ON THE LAND - DIARY ENTRY 4

Happenings at Home,
January - March 1914
On The Land

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As noted earlier, summer was torrid this year. Many of the pastoralists attending Bravely & Sons say it was one the hottest they recall. Last year was hard for many on the land. Had it not been for timely spring rains much of the wheat crop would surely have failed and stock feed would have been scarce. This year started very hot and dry. Fires raged across much of Victoria through February and March. Concern about the conditions extends across the whole country. The Government must also be wary, wool sales account for much of all exports. The confidence of graziers, despite some good recent sales and fair rain in March, is not high. Many talk about the Federation Drought which killed off half of all sheep and cattle and from which they have yet to fully recover.  Some say the dryness of the last few years is reminiscent of the start of that terrible drought.

Wheat farmers are less pessimistic after the recent rains and have crops in the ground, although none anticipate a return to the 1910 season – the crops flourished that year and wheat looked for a time more lucrative than wool.

I feel for those people who work the land and who are at the mercy of nature’s whim.

If they were in Sydney this week they would be less concerned about drought. It is absolutely teeming down and the streets have transformed into flowing canals. I hope the rain makes its way to where it is needed most.