754 



dairy on, and the terms upon which the land can be obtained froi 

 the Government are such that a very small capital indeed is require* 

 to secure an area large enough to keep in comfort a family able and 

 willing to work, and not only in comfort, but allowing a fair sum 

 to be put by each year for a rainy day. Probably in no c.ther part 

 of the world at the present time can an independence be secured 

 with less capital and less hard work in agricultural pursuits than in 

 Western Australia. 



While the goldfields are attracting thousands from far and 

 near, and the influx of people continues in a steady flood, it is to be 

 feared that many are forsaking the solid substance when they set 

 their faces towards the great gold-centres eastwards, only to grasp 

 at the shadow, leaving a competence and the fertile districts of the 

 south-west behind to still await the plough of the husbandman and 

 the cheering sound of happy and successful industry The 

 Government of Western Australia, being fully alive to the fact that 

 the small farmers are the back-bone of a country, is offering induce- 

 ments sufficient to tempt settlers from all parts of the world. 



Under the Homesteads Act of 1893 anv person who is the 

 head of a family, or a male over 18 years of age, and who does not 

 already hold over one hundred acres of land, may apply for a free 

 grant of land on simple conditions, which are briefly : 



That after the application for the land has been approved he 

 shall, within six months, take personal possession of the land, and 

 reside upon it for at least six months out of each year for the iirst 

 five years. 



I 



This opens up a prospect to the working man such as can 

 had nowhere else in Australia. For six months in the year he can 

 go sa y at harvest and shearing or ploughing time and earn 

 money sufficient to keep himself and family in actual necessities 

 that cannot be raised on the farm, while the other six mouths can 

 be spent in improving the farm and preparing it for crops or 

 pasture. 



