Huge contribution

IN READING the article on “The Future of our Earth”, the Toowoomba Chronicle 14/8, I was reminded of four men who after the Second World War were confronted by many of the things raised in this article.

These men were Frank Skinner, Stan Pain, Jock Hart and Stan Klose. They all worked with the Department of Primary Industries and started when it was in the Court House building opposite the Strand picture theatre in Margaret St.

Those people travelling on the old Warwick highway from Toowoomba will see (where it crosses the Finnie railway line), a number of contour banks. They are on the eastern side of the highway on the southern side of the rail line.

These banks were built just after the war as a demonstration area by Frank, Stan and others to show a way to stop soil erosion which was getting out of hand over many areas of farm land. Frank Skinner’s quote after heavy summer storms: “The Downs ran black blood”.

Jock Hart came to this country and was associated with the British Food Corporation efforts in Central Queensland at Peak Downs. He was associated with farm systems and agronomy.

Stan Klose was a weeds specialist. These four men had an incredible effect on food production across the Downs – let us not forget them. Frank Skinner was also associated with cloud seeding experiments with CSIRO including the Downs area. — W. MARTIN, Wyreema