‘Son! We won!’ Parents get section price refunded
A man who spent most of his childhood sowing rice for just 5 cents a day has won the ultimate raffle prize – a massive section of Waikato land.
Philippines-born June Veniegas and his wife Evelyn were recently named as the lucky punters to win back the price of their 7000sqm Te Kauwhata section. That equated to $320,000. The giveaway was the brainchild of a group of Waikato developers hoping to entice buyers to their new subdivision.
Steve Godley and his wife Jan, along with business partners Adam Marsh and Carol McColl, last year pledged to refund the full purchase price of one of their 38 lots. The raffle was Marsh’s idea, McColl said, and seemed like a nice way to ‘‘give something back’’.
They didn’t mind missing out on some profit as they’d sold most of the lots already, she said.
June grew up in a ‘‘poor family’’ and would walk three hours to school, sometimes with no shoes.
At six years old he was put to work in the rice fields after school, earning around 35 cents a week.
‘‘In the Philippines, it’s not like New Zealand when you hear about farmers that are rich, in the Philippines they are poor.’’
A seasonal job brought him to Otorohanga a decade ago, where he lived in a sleepout with an outside toilet.
His family came one by one as he built a life in New Zealand, eventually buying a house in Hamilton.
With house prices soaring, the couple wanted to buy a section for sons Paul and John, who are at university.
For 22-year old Paul, breaking into the housing market seemed impossible – especially in Auckland where he now lives.
‘‘Not a chance . . . buying a house in New Zealand is crazy at the moment.’’
When his mother called to him they’d won, he thought parents were pranking him.
‘‘She rung me up and said ‘Son! Son! Son! We won! We won! We won!’’ he said. tell his