  The first surveyor for the Land Company (Mr Cheeswright) travelled through the country, and on his arrival at Perth told me that he had discovered a fine lake. This was the 9-mile Lake or Lake Powell as it was christened by the company...The land agent of the Company was so struck with the beauty of the Lake Powell, with its pebbly beach and its 'shining and shimmering' waters, forming a strong contrast with the sombre herbage around it and on the encircling hills, that he decided to lay a townsite there. The survey was made around the lake and the township was named Grassmere, but not a single house was built there. The next move was the purchase from the Company, by one of its directors, Mr T.W. Powell, of a block of 5,000 acres of valley land...Deep drains were run through the valley and then steam ploughs and also a steam ditching were imported. These machines were set to work and some hundreds of acres were treated, but the ploughing was too deep and the loam - what there was of it- was buried and the sandy subsoil brought to the surface. After the expenditure of large sums... Eastwood was abandoned...but soon it was reported that land had been selected in the district and people shook their heads and wanted to know what the fools hoped to do. However the fools kept on increasing until today there are no less than 47 selections around Grassmere maintaining about 200 souls - men, women and children. More than that, these selectors are busily supplying an unlimited market with market garden produce, and are sending away by railway fully 30 tons of produce weekly, for which they are receiving about 8 pound per ton at the siding. The peaty valley lands are yielding a return of fully 60 pound per acre per annum...their chief trouble comes from the state of the roads in winter...in my trip to and through Grassmere, I passed along mere rugged tracks which in winter must be veritable Sloughs of Despond. WA Mines Department Report 1917 An investigation of a landholder's complaint found that the Government drainage at Elleker had caused flooding and creation of acid sulphate soils. The Report said that: 1.The poisonous mineral solutions in the soil of the 'Seven Mile' (Ewart) swamp are due to the oxidation of the iron pyrite in the soil itself owing to this mineral being |
 The Farr family residence built in 1890's - the first of four houses on the property (now Liz & Andrew Marshall's). Two roomed with hand adzed timber walls, calico lined inside, dirt floor, tin roof, large stone fireplace/bread oven outside. brought in contact with air by drainage and cultivation. 2. So long as a large volume of fresh water traversed the swamp the injurious solutions were removed as rapidly as formed, but that this removal ceased to a considerable extent when the course of the natural drainage was diverted. 3. The cause of the damage to the swamp-land lying in the valley between Grassmere and the coastal hills is due to their flooding by the acid solutions drained from the 'Seven Mile' swamp.' Most of the damage from acid sulphate soils in Torbay occurred with the digging of the major drainage channels in the 1950's when huge amounts of acid and nutrients would have been released. Further soil disturbance needs to be managed to avoid new release of acids. A report on this issue will soon be available as part of the Watershed Torbay project.
Hugo van der Meer provided some eye opening insights into the management of nutrients in Holland during his October visit. Hugo met with farmers from the Torbay catchment to discuss management initiatives in Holland that strengthen regulation over agriculture as a likely sign of things to come in Australia. Farmers in Holland were pressed to produce as much food as possible after World War 2 due to shortages. Intensification of agriculture meant recommended nitrogen fertiliser rates were as high as 400 - 500kg/ha. By the 1980's pollution of soil, water and the atmosphere became the priority. There are around 27,000 dairy farms in Holland on a million ha of land with an average rainfall of 800mm. This is half of the 2 million ha under |
agricultural land use in Holland. Dairy farmers are now required to limit the amount of manure applied; the timing; and the method of application. Manure must be stored in winter and during snow or frost. Recently, surface application of manures was stopped and must now be applied through sub surface injection. The initial focus was on manure management; but attention has increasingly been turned to nutrients. The Dutch objective for phosphorus in soils is to reduce levels with no further accumulation by 2030. Hugo has been tracking the amount of nutrients brought into farms and the amount of product sold, to calculate farm nutrient use efficiencies and surpluses over the past 20 years. Similar work has been done locally by Dave Weaver, Department of Agriculture, and consultant Simon Neville; also see Steve Lance's article. During the period of intensification of the Dutch dairy industry between 1950 and 1985 the level of nitrogen inputs increased by five time in fertilisers and nineteen times in feed concentrates. This led to more than a doubling in production output but at the same time a tenfold increase in nitrogen surplus. The increased nitrogen surplus has resulted in drinking water contamination and eutrophication issues. In 1998 the MINeral Accounting System (MINAS) was introduced. All farmers in Holland fill out an annual report on farm inputs and outputs so that a farm gate nutrient balance can be calculated to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses. Limits have been set for the amount of surplus nitrogen and phosphorus permitted. If these amounts are exceeded levies
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