Northern Standard (Darwin, NT : 1921 - 1955), Tuesday 18 September 1923, page 1


MAKING IT GOOD FOR À

FEW.

MILLION ACRE LEASES OF ,

THE TERRITORY.

PROVINCES AS CATTLE

RUNS.

(By Ex-Senator J. V. MacDonald.)

The owner of a 16 perches allot-ment, or the farmer ot a 640-acres selection, has always held his breath when told of the large N.S.W or Queensland squatters re_chi».g to

hundreds of thousands of acres.

But these holdings are back yards coinpared with the much slandered Northern Territory, where separate holdings aggregating millions of acres are held by a few individuals

or companies.

Here are the leading examples; the square mileage and acreage being

given approximately : - Victoria River Downs 13,100 square miles (8,320,000 acres), 1/ to 4/per square mile; Alexandria Station 10,500 sq.

miles (6,720,000 acres) 7d to 4/ rent per sq. mile ; Wave Hill Pastoral Co., .¡900 (5,050,000 acres) 1/ to 4/ rent per sq. mile ; Auvergne Station, 5,900, (3,780,000 acres) 1/ to 2/ rent per sq. mile ; Willeroo>*Manbulloo Ltd. 6,500 (4,i5o,cop acres) 1/ to 4/ rent per sq. mik ; Crown Pastoral Co,, 5,800 sq. miles (3,820,000 acres) rent per sq. mile, 1/ to 7s ; Brunette Downs, etc. 5,100 s. miles (3,260,000 acres), 1/ to 8s rent per sq. mile ; Brunette, Corella, Edinglassie, etc., 3,700 sq. miles (2,360,000 acres) rem. per sq. mile 1/ to 7/ ; Ord Rivei Station, 2,500 sq. miles (1,600,000 acres) rent 1/ per sq. mile ; Avor River Station, 2,100 sq. miles (1,350,000 acres) rent per sq. mile 1/ to 3/; Lake Nash Station, 3400 sq. miles (2,180,000 acres) rent per sq. mile

1/ to 7/6.

And there are others running over the million in acreage. Of a total of 523,000 sq. miles 590 leases, licenses and permits cover 218,000 sq. miles of the best lands of the Territory for the next twelve to forty-two years. For these great acres the Commonwealth received only £18,136/3/11 in rent in 1921. Though a few leases touch 7/ and 8/ a square mile a year, the bulk of the land is held at 1/ and 2/. On a comparison with similar land in Queenslnad, where 12/6 a sq. mile is obtained, the Commonwealth is losing over £100,000 a year.

These huge holdings are largely responsible for the talk that success-ful development of. the Northern Territory depends upon the employ-ment of colored labor. The pastor-alists interests doesn't want smaller holdings and more settlement, which the proposed railway connections with Queensland and South Austra-lia would bring. Those who control provinces as cattle runs are against any developmental plan which would enable areas of 30,000 to 40,000 acres of the Barkly Tablelands and Victoria River country to provide good livings for families. The small titan must be .kept away. So they talk of the hopelessness of the N.T. from the white man's po:nt of view. ^-"Smith's Weekly."