Landed in the District with £200.
Mr. C. G. Young selected 136 acres at Deeford, in the Dawson Valley country, Central Queensland, in 1912. Previously he was a commercial traveller in Sydney. When he landed in the district he had £200. After clearing the dense vine scrub from his farm, he planted 24 acres with maize, Rhodes grass, and pumpkins. The price paid for the Crown land was 50s. per acre. Mr. Young estimates his first year’s expenditure at slightly over £100. Dairying and pig-raising on a small scale is carried on. This young farmer stated he was well satisfied with his prospects.
Tasmanian takes up a Farm with £600.
Mr. E. Stevens, of Deeford, in the Dawson Valley (Central Queensland), came from Tasmania nearly two years ago, with £600. His farm consists of 174 acres, of which 65 acres have been cleared of the dense scrub, and planted with maize and Rhodes grass. He intends to give dairying some of his attention at an early date. The first year’s operations involved an expenditure of about £185.
Miner Starts Farming with £50.
Mr. C. F. Holton, who was a miner by occupation, took up 160 acres at Grantleigh, in the Gogango district (Central Queensland), seven years ago. At the time he had only £50 in his pocket. For a couple of years he undertook to cut timber for the Mount Morgan Mine, and also worked on the selections of several of his neighbours. By this means he made sufficient money to enable him to start farming on his own account. To-day he is making a profit of over £100 annually by growing lucerne, maize, potatoes, &c. Last year he obtained from 65 to 70 bushels to the acre from his crop of maize, and his lucerne yields from five to six cuttings annually. Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs are bred on a small scale. Among other crops grown are Rhodes grass, millets, barley, cowpea, pumpkins, and grapes. In partnership with Mr. H. Gates, he has acquired a prickly-pear selection of 640 acres on the opposite side of the line. The pear, which is very thick, is being eradicated by burning. It takes two men a day to clear two acres. About 150 acres of this property is to be planted with wheat, oats, English potatoes, and fruits of various kinds.
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.
A Well-known Grazier’s Opinion.
The testimony of Mr. John Moffat, of Camoola Park, a well-known grazier in the Longreach district (Central Queensland), is of more than ordinary interest. Mr. Moffat says:—