Coromandel widow spurned millions to protect heritage

Decades of heartbreak as houses spread over farmland spurred a widow's bequest that will preserve 81ha of open space bordering Whitianga Harbour.

Josephine McNiel, 96, died this month on the day a covenant protecting her land came into force.

The widow spent 20 years contemplating how to protect what remained of the family farm, which today is worth millions of dollars.

"This is against the tide of development that's going on," said Hamish Kendal, the QEII Trust representative for the Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki district.

"She's been thinking about it for 20 years, and was 94 when she contacted me and said she wasn't getting any younger.

"She's a real go-getter. She picked me up in her 3-litre Holden and said hop in, and told me she knew she didn't have much time to make it happen."

In a town where small beachfront sites are fetching $5 million, Mrs McNiel amalgamated the 16 separate titles under her name and ensured no more than four more houses can be built on the 81ha property.

The Thames Coromandel District will contribute to the costs of the amalgamation.

Grandson Tony McNiel said his grandparents bought the land in 1951 as a 1200 acre block and for years were concerned at development across the harbour and to the south - land that was sold off to developers who created the first beach resorts of the 1960s.

He describes his grandmother as a dominant and resourceful woman who only lost her driver's licence a year ago and who was admired for her recycling efforts.

"She was washing plastic bags a week before her death," he said. She had osteoporosis and couldn't stand wearing the neck brace, so she had long hair plaited at the back and would pin it to her shirt for support." Mrs McNiel signed the documents and the covenant was secured the day she died.

"Once the documents were in the post there was no stopping it," said Mr Kendal. "She was content in the knowledge that it was done."

The McNiel property is next to land protected by the Department of Conservation and private land covenanted with the Thames council. This secures a large area with natural and landscape values.

"The family has forfeited millions of dollars to do this, but that's what they value. Its conservation is of more value than money," said Mr Kendal.

Jo McNiel was buried next to her husband Derek, who died three years ago. Their graves at Ferry Landing Cemetery overlook the old farm.