THE REMUERA ESTATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17269, 19 September 1919, Page 8

THE REMUERA ESTATE.

* DEPRECIATION CONDEMNED. ■ UNPATRIOTIC SETTLERS. * REBUKE BY ? COMMISSIONER. "■ / . ■"'*■' A complaint that residents in the locality were persistently. "running down" the rtemuera Estate, in the Bay of Islands, which''has been opened for soldie» settlement,, was made by Mr. J. ,K Wells at the meeting of the North Auckland Land Board yestfday. Mr. Wells said the attitude of Me-residents seemed to be one of commiseration with anyone who, in their opinion, was "unfortunate enough" to draw-a section. \ Thi commissioner, Mr. R. P. Gteville, said he knew that depreciatfye statements had been made, and he considered them' to be very unpatriotic. heard two young men, who lived in the district, say that the Remuera Estate was the worst pace in New fr&land. When questioned, however, they admitted they had never seen it and knew nothing about it, except from hearsay. Personally he knew of no finer property of its size in New Zealand at the price, and his only regret was that it was not 100 times its actual area. In the first place the Government had been urged by the people of the district, by petition and repeated requests, to purchase the estate. The Government got experts to value it, and it was visited by Mr. J. D. Ritchie, chairman of the Land Purchase Board, Mr. H. M. Skeet, who was commissioner of the district at the time, and Mr. Wells; After due consideration it was decided to purchase. As regarded the value, he had visited the property himself, and looked over it with an open mind, and was quite satisfied that at the price there was nothing better to be had. just about the time the Government was negotiating for it, a would>-be buyer had approached the owner with an otter of £17 an acre for the block, or £25 an acre if allowed to select 500 acres. The first, offer was slightly there than the Government paid. He was of opinion that the man who got a section ! in the Hock, if he liked to work, was a nade man. The estate was good either as sheep or cattle country. This was not the first time people in the district had commenced to depreciate land immediately it was purchased by the Government, the commissioner said. It was not in the interests of the north that such Remarks should be made. Exactly the same thing had occurred- with the Pakaraka Block, .which was also in the vicinity of Ohaewai. In fact, the number of gross misstatements about the two blocks would fill a, book. He would certainly be very reluctant m the future to curch&se any property in the Bay of Islands County. Members of the board agreed that the Remuera Estate was an excellent property.