Replica Old West town for sale in New Zealand
In 2012, Rob Bartley bought a detailed replica of an 1860s Wyoming frontier town, set in the heart of a 365-hectare ranch. The entire project, Mellonsfolly Ranch, had been built for a reported $8 million in New Zealand funds by his friend John Bedogni, who founded a successful glass company. After Bedogni suffered a personal tragedy, his “interest fell away,” Bartley explains.
An entrepreneur who founded Ali Arc, an aluminum car parts manufacturer with facilities in New Zealand and Canada, Bartley has maintained the Old West town’s original mission, hosting an event every month or so. Set in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island, about a six-hour drive from Auckland, the ranch derives additional income from producing manuka honey. Harvested from manuka trees, it’s said to have antibacterial properties. In recent years, it has skyrocketed in popularity and price.
Last year, Bartley says, his ranch produced 15.5 tons of manuka honey, which he sells in bulk. “There’s a lot of money there,” he says. “Especially with China coming back, now they’re paying big money for it.”
Bartley says he’s dealing with health issues and has made the difficult decision to sell the entire operation. He’s listed it for $US7.5 million ($10 million Cdn) with Ben Hawan of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty. “We’ve already had interest from people in the States who want to invest in New Zealand, which would help them get residency,” he says.
THE TOWN
Bedogni constructed the town from 2002 to 2006 and filled it with material he and his wife had collected on trips to the U.S.
There are 10 “period” buildings, including a licensed saloon, a courthouse that doubles as a cinema, a sheriff ’s office, a billiards lounge, a structure called Texas Rose’s Bathhouse, and 13 guest rooms that can accommodate 22 people.
There’s also a three-bedroom home — built in period-appropriate architecture — used by the property manager, along with a large commercial barn for tools and machinery needed to keep the property up and running and two staff houses that can accommodate at least six people.
Not coincidentally, there’s a touch of HBO’S Westworld, minus the violence.
Typical activities include horse riding, clay-pigeon shooting, archery, and walks in the bush; in the evening there’s music in the saloon and card games. Bartley says the property also has a “big cannon,
There’s a lot of money there (in the manuka honey harvest). Especially with China coming back, now they’re paying big money for it.
which we fire at nine at night.”
Sundays entail a big breakfast, a bit of lunch, then “it’s back to civilization,” Bartley says, noting that the staff members — usually about six people — sport costumes at all times. A package to rent the whole town for a night costs NZ$7,900 ($6,950 Cdn).
The ranch is accessible by road, but there is a helipad. And it’s hooked up to the electric grid and has backup generators, as well as its own water tanks and a firefighting sprinkler system.
“There are a lot of people right now thinking of getting out of the U.S.,” he says. “They’d have fun out here.”
Bloomberg