High-country station sold after long battle
A renowned high-country farm that became the subject of a High Court battle has been sold.
The sale of Mt Cook Station has been confirmed by farm manager Alana Miles whose family, the Goulds, have bought the property at the head of the Tasman Valley and beside Lake Pukaki.
Keeping the historic South Island farm station in local, Kiwi hands was a good thing, Miles said.
The sale follows a lengthy legal process after the trustees tasked with preserving the property’s heritage values for the benefit of the general public were removed by a High Court judge.
The 2600-hectare Mackenzie Country station was owned by the Burnett family for 151 years, after its establishment in 1864.
Donald Burnett managed the farm for 71 years until his death in 2009. Neither he nor his sister, Catriona Baker, had children, and the farm was left to a charitable trust designed to preserve the property’s heritage values for the benefit of the public.
Earlier in 2016 the trust tried to sell the property, accepting an offer from the Goulds, a local farming family, for $4.7 million.
A High Court judge removed the trustees during a High Court challenge to the sale, and management was passed temporarily to the Public Trust.
The Goulds had recently sold nearby Guide Hill station to Hong Kong-based investors.
Days before the new owners were due to move in, the sale was blocked by Linda and Janine Sundberg, friends of the Burnetts who said the sale was not legal.
They argued that because the farm had been left for the public’s benefit, it could not be sold privately.
However, in November last year Justice David Gendall said that the property could still be protected for New Zealanders while being sold.
Public Trust general manager legal and risk Liz Style said the sale had been completed on September 22.
She said, at this stage, the sale price was confidential.
Miles said the family hoped to clear the property’s wilding pine infestation.
She would not comment on whether they were considering seeking costs following the appeal and lengthy legal battle.