MOERAKI ESTATE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26415, 20 March 1947, Page 8

MOERAKI ESTATE

CLEARANCE SALE HELD KEEN INTEREST DISPLAYED A complete clearance of stock and plant belonging to the New Zealand and Australian Land Company’s Moeraki Estate was effected yesterday at one of the biggest sales which has been held for many years. About 3000 people gathered from near and far, and the number of motor cars, estimated at about 600, almost gave the appearance of a country race meeting. Many of those who attended were prospective buyers, as the stock and plant had been advertised to be of first-class quality, but there were many who arrived for curiosity’s sake to see the spectacle of one of New Zealand’s old-established pastoral estates being broken up. The sale was held in consequence of the Government’s decision to subdivide the Moeraki Estate for soldier settlement. The estate has been the property of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company for about the last 73 years, and interest in the sale was displayed from all parts of the South Island. The auctioneering, which was conducted by the National Mortgage and Agency Company, began at 9.30 a.m., and by 5 p.m. a complete clearance of all effects had been achieved. It was an excellent sale from the outset and the bidding was keen. The sheep at auction totalled 2580, the cattle 70 and horses 24, The sale of horses has been at a low ebb for a number of years, but the offering at Moeraki yesterday was excellent, the results attending the disposal of 12 station hacks being particularly good. The Moeraki sheep flock is well known throughout the South Island, and the cattle herd has always been recognised as one of the outstanding lots in the island. All of these offerings were cleared at satisfactory prices. Great interest was displayed in the volume of farm implements for sale, and here again the auctioneers were able to dispose of a lengthy list to eager purchasers.