THE HOBSON COUNTY.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 175, 9 December 1892, Page 2

THE HOBSON COUNTY.

REDHILL

Between Aratapu and Kopnru on the one side and the West Coast on the other lies a stretch of land six or seven miles in width. After leaving’ the river flats and mounting the hills on the way out the soil assumes a very sandy and poor appearance. The hills are covered for the most part with short tea-tree and fern and present a most uninviting aspect to the agriculturist or settler. The land at a time, beyond the memory of man, was evidently covered with forest for kauri gum has been dug from most of this area, and in many parts great kauri trees still lie buried in the soil and provide firewood and fencing posts for the struggling settler. It is quite certain that had it not been for the kauri gum in the soil there would now be no settlement at the Redhill district. In some parts there are signs of old Maori cultivations and kumera pits, but for many years the land has seemingly been too uninviting for the Natives. The gumdigger in his whare was the pioneer settler in those parts and he of course was followed by the gumbuyer and storekeeper. The centre of the district is the store and other buildings now belonging to Mr A. Morton and over which Mr Neil McLeod has the management. Here is the red hill, partaking more of clay than its sandy surroundings, which gives the name of Redhill to the district. Mr McLeod is the postmaster and the store his office as such. There is a weekly mail between Redhill and Te Kopuru and Mr S. Dickson Junr., is the contracting carrier. The surroundings of the store have been well planted with shelter trees principally pines and blue gums, all of which have made good growth and afford excellent shelter. There is not much clone in the way of cultivation round the store but Mr McLeod has a small piece in grass and clover. He finds that white clover grows well without manure and red clover maintains itself coming up well year after year. Rye grass does not thrive well but cocksfoot is much more successful. Ratstail grows well and kills the teatree but is not good feed. Mr McLeod considers the Redhill district well adapted for fruit growing and gives instances of good results in that direction. These however we leave till we make persona! acquaintance with them. Near the store is a well with a good spring of water which was discovered by boring. In sinking the well a seam of coal three inches in thickness was passed through, and it is a possibility of the future that capital may unearth a payable seam of this mineral and infuse new life into the district. In the swamps logs have been found which appear to have been squared and which look as sound as the day they were cut. Posts cut from them do not stand so well out of the ground as the new sawn timber. An enormous quantity of gum has been dug from this district and yet there seems to be plenty left ; Mr McLeod is of opinion that the gum will last for many years yet. Mr Morton has the lease of a large run between the Redhill and the coast and he has had running on it about 2,800 sheep besides lambs. They appear to have thriven very well although the hills look somewhat bare. When the sheep are taken off for a time however the grass and clover soon begin to show. Leaving the store and turning to the right the first cultivation wc come to is that of Mr Dickons who has a comfortable, house and a few acres laid out in a garden. The shelter trees have made good growth and the fiuit trees are coming on well. Mr Dickens keeps two or three cows. Going a little further on we come to Mr George Dickson’s homestead where Messrs Dickson and Son’s nursery stood before being removed to ils new quarters. Here, at the entrance to the property, stands a substantially orecte 1 building, -19 ft x 24ft, with an .iron roof. It is intended finally for a dwelling house, but in the meantime it is the Redhill hall. The building was erected by Mr Gem go Lick,on from i.im fruits of his | labours on iho gumiields an i is a pro if of j what, iuduffiy and ; e;s- vcmiic c.tu accom- j [liish. This property being ; ! i old aor-.r,-IS well stocked wi'll orn encuP:! :m 1 dicker 1 trees but not much atieuiion k p.ui 1 in cal- ’ iivation now, as '.lie nor/ nursery Inis been the hive. A large number of fowls are kept and the locality seems to suit them well. Having plenty of room and good attention they have been very profitable. From Mr George Dickson’s we pass on, still keeping to the right, till we come to Messrs Dickson and Son’s new nursery where a lot of work has been done in a abort time. Mr Dickson is the pioneer of the settlement, for, though others may have been there before him, he was the first to devote himself to making a living- from the cultivation of the soil in those parts. Mr Dickson’s section comprises some 201 acres of which some thirty have been cultivated or planted with

shelter trees. The section contains various classes of soil-sand, clay, swamp and hill top. The Nursery is beautifully situated in a well sheltered spot and has made rapid progress in its new quarters, the soil being of a much better quality than that of its first location. Coining over the hill one comes suddenly upon the house and nursery and is forcibly struck with the sudden change from natural bareness to flourishing greenness. Mr Dickson has found plenty of timber in his swamp for fencing’, but knowing that the unearthed kauricaimo'tbe expected to last for manyvears he has planted pines along his boundary so that they may serve as posts when the kauri fails. Mr Dickson has a few acres in grass which appears to have got a good hold and to be doing well. He has found it profitable to sow grass seed with oats as the latter shelters the young grass from the wind and parching heat. In one narrow stretch we saw the finest crop of clover and grass we have seen for a long time and our good horse quite revelled in it; red and white clover and cocksfoot were there in luxuriance ; the red clover was planted three years a,go. Altogether some ten acres are in cultivation. The shelter trees around the nursery have made good growth and are already of great service in protecting the young trees and shrubs being" nursed by Mi’ Dickson. On the hillside we saw a patch of most healthy looking potatoes, a crop which the proprietor considers one of the best for getting the ground into order.

To bo continued