THE ROTORANGI ESTATE. [By Cincinnatus.]

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1350, 24 February 1881, Page 2

THE ROTO RANG I ESTATE. [By Cincinnatus.]

While the vaat chungo which has come over the face of the whole Waikafco since its settlement must be apparent to the most cursory observer who saw it undei its former aspect, it is the operations which are been carried on by the large swamp proprietors which, after all, contribute to make this change appeal of such stupendous proportions. The dry, open, ferny plain ha* _ai the most changed its covering for grass— enough, of course — but the enterprise of those who have entered upon the labou-s of draining has reclaimed for tho purposes of pasture and tillage vast areas of land which heietofore were impassable morasbes, given up to the pensive pukeko, the melaacholy bittern and that important item of the Maori larder, tho eel. Swamp draining, at all times expensive, varies very much in point of cobt on account of the nuinbeiiess differences in the quality and condition of the land to be operated upon. In some cases these " marishes 1 ' have been formed by the natives by the erection of darns and eel-^eirs, the inherent indolence of the race leading them to adopt this means of obtaining bustenance in preference to undei taking tho task of cultivating the soil. In the case of Bwamps such as these little more is necessary than the removal of the artificial obstruction before the plough is set to woik. But theie are swamps of a very diffeient n"ture, up m which capital must be expended without stint before any return can be looked for, bpfore indeed the land can be made to bear a hoof. These have been natural swamps from time immemorial, being indeed natural depressions in the surface of the earth, the sites in most instances of mighty forests, now fallen and decayed, choked with the vegetatiou, and soddened by the rains of centuries. To this class belongs nearly the whole of the low lying portion of the Rotorangi Estate of Messrs Gnce and barker, situated in the county ot Waipa, midway between Cambridge and Te Awamutu. The name of the estate which has acquired something of historic fame, is rleiived fiom the two most prominent features in the landscape, as viewed from the home station, the Lake, and the conical hill upon which the constabulary built tne Rotorangi edonbt during the period of excitement which followed the dastardly murder of poor Sullivan. Rotorangi originally formed part of the Monavale property of Messrs Grioe and Benn, which in the earlier days of settlement was managed by Messrs Walker and Douglas. Subse |uently, about five year 3 ago, when the late Mr Richard Parker was associated with Mr X B. Walker m the management, a division of the property was effected, Messrs Benn and Walker retaining Monavale, the home station, and Messrs G-uce and Parker taking Rotorangi. At that time the improvements on the latter were comparatively insignificant, at any rate they could not be detected by an ordinary observer. A new homestead was founded on a commanding position abutting on the main load from Cambridge to Te A warn utu, which had only ju^t been finished aero->- the uwamp. Fiom thaftime the woik of iecitutuiagthe".wamp has beer: steadily pushed onward, though it is only within the last year or so t*ut the change has become at all approei ible. After the death of Mr Parker, Mr W.ilker had the oversight of the estate until recently, when Mr John Giice, son of the senii.r partner, arrived to take ovor the duties of manager. At the present work is being pushed for wind vigourously, aud already great improvements have been made. At present the number of acres in grass, .surface sown and ploutraed, is between 3000 and 4000, about "2000 acres of which is diained swamp. About 4009 acres of swamp will, in addition, be ready for sowing: in the approaching autumn, with rdpe and turnip->, the practice being to burn the smface of the swamp, sowing the setd in the ashes, some 18 inches in depth, thus left. The following season the land will be sufficiently solid to sow grass with adv.int.igo. Very little of the diained swamp luid is yet available for the plough on account of the large quantity of timber in it, but abundance of lough feed is found everywhere, even in places whore Englibh gra-ses have not taken. Tho whole of the dry portion of the estate, Home 1500 acres, has of course been ploughed and sown down with clovers and grasb, and despite the long spell of dry weather which we have experienced, the pasture is looking exceedingly well. On some of the hills, the clover would be none the woise for a little ram, but nowhere does it appear to have been burnt up. A great portion of the freehold part of the estate, the total area of which is 14,000 acre«, is still in a state of nature, and owing to the great depth of he swamp, years must necessarily elapse before it can be brought into cultivation. The bulk of the improvements — nearly all indeed — have been effected on the South side of the Swamp road, scarcely an acre of the land in that direction being now impassable. There are over eighty miles of drains on the property, many of which have cost as much as £3, and more per chain. This fact taicen in conjunction with the large amount of costly wire fences which have been erected the number of acres ploughed, and the quantity of grass seed sown, will give some idea of the amount of capital winch the enterprising owners have invested in this property. The ordinary operations of the farm, such as ero'-ping, have as may well be imagined, not been very extensively engasred in — jnst sufficient being grown to supply the wants of the station itself. This season 70 acrps of oats wero irrown, on dry land near the station, and were mowed for hay, the yield beinir considered very good. The stubble land is now being got ready for turnips, the greytone variety being ohopen as best adapted for this time of the year. This will make the total area of land in turnips this year 250 acres. A portion of the crop, Borne 70 acres, ia already well advanced. The manure used was Victorian bonedust, applied at the rare of 2»wt. to the aore. Not the least noticeable thing on the estate is the excellent garden aud orchard attached to thd homestead, and occupying nearly 10 acres of land. The gardener, Mr Jones, has suoceeded in raising a fine crop of apples this vea«*, and, to judge by the appearance of the vines, the grapes will be plentiful also. The principal variety ot the latter grown here is the Blaok Hamburgh, a -«pecimeu bunch of which from Rotorangi was referred to in these columns last reason. The soil in the garden ia especially well adapted to the growth of fruit and vegetables, notwithstanding that the aspect is southerly. The residence ia charmingly situated, overlooking the little lake, which only want* a fringe of willows and other ornamental trees to make it indeed "a thing of beauty,'' and commanding a wide prospeot of plain and valley, hill and mountain. The grounds have been very neatly -laid off and planted with - pines, macrocarpa, and the like, all of which have exhibited remarkable growth, while here and there are beds of flowers and flowering shrubs. Behind are the 'stables, stockyard, and necessary out-offices. The stock on the station consists of about 1000 h«a4 of cattle 40: of which are. pedigree animals, including the bolls',*. Wild Eyes Duke (red)' a^d Harmony sth. (whit©) 'feo'm ' the j celebrated herd of Mr JBturw'ood, Brid/fQW&ter'Park, Vipioria, • s}o(ip sKeejp'and 60] .horses.. The .majority 'of '^hej latter r wte' well-bred atumfcls 5 reared, 'onfthe/'estat^. The. draught*, many of ! wnicn_ ''fare '"tin-" broken, are by Malreru anil ate without

