Queensland—The Finest Agricultural Country in Australia.
Mr. Robert Laver, a Victorian farmer, together with his nine sons, took up 13,000 acres under the group system in the Gogango Scrub (Central Queensland) five years ago. They have now 3,000 acres cleared, and 500 acres under cultivation, 400 acres being under Rhodes grass. The other crops are:—Maize, 30 acres; lucerne, 50 acres; cowpea, 5 acres; pumpkins (planted in the same area with the maize), 30 acres. Citrus fruits and grapes are also grown on a small scale. Last year 10 acres of oats and 9 acres of wheat averaged 2 tons of hay to the acre. Herefords, crossed by a Devon-Shorthorn strain of bull, are bred for the butcher every year. The dairy herd is composed of grade Shorthorns and Ayrshires, crossed by an Illawarra bull. The return from 20 to 40 cows for the year was 5,649 lb. of commercial butter. The 60 cows milked daily earn about 15s. per head per month. All the milking is done by machine. Last year 100 tons of oaten, wheaten, and lucerne chaff were sold at £4 10s. per ton. The Laver family also devote much attention to pig raising. A few years ago they bred pure-bred Lincolns, and in 1912 fattened 27 merinos on an acre of rape. The land is of a rich chocolate nature, and is watered by Gogango Creek, several lagoons, and the Fitzroy River. Steps are to be taken at an early date to irrigate the farms by lifting the water from the river by means of a pump, and then adopting natural gravitation. The Laver family, who started with plenty of money, are in a position to carry on their operations on a large scale. They estimate the cost of clearing their scrub land at £3 per acre. They state that Queensland, particularly the Gogango Scrub portion of it, is the finest agricultural country in the Commonwealth. The climate, too, cannot be equalled.