NATIONAL NEWS:- Land abandoned after West Coast gold rush on market 100 years later

13

Slices of West Coast land, most abandoned after the gold rush, are up for sale for the first time in more than 100 years.

Thirty-eight sections in Charleston, 30km south of Westport, are being sold in 13 parcels by the Buller District Council, on behalf of the Crown.

[smartslider3 slider=3]

Some of the sections contain pristine native bush, others border coastal State Highway 6, some are as small as 12 square metres – hence have been bundled into parcels ranging from 101sqm to 11.83 hectares. The average size of a house in New Zealand is 149sqm, according to QV.

Buller District Council’s group manager corporate and commercial services Dean Phibbs said most of the sections were abandoned after the gold rush.

Charleston was a bustling town of hotels, shops and about 5000 people when the West Coast was in the height of the gold rush more than 100 years ago. The first Hannahs footwear shop opened in Charleston in 1868.

People from all over the world flocked to the town, some buying up land only large enough to pitch a tent. Now it is home to about 150 people, and attracts tourists for its caving and underground rafting.

The council was bundling some of the tiny sections to make them more attractive to buyers, but seven of the parcels were still too small to be developed or had access issues.

In those cases, the adjoining landowners had been asked to submit a tender. Phibbs said tenders were open until March 16.

The council did not own the land and could not gift it to community groups. It could only recoup the cost of the sale and up to six years of unpaid rates from the purchase price. The remaining money would go to the Crown, he said.

The council confirmed none was Māori land.

Abandoned land is where rates had not been paid to the council for more than three years and the ratepayer is either unknown, cannot be found, voluntarily abandons the land or is deceased with no representative.

“Most of the land has not had any rates paid on it for a very long time, pre-dating Buller District Council records,” he said.

Charleston resident and caver Geoff Schurr was “enthusiastic” about the sale.

“I have been lobbying for it to be released for many years because there is a shortage of available land and a high demand because it is a superb  place to live near the sea with stunning rivers and bush clad mountains behind,” he said.

Westport real estate agent Charlie Elley said some of the sections were as small as 12sqm and had been abandoned more than 100 years ago.

There were only two other listings online for property for sale in Charleston.

“We don’t sell sections in Charleston for a huge amount [but] if it has a coastal aspect they can get quite expensive. A residential section with a seaview could go for $90,000 to $100,000 but a little piece of bush with access issues could go for less than half that,” he said.

Source - stuff
- Advertisement - [smartslider3 slider=4]