3500 Farms Scheme
The 3500 Farms Scheme was a land development scheme to settle areas in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia south of Southern Cross in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Planning
The idea was first proposed in 1925, with planning originating in 1928 to settle an area of about, east of Mollerin and south of Southern Cross and east of the Great Southern Railway on a total of 3,500 separate farms. A conference was held in Perth to discuss the plan in detail, including the Premier Philip Collier, the Minister of Lands, and Edward Mulvany of the Development and Migration Commission. Collier completed his proposal for the Federal Government in July 1929.The scheme was a result of a tri-party arrangement between the State, Federal and Imperial Governments, with approval from the Development and Migration Commission. It was envisaged that the scheme would produce some 12 million bushels of wheat annually and graze an extra million sheep. It was estimated an additional of railways and of roads would be required. The total cost of the project was estimated at over £4 million; it would employ some 2,000 men.
A 1929 survey indicated that farmers having sufficient water would be an issue. It also found that the area from Norseman to Newdegate had an elevation of above sea level with a scattering of higher peaks and knolls. The land sloped south of the Goldfields Railway towards the south coast and was drained by saline depressions and rivers to the coast. The main depressions in the area were in the form of salt lakes or "lake country". Around 90% of the area is underlain by granite and soil formed from these rocks. There are numerous granite outcrops, some as large as several hundred acres. There was little jointing in the granite, meaning that boring for sub-surface water would be near impossible.