EAST COAST LANDS

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17986, 3 April 1930, Page 7

EAST COAST LANDS

POSSIBILITIES FOR SETTLEMENT. MINISTER OF WORKS IMPRESSED. IDLE CROWN GRANTS. The possibilities for settlement on the East Coast impressed the Minister of Public Works, lion. E. A. Ransom on the tour of the Tauranga district which he has just concluded. In conversation with a Waikato Times representative at Hamilton, before he departed for the south, last night, the Minister said that although some of the roads he traversed were very bad, there was evidence which satisfied him that much of the land lying idle was capable of being satisfactorily farmed and that road access would make these lands much more attractive. One of the things lliat impressed him about these waste areas was that many that appeared to be lieid in reserve were Crown grants lo soldiers in the Maori War, and were si ill lying unclaimed. Mr Ransom said he was of opinion that these .interests should he consolidated in some form whereby the land could ho offered for settlement and if necessary, the proceeds could he held in trust as a fund to reimburse the original owners should they at any time turn up, and establish their claims. The lands he had in mind were situated not many miles from Tauranga, and at present were harbourers of noxious weeds. A lot of the country, he said, had an easy lie and could be worked without difficulty, and should, he thought, make profitable farm lands, if given proper access.