Started with £100.
In the course of an interview, Mr. J. Edminstone, of Craigend Farm, Belmont Pocket, near Rockhampton (Central Queensland), gave some information which should be invaluable to intending settlers in Queensland. Mr. Edminstone is, at the present time, one of the most prosperous dairymen in the State.
“A labouring man,” Mr. Edminstone said, “could easily earn about £200 a year at farming in Queensland. I have made that myself. I had experience on a farm in the old country, but that is not absolutely necessary.
“I consider farming is the best thing for new settlers to turn their attention to in Queensland.
“I would recommend a man to take up dairy farming. Cows can be bought for about £4 to £7 each. Then you can buy good dairy land for about £1 per acre. You have long terms, about twenty years, to pay for your land, and the payments are not equal to a good rent in the old country. When a man has got his land he can grow plenty of feed for his cattle for the few months of the winter, when they have to be fed on account of the pastures being dry. During the rest of the year his cattle find their food in the natural grasses of his pastures.
“A man could easily make a good start here with about £150. That money would be used for paying the first instalment on his land purchase, buying a few cows, and putting up his house. Of course, a pioneer doesn’t spend much on his house at first, until he has made some money.
“I began with £100 about fifteen years ago. I have paid for my land some time since, and I reckon that at the present time I am worth about £2,000 in land and stock.”
Mr. Edminstone milks, as a rule, 90 cows during the year, and each of these earn, on an average, 20s. per month. The highest return from one cow was 27s. per month. The cows are fed on the natural grasses only. In January last 105 grade Ayrshires, Shorthorns, and Jerseys earned £121; February—115 cows, £111; March—105 cows, £101; April—100 cows, £104; May—90 cows, £66; June—75 cows, £55; July—60 cows, £58. Mr. Edminstone has, according to his books, been receiving similar satisfactory returns from his milking herd for many years past. Pig raising and general farming also claims a great deal of his attention, and the annual returns from these sources are highly satisfactory.