C—.l.

APPENDIX lI.—LAND FOE SETTLEMENTS.

EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS OF CROWN LANDS.

AUCKLAND. Lands opened during the Year. The lands opened during the year, totalling 7,887 acres, included the Balachraggen Settlement of about 1,400 acres, near Morrinsville, comprising good level dairying land in areas of from 10 acres to 102 acres, all of which was readily taken up, and should develop into a very successful settlement. An area of 1,986 acres in the Bickerstaffe Settlement, north of Auckland, was also opened, most of it comprising portions of the settlement originally retained by the Department of Agriculture for experimental purposes. The remainder of the lands offered consisted of miscellaneous areas, principally town and suburban lots in Matamata, Selwyn, and other settlements, some of which were offered at auction and elicited keen competition. Conditions of Established Settlements. The general condition of the established settlements is—with a few minor exceptions—one of sound progress and assured prosperity. Most of the settlers go in. for dairying and very few crops are grown, but the pastures are renewed and kept in good condition with the aid of fertilizers. In the Selwyn Settlement the process of breaking in new land is still in progress, but good work is being done, and the results promise to prove satisfactory. In the Bickerstaffe Settlement the settlers' interests are devoted partly to dairying and partly to grazing sheep and young stock; their prosperity is increasing, and will be enhanced by the railway communication now close to the settlement. The Rewi Settlement, near Taupiri, is getting past the difficulties of its earlier stages, good work having been done in renewing the pastures, and the settlers are now dairying. In the older settlements the settlers are in a sound financial condition, their homesteads comfortable and prosperous, and their convenience well served by good roads, creameries, and schools. The various townships and villages in and adjacent to the settlements are thriving little centres, and reflect the general prosperity of the settlers. In several of the settlements, especially where dairying is carried on, numerous subdivisions are taking place. The small suburban settlements near Auckland are serving a useful purpose in providing homes for workers in the city, or small holdings for fruitgrowing and poultry-raising. The holdings are generally well kept and improved, and the conditions satisfactorily fulfilled. A considerable number of these holders are acquiring the freehold of their sections, and a process of resubdivision into smaller suburban residence-sites will probably follow in many cases. H. M. Skeet, Commissioner of' Crown Lands.

HAWKE'S BAY. The estates in the southern portion of the district now number nineteen, the Springhill Settlement having been balloted for on the 27th March, 1914, and the fifteen sections readily selected, there being eighty applicants, chiefly from residents in. the locality. This settlement is easily accessible, being only seventeen miles from the Waipawa Railway-station by a good motorroad. The area is 6,211J acres, which is nearly all ploughable, and well adapted for dairying and mixed farming. The Sherenden Settlement, selected on the 26th February, 1913, with an area of 10,276 acres, in twenty-one holdings, is now all occupied, with twenty of the settlers residing on their own holdings and nineteen houses erected. The total population is sixty-one, the area in crop 427 acres, and the value of the improvements effected amounts to £8,753, against £8,350 required by law. The settlement is carrying 14,678 head of stock, consisting chiefly of sheep, which represents about a sheep and a half to the acre. The settlement is prosperous, and the settlers are trying to obtain a telephone service and to get a school erected, to accommodate sixteen children, on the site reserved. This settlement has good access both from Hastings and Napier by the main coach-road from Hastings to Inland Patea, which runs right through the settlement. The Waihau Settlement, of 16,115| acres, consisting of the Waihau, Ngaroto, and Pekapeka Estates, was balloted on the 14th March, 1913, in twenty-one sections, but only half the area was selected at the ballot. The balance has since been taken up, and fifteen of the selectors are actually resident on their own sections, some in houses and others in tents; and in four cases selectors are residing on contiguous sections. Two are non-resident owing to sickness, and the other has employment outside the settlement. The improvements effected are valued at £5,940, out of £8,065 16s. required. The total population is forty-three, and the stock number 17,867, chiefly sheep. The place is lightly stocked, owing to the high prices ruling at present. As the settlers have only been in occupation twelve months, the result of their labours is fairly satisfactory, and no doubt next year's report will show the improvements effected much in excess of the requirements.

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