NRS-8536 | Appraiser's field book

Full description

This volume contains only one report which pertains to an inspection of the Kunanea Soldier Settlement, carried out between 26th September and 4th October 1922. The volume belonged to Hamilton Bartlett Mathews who was the District Surveyor of Wagga Wagga from February 1921 until June 1926. (1)

In this entry the District Surveyor’s role is to inspect a Soldier Settlement area near Batlow, and evaluate its potential as an apple, pear and prune growing area.

The front of this volume contains a printed list of instructions for appraisers to follow. Required information included; the date of inspection; distances from towns and railway stations; the cost of carriage to railway stations or towns; physical characteristics of the land; the type and character of the soil; average annual rainfall; whether the natural watersupply is sufficient or insufficient; the extent to which the land is prepared for cultivation and agriculture; the cost of clearing the land if required; what are likely to be the most profitable types of cultivation; probable yields per acre; the most suitable types of fencing; estimated grazing capacity; estimated cost of coping with noxious animals; the amount and type of timber and scrub; and any general remarks.

Mathews’ report in this volume is five pages long and details many of the above-mentioned criteria and his final judgements.

End Notes:
(1) Blue Book 1921, p. 100; Blue Book 1926, p. 69; New South Wales Government Gazette, 4 March 1921, p. 1600.