Glenburn on the market

WAIRARAPA'S Glenburn Station, one of New Zealand's largest waterfront farms with more than 12 kilometres of coastline, is up for sale.
Glenburn Station is being sold by tender, closing on March 24, 2005.
The property is expected to sell for more than $10 million.
The 5899ha station, approximately 65kms south of Masterton, has 2065ha of pastoral land and a slightly larger block of 2113ha in forestry.
Hamish Macdonald, of marketing agent Bayleys Real Estate, said the balance of the station is in recreational areas which are home to a wide variety of bird life, deer and wild pig.
The pastoral land, farm buildings and five farm houses, which includes the original 1907 homestead, are currently leased to the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre Trust Board until 2010 and are used as part of a Government farm training scheme.
Up to 30 students a year spend much of their time at Glenburn learning the skills necessary to be a successful sheep and beef farmer.
About 1000 school students also visit Glenburn Station annually as part of introductory courses in agriculture run by the training centre.
The trust board pays a market-based rental for the pastoral land and its lease obligations include pest control, fertilising and top dressing the land, grassing and managing pasture and maintaining farm roads and tracks, fences and farm facilities.
Mr Macdonald said the lease arrangement with the Taratahi training centre means the farm largely runs itself and the property is likely to appeal to an investor looking to take advantage of its many recreational, lifestyle and commercial opportunities.
He said the property's coastal boundary, which includes a seal colony, also has an ample supply of crayfish, fish and paua and before limits were established, the station was catching and sending two truckloads of crayfish to Wellington every week.
"There are several buildings that could be used on the station by a new owner if they wished to enjoy the hunting and fishing that is available.
"It's a spectacular property with stunning water views and a new owner could also build their own holiday home on it," he said.
The property's proximity to Wellington meant it could easily be used as a weekend or annual holiday retreat.
The station was originally owned by the Riddiford family who farmed it for sheep and cattle for more than 90 years, along with a number of other properties the family owned.
"Over the years it has had a number of different managers who have improved it significantly. By 1970 the station had a shearing tally of 30,000 sheep a year, a level that has been consistently maintained over the years, Mr Macdonald said.
GMO Glenburn Limited acquired the station in 1998 and began a large-scale forest development planting pinus radiata on stepper parts of the property, and working with Taratahi, a substantial redevelopment of the pastoral farming area was undertaken.