SUPREME COURT Extraordinary Collection Of Land To Be Sold

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31178, 30 September 1966, Page 10

SUPREME COURT Extraordinary Collection Of Land To Be Sold

An “extraordinary collection” of pieces of land including one of only 6.1 perches was the subject of an action in the Supreme Court yesterday, when Mr Justice Macarthur approved a draft order for its sale. His Honour, however, ordered that reserve prices in the order be not disclosed. The land, in 15 lots, most of them small, is at Lyttelton and Sumner, and consists of old-type house and cottage properties. One lot is a quar-ter-acre section containing four old houses.

The land is part of the estate of Minnie Mildred Atkinson, who was a daughter of Colin Cook, thought to be one of the first butchers in Lyttelton. He died in 1913.

The order for sale was sought against the estate by Colin Sutton Atkinson, a schoolteacher, of Papakura (Mr R. W. Edgley). “It is an extraordinary collection of pieces of land,” said his Honour. “I suppose in the old days there was no limit to size of subdivisions.”

Three defendants were named in the action, but did not oppose the sale of the land. They were: The trustees of the estate. Ralph Patrick Thompson, a solicitor, and Fiona Mawa West, a married woman (Mr E. J. Somers.) Mrs West personally, as a daughter of Mrs Atkinson (Mr Somers.) Louisa Mary Comer, a widow, a sister of Mrs Atkinson (Mr D. H. Godfrey.) Mr Somers said that the trustees, and Mrs West personally, agreed to the order

for sale of the land, and to the reserve prices fixed by consultation among the parties. Mr Godfrey concurred. Mr Edgley, during submissions on reserve prices, said that two of the 15 lots (including the one of 6.1 perches) were already under an agreement for sale. Land agents, he said, had taken a “gloomy view” of the saleability of the 6.1 perch lot, but it had actually found a buyer at twice the tentative figure the agents had put on it. The other lot would be sold at £5O in excess of the value suggested.

On Mr Edgley’s application, his Honour directed that the reserve prices of the land, part of the draft order approved, be attached to the order in a sealed envelope and thus not made public.