["Condensed Correspondence", The West Australian, Wednesday 28 April 1915, page 5]
IRRIGATION IN NORTH-WEST.
"Native Born", writing on the subject of relaying the tram line from Onslow to the jetty, says that it would be far better to construct a jetty and break water at Beadon Point which would result in a great saving in the cost of handling Ashburton wool and the ore from the Naroo lead mine. At present wool, mineral products, and other classes of freight have to be unloaded from waggons, trucked per tram to the jetty, placed in lighters, and conveyed out to the steamers at a very heavy cost; and to construct a new jetty at Onslow an expenditure of something like £70,000 would – according to our correspondent – be necessary. On the other hand, a breakwater and jetty could be constructed at Beadon Point at a comparatively small cost, as there is a supply of good material on the spot, and vessels could go alongside the jetty in perfect safety. There is, moreover, a splendid supply of good drinking water, and in other respects our correspondent says, Beadon Point has a decided advantage over Onslow. Commenting on the possibilities of the district as a field for extensive settlement, "Native Born" contends that a weir on the Ashburton at the two-mile crossing, would lock that river for at least 60 miles, and would prevent the tide from getting into the Five-mile Pool, as at present. At Minderoo, 24 miles from Onslow, the water in the summer time is 70 feet below the surface of the surrounding plain. The river is fully 100 yards in width, with splendid red loam on both sides. adapted for cultivation, as shown by the fact that wheat eight feet high and oats 6ft 10in. high were grown there, and sent to the Agricultural Department. The country contiguous to the river could be irrigated easily, and, in the opinion of our correspondent, would support a population of 100,000. The climate is not as hot or oppressive as that of any part of the Wimmera district, from Swan Hill to Mildura, or from Murtoa to Serviceton. In addition to cereals, the Ashburton district will produce dates, bananas, oranges, lemons, pineapples, and other tropical fruits, as well as tobacco, cotton, etc. In continuation, "Native Born" says that at another place further along the coast, known as the "Millstream," there are millions of gallons of good water going to waste daily. If it was diverted to the head of a river flowing into the flat coastal country thousands of square miles of country could be irrigated, and made available for cattle, sheep, or horses, and to a large extent for agriculture. The "Millstream" is a pool, three miles long and 80 yards wide, with a depth ranging from 14 to 42 feet. The water is pure, and runs all the year round in a stream at least half a chain wide and a foot deep at the rate of about four miles an hour It runs for four or five miles, and then disappears in the open country. The tableland on which the "Millstream" is situated has an altitude of some 1,800 feet above the sea level, and its waters could be conveyed to the head of the Harding River, about 25 miles distant, from which it could be distributed "through subsidiary channels to Karrakatta, Chirrita, Woolbrook, Cooya Pooya, Pyramid, Sherlock, and other stations up to 40 miles of the rail head at Roebourne.
