Otiwhiti Station, an historic 3,354 hectare sheep and cattle station in the Rangitikei region of the lower North Island has sold at auction for $8,750,000.
Pete Stratton of Bayleys Taihape says it is the highest auction sale price achieved in the Rangitikei area.
It is also Bayleys highest value under-the-hammer rural sale, eclipsing the $8 million achieved for the 3,518 ha Waikatea Station in Gisborne in 2004.
Mr Stratton says there was spirited bidding on the property before it eventually sold to a Hunterville farming family.
The farm located in the Turakina Valley, approximately 16 kilometres from Hunterville, was put up for sale by the Sir Thomas and Lady Duncan Trust.
The charitable trust was originally set up to assist young people with polio and trust chairman, Paul Duncan, says proceeds from the sale will go to youth charities.
Peter Stratton attributes the sale price achieved to Otiwhiti’s iconic status and the quality of the property.
“The trust has invested considerable capital over the past five years in modernising and redeveloping the property. It is well fenced, with 54 main paddocks, has around 100 dams and is extensively tracked and has an excellent fertiliser history.”
The station consists predominantly of hill country with smaller areas of tree plantings and around 120 hectares of flat land. There are also tracts of native bush with glow worms in some areas.
The property comes with a comprehensive range of farm buildings and stock handling facilities including more than 20 sets of satellite sheep yards spread around the station for ease of management for docking and stock handling.
The main dwelling is a large five-bedroom homestead built in the 1930s and set in attractive landscaped grounds. There are also three smaller residences on the property.
The property was once part of a 16,160 hectare station established in 1881 and subdivided in 1909. Sir Thomas and Lady Duncan, whose family were the original owners of the station, provided locals with much needed jobs breaking in the property in the Great Depression of the 30s.
So affected were they by the plight of a neighbour’s young son, a victim of the 1948 polio epidemic, that they established a charitable trust, with proceeds from the farm used to assist young people with polio.
Through the Otiwhiti Farm Trust, the Duncans established a hospital specialising in neuro muscular disorders in Wellington which subsequently contributed to the development of life-saving, leading edge treatments including the Sister Kenny method of intensive neuro muscular physiotherapy.
Advances in modern medicine have eliminated polio in young people but the trust maintains an association with youth development charities. Chairman Paul Duncan is the grandson of Sir Thomas and Lady Duncan.