Nearly sixty years ago a committee reported to the Government on the deterioration of Crown Lands. It commented on management techniques for difficult hill country, the capital and maintenance costs involved in development and problems related to access. It suggested "The improving of communication in these backblocks would assist in making the social side of the life more attractive, and induce more married men with families to take land; at present the lack of roads and the difficulty in obtaining adequate educational facilities, make residence on this class of land hard for the womanfolk."