doubt asplenlid lob of hoihe 1 ?. They are ail guii j t and a pear to be in the best po sible coaditiou. Indeed, tnis may be siid of all the Sock on t.O pJa o. There are also a number of well-bred pigs in the yards. 'JJhe number of r< gular hand* enu cloyed by Mr Grice is ouly seven, but none of these are employed in what is really the chief work on the e-tace, nim 'lv, draining; that 1o X is unvari bly done by cinrt t. The regular hands are employed in sue 1 * work as ploughing and fencing &c? There are three or four parties of contractors, each numbering several men engaged in drain cutting, dram cleaning, &c, &c. Much of the water is drained into the lake, which in its turn iskept at a proper level by an outlet lately cut into the Mangapiko river.which forms the western boundary ot the estate for some distance, and encloses a considerable area of bush near the termination o* the Swamp Road. In addition to the freehold land, M- ssra Gnce and Parker hold about 8000 acres on lease from the natives. The major portion of this is high land without swamp. In some places, notably on the si >pd of the Pu >ekura range, it is very broken, but there can be little doubt that it contains some of the best land on the estate. Some yeprs airo the natives took possession of a herd of cattle which »vere grazing on the leased land, and have held thum to the present — the cattle having multiplied iv the meantime until the mob now numbers about 1000 head. Mr Grice informed me th it trom an intimation he b^ i%e-cf-ived fnra the Maoiis there is little d >übt that the cattle will now be handed back to their nghtful owners, increase and al!. It is no mere figure cf speech to •<ay that the Rotor mgi E-.ta.te will in the nut very dibtdnt tutme form a rich agricultural district. It needs only an intelligent inspection to convince one of that fact. The land is of fine quality, and with the fa llititu for caruaito which aie, even now at command, no better home for practical agriculturist f'ould be fonnJ. I am not aware th.it it is the intention of the proprietors l~> dispose of any property, but should they so determine, it cannot be doubted that their liberal entei prise in thus reclaiming and rendering fit for the purposees of agriculture a tr ict of worse than useless countiy will be fully and satisfactorily rewaided.