54 T. H. HOUGHTON. 



limited rainfall, when artificially supplied with water, have 

 been known from the earliest times, but New South Wales, 

 and in fact, the whole Commonwealth, have until lately 

 lagged behind in making use of their arid and semi-arid 

 lands, but greater interest is now being taken in the subject. 

 The first attempt on the part of the Government of the 

 State to introduce a system of irrigation, was made in the 

 year 1890, when the Act constituting the Wentworth 

 Irrigation Area was assented to. This constituted a Trust 

 under the control of the local Municipal Council, embracing 

 an area of 10,600 acres, of which about 1,500 acres are 

 irrigable; it was, however, not successful, and in 1906 the 

 control of the area was vested in the Department of Agri- 

 culture, until the 1st July, 1913, when under the Irrigation 

 Act the Water conservation and Irrigation Commission 

 assumed control. It has been a pronounced success. Under 

 the original Trust a number of the blocks were taken up, 

 there being 27 settlers in 1906; three years later the number 

 had increased to 58, and at the present time there are 

 about 80 settlers holding the bulk of the irrigable and non 

 irrigable land available on the settlement. At the present 

 time they produce fruit and other agricultural produce to 

 the value of at least £20,000 per annum. The area under 

 irrigation is only about 1,200 acres, which would under 

 ordinary conditions in the Wentworth district maintain 400 

 to 500 sheep; it can readily be seen what a wonderful differ- 

 ence the application of water to this small patch of the 

 arid waste has made to the district. 



The history of the Hay Irrigation Area, which was 

 established under a separate act in the year 1897, is some- 

 what different to that of the Wentworth scheme. The 

 Wentworth settlers having Mildura as an object lesson- 

 almost at their door, devoted their attention largely to the 

 production of fruit, which is disposed of largely in the dried 

 condition. At Hay on the other hand the settlers have 



