Ellavale before - lost to woody weeds & totally caked soil

A TRIBTE TO THE LATE REG HATCH

The story of "ELLAVALE"

In 1987 Reg Hatch heard about the revolution being brought about by the Homan Plough in the devleopment of grazing lands in Queensland. So he came up to see for himself. He was one of a group to visit several properties in the Rolleston / Alpha / Tambo area of Central Queensland.

On returning home Reg viewed the sad state of 'Ellavale', his property in Western NSW, west of Bourke. Reg had lived all of his life on Ellavale. It was once highly productive grazing land but had now been lost to woody weeds. Reg searched and searched until he found a solution. The property received an average rainfall of 12 inches per year. The soil was totally caked over so that when it rained the moisture could not penetrate the soil but simply ran away to be of no value at all.

The results that Reg had seen in Queensland gave him the vision for what he could do on Ellavale. He then had the courage to turn his vision into substance.

Reg bought a tractor and a Homan Plough and began his program. After just one pass the Budda and turpentine bush were ploughed out and gone. Their root structure had been destroyed. Their remains lay on top of the soil offering protection for the newly seeded pasture grasses ready to emerge whenever the rain fell. With rain being an unpredictable commodity, the seed could wait for some time.

A passing storm provided some rainfall and the loosened soil was able to soak up the moisture and absorb its benefits. The buffel grass shown here in these photos is the result of the process.

The buffel grass grew thick and the woody weeds were completely dead as a result of the Homan Ploughing. Another shower of rain and some more growth and the neighbours come in to see the results.

Reg was a pioneer in the true sense of the word. In 1995 Reg was awarded the NSW Landcare award for his efforts on Ellavale.

Reg passed away in 2000. He is warmly remembered for his dedication to his family, his community and his property "Ellavale".

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