“Mr. Jacob Sank, in September, 1913, took over 160 acres of land at
22s. 6d. per acre, with 20 years in which to effect payment, in the
district of Wycarbah, his whole capital at the time being some £10 =
Rs. 100. At the present time he has about 15 acres cleared and mostly
under crop, has built a house, possesses a horse, and intends buying
a cow shortly; he has also various agricultural implements. All this
is very much to Mr. Sank’s credit, as, having no money on hand, he
frequently had to go outside to find work while his various crops were
coming up in order to make a living. Mr. Sank also intends having a
mixed agricultural farm.
Russian Naval Gunner’s Success as a Farmer.
“Mr. P. Hebenko, ex-torpedo-man on a battle cruiser, native of the
Black Sea district of Russia, arrived in Australia towards the end of
July, 1913. He took up 160 acres of land near my farm in September,
1913; it is good chocolate soil, and is under brigalow and light
scrub. Shortly after having taken over his land, Mr. Hebenko got
his wife and three children from Russia, and they arrived here in
November, 1913; whereupon Mr. Hebenko promptly left for his farm. I
last visited his farm in April, 1914. He had by that time cut down,
cleared, and under crop 8 acres, 6 acres being under maize. He had
also built a house, and possessed a horse and various agricultural
implements. Having expended all his ready money, he then set off in
search of work, which he obtained 9 miles from his home at 9s. per
day, leaving his family on the farm well provided for by the various
vegetables and fruits which were growing in the orchard. All his
children visit an English school at Wycarbah Station, about 1-1/2
miles from his farm.
“Both the settlers referred to above have expressed themselves highly
satisfied with everything, and especially with the fate that directed
them to Australia.
“In addition to those mentioned above, the following also took land in
the vicinity of Wycarbah:—Messrs. Bikovsky, Pagin, and Krasnih.
We Do Not Repent having Left our Native Land.
“In order to clearly show what a Russian’s opinion of Queensland
is, I will now give a few extracts from a letter written by a Mr.
Godalov, of Canungra, South Coast line, dated 24th February, 1911,
and published in certain Russian newspapers:—’... and so I am to be
congratulated; 160 acres of superb land, with a healthy beautiful
climate, within 30 miles of the sea, at an elevation of 3,000 feet,
and this for 32s. an acre and 20 years to pay it in. I consider it my
duty to assure you that
_We do not Repent ever having left our Native Land,_
notwithstanding that my present social position is different to the
one I occupied in Russia, and also notwithstanding the fact that the
life here, too, is quite different to life in Russia; nevertheless,
I have never yet thought that I came out here on a wild-goose chase
(to say nothing of the children, who cry when we, jokingly, talk of
returning to Russia), in spite of the fact that my actual income—at
present—is smaller than it was in Russia, life here is in no case
worse. The explanation makes this assertion obvious. I do not have
to pay mad sums of money for the rent of my house, its heating, the
educating and upbringing of my children, expensive warm clothing is
unnecessary, there is no need for you to worry about to-morrow, and
at last, but by no means leastly, for your own freedom and absolute
liberty. All this gives a deep reason why Russians should emigrate to
Australia....’
“As previously stated, the above are extracts from Mr. Godalov’s
open letter, he is well-known by the farmers of his district. Other
characteristic cases are those of Messrs. Danilchenko and Ilyin, in
North Queensland.
“I satisfy myself with mentioning just these few cases, but, of
course, there are a good many other similar cases amongst the Russian
colony in Queensland. I have taken the above cases at random, and
think that they clearly illustrate that a good, honest, and energetic
Russian agriculturist cannot find a country with more favourable
conditions than those offered him by Queensland for applying his
knowledge and labour to.
“In view of my having received a large number of inquiries as to the
shortest space of time in which profit can be obtained from land still
to be cleared, I, in the interests of intending emigrants, would like
to give the following facts, which are based on my own experiences:—
Mr. A. Mendrin’s Experiences.
“We will say, then, that you have gone through the formalities of
obtaining your land (in Queensland they are not complicated). From the
first day of your arrival on your farm you will start cutting down
your trees (these are mostly soft), a normally healthy agricultural
peasant should fell from 2 to 2-1/2 acres of brigalow scrub in a week.
In this way in a month’s time you should have about ten acres of
trees felled, provided you started this during the summer months. You
will want, say 2-1/2 months, for the fallen timber to dry before you
burn it. Having burnt it, you promptly start sowing maize between the
stumps, and while this is taking root you continue felling or putting
up your fence, as the case may be. It will take about 105 days for
your maize to grow. You then pull the cobs, and prepare them for
drying and threshing, which should take about two weeks, at the end
of which time you will be in a position to realise your first crop.
Virgin soil in the district I am speaking of (Wycarbah) will yield
about 60 bushels of maize to the acre; that is, from 10 acres you will
get 600 bushels; the average price is 3s. per bushel, or £90 for the
10 acres you have cleared. In this way seven months have gone by since
the day on which you started work, and you have £90 in your pocket,
less from £10 to £12 for various expenses, such as packing, delivery,
&c. I would like to make it quite clear that I have taken only the
average price of maize above. Lately this article has been quoted at
Rockhampton at from 4s. to 4s. 3d. per bushel.
“Knowing how popular pig and poultry breeding and farming is amongst
Russian peasantry, I can say, with conviction, that these two yield a
very good source of income, as do all other branches of pastoral and
agricultural enterprise, all of which I cannot give details of here in
view of the space such information would take up.
“Finally, I consider it my bounden duty to assert that my two years
of careful study of agricultural and other conditions of life in
Queensland give me good foundation on which to consider this country
as the
_Most Convenient, Favourable, and Attractive Country_
for the average Russian agricultural or other peasant to emigrate to.
“I have to express my thanks to the Lands Department for the kindness
and attention shown by them in all cases when Russian subjects have
approached them requesting advice and assistance.”
_For fuller information in regard to the resources, modes of land
selection, and general description of Queensland, see the booklet,
entitled “Pocket Queensland.”_
Compiled 31st December, 1914.
By Authority: ANTHONY J. CUMMING, Government Printer, Brisbane.
[Illustration: Queensland Statistics, 1913.]
Area of Queensland 429,120,000 acres
Population 660,158
Imports (oversea only) £6,714,942
Exports (oversea only) £12,352,748
Number of Cattle 5,322,033
Number of Sheep 21,786,600
Miles of Railways opened
(Govt. and Private),
31st December, 1914 5,186
Miles of Lines under
Construction 389
Miles of Lines approved 1,723
Death Rate per 1,000 10·39
HEALTHY CLIMATE. MAGNIFICENT SCENERY.
LIBERAL LAND LAWS.
Transcriber’s Notes:
- Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
- Text enclosed by '=' is in bold (=bold=).
- Front and back covers of the brochure contain text and images, so
have been transcribed.
- Page 3: livihood changed to livelihood.
- Page 9: rhubard changed to rhubarb.
- Page 45: Plunket changed to Plunkett.