Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Saturday 21 October 1905, page 12


PARLIAMENTARY VISIT TO

1 TINTINARA.

J

A STRIKING OBJECT LESSON.

(By our Special Reporter.)

Half the members of the Ministry, he the>;members,'of the". House of Assembly and three representatives of the Legislative Council spent Friday in the middle of who has long been erroneously called the Ninety-Mile Desert. Railway travellers who have scoffed at South Australia because the stunted scrub and the sandy and an inviting appearance of that part of the State, would have gazed in wonder at the scene that the neighborhood of the railway siding at Tintinara presented. The legislators had been invited to Tintinara by the directors of the Triumph Plow Company who have taken up 60,000 acres of the sun rounding country, and have determined' to turn it into, farming land by clearing it, in a wholesale' manner by the only mean that is practicable and profitable. That such a large party should accept the invitation was not only a compliment to the company, but an evidence of the interest taken by legislators in the problem of finding land for farmers. Those who left Adelaide by the Melbourne express on Thursday were the Premier (Hon. T Price), the Treasurer (Hon. A H. Peake) the Chairman of Committees (Mr E. H Coombe), the leader of the Labor Party (Mr. W. O. Archibald), the Hons. J. G Rice. J. Lewis, A. von Doussa, and A. Catt and Messrs. W. J. Blacker, H. Chesson, F W. Coneybeer, W. Gilbert A. H. Inkster W. Jamieson, I. MacGillivray, A. McDonald, S. J. Mitchell. F. W. Paech, G. Ritchie J. Z. Sellar, T. H. Smeaton, C. Tucker, C Vaughan, and J. Verran. Other members of the party were the ex- Agent-General (Mr. H. A. Grainger), Mr. R. J. Gully (managing director of the Triumph Plow Company). Mr. H. Koeppen Wendt (director), and Mr. W. Bartle (works manager) An harmonium, imported into the district for the occasion, helped to make an open air concert on Thursday evening a success and then the night was spent in the two sleeping cars which had been detached from the Melbourne train. Before breakfast on Friday some splendid country to the south of the railway line was inspected, ant after the effect of the early drive on the visitors' appetites had been removed, serious: attention was given to the clearing operations to the north of the line.

The company which has embarked on the venture of reclaiming 90 square miles of South Australia for the plough has a perpetual lease of that area, which extends for nearly 18 miles along the railway on the southern side, and eight miles on the northern side, while the average width of the selection on each side of the line is about four miles. The rental is 5d. per acre, so that the State receives £62 10/ per annum apart from land tax for land, which was hitherto valueless to the State exchequer The country is mallee and gum, the former slightly preponderating, and the, soil is, for the most part, a good loamy sand on lime stone. The rainfall is 20 in. approximately and for the last ten years, it-is said, the fall has been spread over every month in the year, with the exception of three months in that time. This year there has been 15 in. of rain since February. Water can be got anywhere at less than 20 ft. depth, and a plentiful supply of artesian water is to be had at 280 ft. One of the advantages of the Tintinara country is that it is only 30. miles from Adelaide, and has a good railway service. All who saw the country were much impressed with its possibilities for wheatgrowing with the aid of fertilisers, and some thought it would do well for fruit,

The method of muJlenising at Tintinara has attracted as much attention to the place as its promising agricultural possibilities, and the demonstration that was made or Friday was truly inspiring. To say that two engines with a wire rope, attached to them, and trailing the ground, can sweep 26 acres of land clear of all growing timber, including gums, up to 3 ft. in diameter, in a day, or do the work of 120 men, does not convey an adequate idea of the magnitude of the operations. One needs to be on the spot to hear the snorting of the engines, to see the wire rope straining as the two Titanic monsters to which it is attached advance, to witness the activity and the enthusiasm of the workers, who when there is time place the rope as high as possible on the trunks of the larger trees, and to hear the crash of the trees as they fall, and the snapping and cracking of branches, as the wire, hawser . tears its irresistible course through them. To follow the engines out

side the field of action is like being in t wake of a tornado more destructive than any Australia has yet experienced. In t mallee and lighter gum country the ordinary method of modernising by rolling followed, with the exception that the pow employed is steam and not bullocks,

horses. Most of the visitors experience the pleasure of a rise on the roller, at some had some unpleasant bumps of heavy timber. It is calculated that o; engine and roller can mullens 30 acres, day. Already between 2,000 and 3,000 act of gum country has been cleared, and a experimental block of about five acres h been hastily cultivated to try the country It would probably take a man a week a ten days to clear an acre by hand, at

