, and it is our desire to see them distributed one farm per man, for the land is of snt-li a nature as to give excellent returns for labour expended. It is not ouin wish to be misunderstood, the estate is not all glorious alluvial river flatsfl it is just the same class of land that obtains throughout the Whole Tailiatle district, and judging‘ from the Sale of the Ledward estate a few days ago, it wlil be sold at distinctly bargain‘ figures. The Ledward run was alli honglft. up by adjoining settlers, and while this was undeniable testimonyi to the value of the land, it did noti t-ontribnte to increase of settlers.’ 'l‘hose settlers bought up the Ledwnrd land adjoining, because they‘ have proved from long experience ofi their production. its real producing \'a.lne; they know that land. values may be disastrousl_v deflated in some di.stricts, but values can never go down to make their lledward land, at the price paid‘ for it, unpmfitabha

l'l‘lley know also from experience that gas the '.l‘aihupe l-and becomes better knomn Klcniand will ‘result in very ‘much higher prices. Only six years iago land nearer town was ol’t'ered at lfifteen pounds an acre that owners 'to-day are refusing thirty-five pounds lfor, and there is .not a man in this i whole territory, large as it is, that will {not readily affirm that land values lhereabout cannot be pl"(‘V’<‘nt9tl from rapidly increasing_, with settlement and the constl'uct.ion of good roads. The wool and meat. output Of Tailhape has earned a. name for its land that no one can Suppl‘CSS- TWiCO in the. last five years, While Hawke’s Bay farmers have been compelled by drought to drive their stock away to save it from starvation, Taihape set.‘tiers have kept up their usual. sup- ; ply of fat stock to the freezing works; lthere are no droughts in Ellis neighybourhood for settlers to live in dread of. It is more than probable that the demand for land in this district is owing y to its dependable production coup~i led with the certainty of better prices] for some time to come. The Imperial, Government. is‘ likely -to continue the‘ requisition of New Zealand meat, andl it is not unlikely an effort will be‘ made by the Imperial authorities to, ,sccure New Zealandts wool clip for“ another year, but no farmer or citizen with :1 grain of business instinct will suggest that it will be at war 1-cquisi-I tion prices. Meat prices should be. lifty per cent higher, and from present l wool prices in the World’s markets it should be one hundred per cent higher, ' and in the -better grades, from forty-_ eighth ’s upwards, anything up to a three hundred per cent increase Should D be realisablc, but only a. fifty per cent ' rise would enable a careful: working settler to pay for l his land in a very short time‘ and before the world’s unprecedented‘ demand. is anything like satisfied.‘ Tlien, taking all circumstances into consideration, the Oruaniatua land is an exceedingly attractive proposition at the low figures that are sure to prevail at the sale on the twenty-seventh of this month. It has the name of being a backblocks run, and that fact will militate against it bringing its] real producing value; -the terms of sale are such that a man with limitedl capital will be able to buy; the land is U now producing, but with more intensive operations it will return tlll‘(’.C‘! times as ~mur:l1; buyers will have an 21S>‘llI‘L‘tl niurket. for their meat and! wool iucomparubly more profitable, than that under the Imperial Govern-I men? conimemdeer during ‘the war. The , world is tamishing for food, and the] rush for raw materials, particularly‘! wool, is unprecedented in the world ’s history. It is not in this country’s best interests that huge tracts of land I should remain in the posesssion of 0110' person while the demand for Settle—l mt-ut is little less extreme than that for our priinary pro<luvt>: in the Inarkets of l*lurope. Tll(‘l'(‘fol‘C wel heartily appreciate the (l(‘l4‘I‘IIllll1‘1l‘lL‘vl’l of Messrs Lowry and Watt to patriotically aid lllCY'Pi‘.SE‘.(l settlement. and increased production h_v' subdividing and selling for closer settlement lll‘Z*i'»‘i Oruaniatua property. ' l