OVER the last twelve years major progress in Southland has been achieved in pastoral land occupying 557,000 ha which is predominantly above the 460m contour. This area was defined in 1960 by G. J. Watt, then Commissioner of Crown Lands. Mr Watt projected stock numb,ers to 1970, including the area of pastosral land. These projections may have seemed optimistic at the time but the following table shows how far actual stock numbers have exceeded Mr Watt's estimates.