a cost of about £2. On the scale on when it is being done at present the cost is also a tenth of that sum. Another exhibits of the advantage of steam power was given in connection with a trial of a nine-story plough over rough country, and the imp! ment did its work satisfactorily. It is employed when the land is cleared to "plough; by steam power on a large scale, and ne: year, when the land has been cleared ? the fallen timber by burning, it is hope! that some 2,000 acres will be under etc A number of men previously unemployed are at present engaged in cutting the be of the fallen trees into fencing posts, whk it is hoped will be used in the Pinnaroo

country.

From an educational point of view the exhibition was a distinct success, and the manner in which it was carried out r fleeted credit on Mr. Gully and on Mr. L E. Joy, who is in charge of the operation

at Tintinara.

The" Premier, after lunch on Friday; moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Gully in the company he represented, including M H. Koeppen Wendt and Mr. W. Bartle, c giving them the opportunity of coming t Tintinara and inspecting the country. A representatives of the people they thank them for the national work they were in dertaking, and he trusted they would obtain the reward they deserved. He hope that the work would turn out a grand son cess, financially and otherwise. If it were of success for the company it would be

success so far as the State was concerned They hoped to see the principle Mr. Gully was working out extended to a great portion of South Australia. (Cheers.)

The Treasurer said he could endorse that the Premier had said. They knew perfectly well what could be done on the good lands of South Australia, but in view of the difficulties that existed at present in getting land to settle the people on, the work- a Tintinara became an object-lesson of the greatest importance in showing what could he done on what had hitherto been >.< garded as inferior country. If the con g any helped to solve the land difficulty i South Australia they would do a great work, for which the whole community would be thankful. The Government would watch the operations at Tintinara with it forest, and the people throughout the State would do the same and would join heartily with the Government in wishing the company

success.

Mr. Gilbert said he had had a day of great enjoyment and profit. He hoped the Government would give members an opportunity later on of seeing the results of the work at present being carried out. He believed in the undertaking, and he was con vinced that it was in the general interest.

Mr. von Doussa, on behalf of the Legislative Council and the representatives of the district, thanked the company for the opportunity of visiting Tintinara, and said he hoped their exertions would prove profitable and that the large estate they hell would realise all their expectations. He hoped the Government would exempt the estate from their bursting up' policy (Laughter.) The company deserved all the success they got. (Cheers.)

Mr. Archibald said he cordially endorsed all the remarks of the previous speaker! with reference to the kindness of Mr. Gully and those associated with him. So far as South Australia was concerned, there was room for strong action on the part of the Government and on the part of private en-terprise along the lines that the company were taking. Mr. Gully's company have shown pluck and enterprise, and he trustee their venture would be a financial success It did not matter two straws who did this If people made money for themselves out of it they were doing good for the whole State-(cheers)-and if the Government did it they obtained the same results. He wished the company every success.

Mr. Catt said that as one of the oldest residents in the "desert" he was pleased to confess that some of his early ideas had been, knocked out of his mind. At one time he did not think much of the country,

but he now saw that it had a future before it. He realised the hard work that was before Mr. Gully and his company, and he recognised their pluck and enterprise. It was not in mortals to command success, but the company certainly deserved, it.

Mr. Gully, in reply, said he could not help appreciating what had been said. He took the remarks of the various speakers as a great compliment to the company he represented. They saw a big ting and they had the pluck to tackle it. The, land was not first class; most people considered that it was no good. If they showed him a man who tackled a thing which people told him was no good he respected that man at once. They had been on the country for about three months, and he was pleased that the people who were interested in the work were South Australians. If Yankees had undertaken the work he would have shaken them by the hand, but when South Australians did. it he shook them by both hands. There were 150 to 200 square miles of similar country in the neighborhood, and the sooner it was tackled the bitter. The company had hardly had time to get on their feet, but next week they were going to buckle to, and fix up things in a satisfactory manner. In three or four months they would have more engines and rollers. They were We doing this work for Tintinara, nor for South Australia, but for Australia generally. (Cheers.)

Mr. Wendt thanked the members for the kindly interest they had taken in the company's operations, and said the directors were amply rewarded if the visitors were

satisfied.

At the instance of Mr. Gilbert three cheers were given for Mr. Coneybeer for the successful manner in which he had made all the arrangements for the trip.