Dear Mr. Bruce,

MIGRATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COASTAL AREAS IN SOUTHERN
AUSTRALIA

Since the arrival of Major Greene [1], I have had several talks
with him and these talks have set me thinking about migration. In
several of my letters to you I have told you how very much people
here desire to see progress in migration and I have expressed the
view that if you could come over here in October armed with
definite schemes for migration, it would mean that the most
intense interest would be taken.

So far as land settlement schemes are concerned, there appear to
me to be two fields for large scale development:

(a) the Murray Valley
(b) the Southern Coastal lands.

The Murray Valley

I do not propose to discuss this question here further than to
indicate that, in my opinion, far too little attention has been
paid to the possibilities of developing great schemes of stock
fattening and dairying, coupled with the idea of the provision of
reserves of fodder in close proximity to the sheep stations of the
Riverina.

This idea has often been mentioned in Australia and I brought it
to your attention in one of the many sets of notes which I
prepared in Melbourne in 1924 before your trip to Queensland. I
would like to suggest that your proposed Migration and Development
Board should examine the great potentialities which must exist on
the Murray and its Tributaries for such a form of expansion.

Southern Areas

It is in respect of these areas that I want particularly to draw
your attention. I am convinced that there is a wonderful
opportunity for the rapid development of population upon the land
and a population of just the type that would be to the permanent
benefit of Australia. I would, therefore, urge in the strongest
possible manner that you should try to devote a little personal
attention to the points which I shall set out below.

During the last three or four years, two points have been
definitely established
(a) that in areas south of a line drawn from Perth to Sydney,
wherever a rainfall of 20" or over is enjoyed, the application of
superphosphate to grazing land greatly increases the carrying
capacity.

(b) that where subterranean clover exists in such grazing lands or
where this clover is seeded on these lands, the use of
superphosphate gives maximum results,
I believe that it can be said without exaggeration that there are
dozens of instances where treatment with superphosphate and the
clover seed have increased carrying capacity from one sheep to
three acres to three sheep to the acre.

I am informed that this result can be achieved at an annual cost
of about 10/- per acre.

The leading authority on this subject is, I believe, Mr. W. S.

Kelly, of Tralee, South Australia. Mr. Kelly was for years the
Chairman of the Advisory Board of Agriculture in South Australia
and he is a most progressive and enlightened farmer. I feel sure
he would place all his experience at your service.

Inherent Possibilities

In the South West of Western Australia, in the Eyre Peninsula, in
the Hills Districts of South Australia, in the south east of South
Australia, on Kangaroo Island, in portions of the Western District
of Victoria, in the Dandenong division and probably in many places
south of the Melbourne-Sydney railway line, there exist many

thousands of acres, in places hundreds of thousands, which would
be suitable for this treatment. (On a very small scale Mr. George
Fairbairn [2] has demonstrated at his place between Mornington and
Sorrento what can be done on poor sandy soil.) In Western
Australia, on Eyre Peninsula, on Kangaroo Island, land can be
obtained for from 30/- to 50/- per acre (or it could eighteen
months ago).

Suppose an area of 10,000 acres is considered. This area I will
assume can, in its natural state, carry 3,300 sheep. By treatment,
the carrying capacity could be raised year by year until in from
four to six years it would in many cases be possible to carry
30,000 sheep.

If this sort of result can be demonstrated and I am informed that
this is the case, a most useful form of land settlement scheme
becomes possible.

My idea is that you should have this question investigated and
that capital should then be invited to co-operate with the
Government in land settlement schemes.

To return to the above 10,000 acres. When the land had all been
treated, say after two years, the carrying capacity would have
been raised, let us suppose, to a sheep to the acre. Each
succeeding year, it would only be necessary to broadcast
superphosphate to bring the land up to the three sheep to the acre
basis.

At any time after, say, the second year, the process of
subdivision into farms for settlers could be undertaken. The
occupation of the settler could be either dairying or the raising
of crossbred sheep for mutton, lamb and wool. In the case of
dairying, a holding of 100 acres would give enough land for about
thirty cows, for crossbred sheep perhaps from 200 to 250 acres
would be required.

I am too much out of touch with the more recent developments in
Australia to do more than indicate the general idea of the
inherent possibilities. It does seem however that if my
information is substantially correct, here you have a type of land
settlement in which you could invite the co-operation of private
capital and in which you could settle thousands of families of the
very best British type on a class of country eminently suited to
the English settler, to the public schoolboy and to the good
middle class type of man and wife. The whole process would be
beneficial to Australia.

If my ideas on this matter are sound, I can visualise Australia
rivalling New Zealand as (a) a Dairying country (b) an exporter of
lamb and mutton.

I feel sure that in the lapse of years, these things will happen
without any outside stimulus but if rapid progress is to be made
in the settlement of good class people in Australia, then I think
it will be necessary to apply the stimulus of Government interest
and perhaps of the investment of private capital to secure the
initial improvement of the lands. The capitalist would secure
profit from sheep until subdivision, and the return of his capital
plus a reasonable increment upon subdivision.

It has been suggested to me that subterranean clover plus
superphosphate can do for our southern coastal areas what alfalfa
has done for the Argentine.

May I recommend the problem to your attention before you come over
for the Imperial Conference?

Yours sincerely,
F. L. MCDOUGALL