Farm sold to neighbour at half former cost

Press, 19 July 1986, Page 1

Farm sold to neighbour at half former cost

By

CHRIS TOBIN,

in Timaru

A farm bought for just over $1 million in 1981 was sold at $420,000 at a mortgagee sale in Timaru yesterday.

The farm, with a Government valuation of $900,000 in July, 1983, was’ bought by an agent on behalf of Mr John Scott, of Holme station, a neighbour of the former owners, Stan and June Crosson. The redemption price was $545,000. Five years ago the Crossons bought the 430 ha property at Gordons Valley with a $500,000 loan from the Waterfront Superannuation Fund. Drought and falling market prices put the Crossons into desperate financial straits, and with more than $70,000 in interest arrears accrued since October the fund foreclosed, forcing the sale yesterday. The auctioneer, Wrightson NMA, Ltd, opened the bidding at $350,000 and received rising bids of $lO,OOO. At $410,000 bids of $5OOO were accepted and the farm went under the hammer at $420,000.

The Crossons were not among the 70 people present. When they bought the property, Risingholme, at an auction five years ago more than 100 people attended the sale and the opening bid was $BOO,OOO. Representatives of Federated Farmers, including the South Canterbury president, Mr W. A. Orbell, attended the sale yesterday.

Mr Crosson declined to comment last evening on how he felt after hearing his farm had been bought by a neighbour. He was not so reticent when it came to the Government, which, with the drought, he blamed for forcing him off the land.

“I am very disappointed. We farmed very well here, but for the last 15 months with the change of rules in the

econony it has been all downhill.

“We tried to get drought relief from the Rural Bank and we applied and reapplied to the big powers in Wellington. We received nothing yet the drought cost us upwards of $lOO,OOO. “All that we received in the way of drought relief was 80 bales of hay from the Southland farmers and a chocolate cake. Not one cent from the Government.” Mr Crosson said he was uncertain what he would do now. Yesterday’s mortgagee sale was the second in South Canterbury during the last month. Mr Crosson said he knew of two more pending. For a man whose cattle

recently topped the South Island Simmental sale in Christchurch the sale yesterday was a bitter end to 32 years farming. Mr Neville Young, president of the Canterbury division of the National Party and a candidate for the party presidency, was strongly critical of the mortgagees’ decision to foreclose. “People have to be careful how they exercise their legal rights. I believe the trustees have been unwise in exercising economic power in this way,” he said. The chairman of the fund’s trustees, Mr Sam Jennings, had earlier said that to protect his members’ investment there had been no option but to force the farm’s sale.