 By 1896 the settlement had failed due to the difficulties of farming the country.Despite the paucity of the soils for agriculture, the government persisted with endeavours to assist the needy by putting them to work on the farm at Pitt Town and in 1896 a Casual Labour Farm was established on the site of the Cooperative Farm.Here the poor and unemployed worked collecting firewood or tending pigs, for a small wage, for a limited term of three or four months.