DROUGHT IN AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1920, Page 1

DROUGHT IN AUSTRALIA.

THE FARMER'S NIGHTMARE.

HUGE LOSSES OF STOCK,

Mr -F. W. Gardes has returned to the Dominion after a lengthy sojourn in Australia, during which be visited the States of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. In the course of bis travels, Mr. Gardes saw first-hand evidence of the disastrous effects of the shocking drought from which various portions of Australia arc now suit<*r ing. He left. Sydney and travelled by way of the Blue' Mountains to Orange and Bourke- Every where the eonnliy was parched and thirsty tor in flood volumes. He then proceeded north, eroded the border, and arrived at Brisbane. Travelling still further north from the latter city, he journeyed inland j 460 miles to a station. On every side Sheep were dying in thousands, presenting a most pitiable spectacle. The country was destitute of feed, not a blade of grass was to be seen anywhere. As soon as a beast's strength was worn out it simply had to fall and die. One gentleman he met was the proprietor, when the drought came, of a few thousand acres.,. To-jlay he works at any job he can get —ruined V the drought. His case was typical of many others. "One night 'in February," said Mr. Gardes, " I saw a unique sight. The sky wa.-. absolutely black with crows rising from their feast from the sheep and cattle which had fallen that day on trie plains, and had died from exhaustion. These voracious birds wait until a boast falls and then .pick out its eyes, as cruel a torture for a dumb animal as can ever be imagined." Another regrettable sight was the fragments of wool to be seen scattered all over the countryside, borne on the winds from the bodies of thousands of dead sheep. The stench from the dead bodies, too, was awful. The drovers (or jaekaroos as the Australians who follow thus occupation are called) who take contracts for driving cattle, have absolutely refused to drive any more from inland because there is nothing on the roadside for them to feed on; all the bark on the trees has long since been stripped, and it is a sorry picture of a once prosperous and fertile land that to-day greets the person who goes inland to the drought stricken pastures. Strange to say, prickly pear, the curse of. the Australian furmer, has proved a blessing in disguise. The cattle, faced with the slow and terrible death of hunger, have turned to prickly pear wherewith to nourish their famished bodies, and, though they do not exactly thrive on it, still it has kept thousands alive. In plain language they exist only. Mr. Gardes journeyed as far north as Townsville. "During our trip between Rockhampton and Maryborough," he said, "the land was totally destitute of a blade of grass, but while inland a good deal of rain fell along tiie coast line, and on our return we were amazed to find easily tw6 inches of grass growing on the country which had greedily drunk every drop of the bounteous and thrice welcome moisture. But, in this respect, the fresh, sweet verdure was not n blessing, for the animals, so weakened by their terrible sufferings, greedily ate it, and in consequence scoured and died, almost as thick in numbers as during the drought. The quick growth of grass, however, gave one a great insight into the recuperative powers of the land when rain once fell. 'Die farmers who had dt'y feed, hay, etc., for their stock were fortunate enough to keep many of them alive." PALMERSTONTAN'S EXPERIENCES ABROAD, When he left New Zealand it was M \ Gardes' intention to visit England and America, but, acting on the advice of gentlemen who had just returned, he abandoned lib project. In Sydney he met Mr. Welch, who was formerly in business in Palmerston North as a bookseller. Mr. Welch had just returned from visiting England and America, and he gave a doleful account of the conditions which would be experienced by anyone anxious to go abroad. While in America Mr. Welch had to pay £2l a week for the use of a 'room in New York without having a meal in the establishment.. His experiences in both New York and Chicago were not exactly happy ones, as the cost of living in those American towns is so expensive. On each pound of English money he had to pay (is 4d exchange, and he strongly advises New Zealauders not to visit England or America unless compelled to do so. In the Motherland food was still being rationed, and owing to the general conditions of affairs gave the advice already stated. Mr. Gardes was away eight months and saw many New Zealanders in the course of his travels. He spent a considerable time in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Speaking of the conditions in Sydney he pointed out that the climate was of such a nature that it attracted people from all parts of the world, many of them of an undesirable class, as a result of which there was a great deal of crime. Robberies .were a common feature and people had to go about armed, especially in the suburbs.