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MURRAY RAILWAYS
LANDS AT BANDON.
The Railways Standing Committee met at Par-
liament House on Thursday, when Mr. Robert
Charles Thorpe, Chief Inspector of Lands De-
partment, gave evidence with regard to the Mur-
ray lands in the hundred of Bandon. There
were present Mr. A. W. Robinson, (chairman),
Hons., A. von Doussa, and J. Jelly, Messrs. J.
Gunn, P. Reidy, and R. D. Nicholls.
The witness said land in the hundred of Ban-
don had recently been subdivided owing to the
failure by the settlers to comply with the con-
ditions. The subdivisions had not, however,
been taken up. The settlers had not made any
improvements, and in some cases no fencing was
done. In the hundred of Bandon there were
132,960 acres, of which only 3.41 per cent, were
under cultivation. The land in many instances
was suitable for cultivation, but it was no use
sending returned soldiers there. The holdings
were too big and should he reduced to 1,000 to
1,500 acres.
To Mr. Jelley—Many of the people who took
up land were not farmers. The qualifications of
settlers having, land allotted to them were not
sufficiently enquired into. Returned soldiers had
to satisfy the Land Bard that they had the
necessary qualifications. Returned soldiers should
not be sent to Bandon, because the purely pio-
neering work of a very difficult nature had to
be done.
To Mr. Reidy—Under the present Act, when
men were allotted land, they were supposed to
fence their holding in five years, and to have
from 100 to 800 acres cleared in the same time.
In some eases that had not been done, and the
land had been taken from the settlers.
Mr. Nicholls—Is it possible to keep the ver-
min down on the holdings?—"Yes; many of the,
settlers are doing their best to do so."
To Mr. Reidy—Holdings should not exceed 1,000
to 1,500 acres at the most, and settlers should
be made to keep the vermin down.
The Chairman—The keynote of success in Vic-
toria, close to the South Australian border, lies
in the fact that a man is only allotted 640 acres.
—They have no vermin there.
To Mr. Reidy—He could not say why the lands
abutting the railway in the hundred of Bandon
was not better developed, except that the areas
were too large, and that the holders had not
sufficient capital. The roads were terribly bad.
He could not say why the land abutting the rail-
way had not been used. A good many settlers
said labor was scarce. That would not apply
to the period 1907-1914. Wages were excessively
high at present. He emphasised the suggestion
that the holdings should be reduced to 1,000 to
1,500 acres.
The Chairman—We have constructed railways
costing nearly £3,000,000 in that district, and
there is a loss of £50,000 annually. We want
to know why. Do you think the pay of the
present day will submit to the isolation and
other disabilities he is called upon to endure?
Do you think the boy of to-day will be content
to stay at home on the farm and work for his
tucker, for that is what it really amounts to?—
No, I do not. Life elsewhere offers the boy so
many more attractions that he will desert the
land.
To Mr. Reidy—A man should be able to clear
300 acres per annum.
To the Chairman—Some of the Bandon country
could be rolled. He had seen the holders rolling
some of it.
To Mr. Reidy—He would clear 100 acres the
first year and crop that the second year. During
the second year he would also clear another 100
acres. At the beginning of the third year 200
acres could be put in crop, and the third 100
acres, or perhaps more could be cleared. It
was possible for a man to clear 1,500 acres in
five years. Some farmers would be able to clear
300 acres per year. That , would depend upon
the type of man the farmer was. If a man took
say 1,500 acres of country straight away he
should have it cleared at the very most in seven
years. The farmer must clear a certain amount
of land and cultivate it. Then he must clear
more, and let the ground that had been worked
lie fallow, and in this way he would not have
more land going than he could conveniently
work. Too many of the men going on the
land were anxious merely to make money out of
the mallee roots and they let the cultivation go.
To Mr. Jelley—The inspector reported to the
department when the holder of the land was
ready for an advance with regard to land rolled,
turned and ready for cropping.
Mr. Reidy—Why did you not in your report
state that the areas cleared were too large?—I
put the case as best I could.
To Mr. Jelley—With regard to rolling there
used to be a fixed rate. I do not know what
the rate is now.
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