Historical Texts

An article of interest manually translated from The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton 15 March 1886, tells of drought conditions at Emu Park.

COAST NOTES.

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

THE country in the neighbourhood of Yeppoon and Emu Park is rapidly showing a want of surface moisture. Water in all the holes is failing fast, except where there is a clay subsoil. The grass is browning very fast also.

At the sugar plantation the cane and corn are looking splendid. This may be accounted for probably by the foliage of the cane being sufficiently developed to quite cover and shade the roots when the last heavy rain fell, together with thorough cultivation.

Several buildings are in course of erection at Yeppoon, and also at Emu Park, but in point of increased settlement Yeppoon is far in advance of Emu Park. Several transactions in land have recently taken place in point of increased settlement Yeppoon is far in advance of Emu Park. Several transac-tions in land have recently taken place in the neighbourhood of the former place, and to my own knowledge inquiries for land in its neighbourhood have come from several quarters.

Stock are looking well considering the short time they have had to recover from the hard times they passed through, although I fear unless heavy rain soon comes they have a harder time before them. I would strongly recommend the making provision for water.

Well sinking is the only certain way of so doing, as dams are not reliable. The great advantage wells have over dams is that from the former stock get a supply of clean pure water, whilst with dams horses, cattle, pigs, where they are kept, and dogs, go into them and puddle them up, and no doubt leave the germs of disease which cause the death of a number of horses and cattle, saying nothing of what human beings may suffer from the same cause.

Some parts of the coast country are looking much better than others, but I am not wrong in saying no portion of it has a full supply of water at the present time to carry it through a dry winter, and the weather certainly does not indicate a wet one, where west and north winds prevail, and cool, almost chilly, nights set in.

10th March, 1886