CLEARING SALE AT WAIHAORUNGA STATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2603, 3 February 1904, Page 20

CLEARING SALE AT WAIHAORUNGA STATION.

j Very hot and dry but beautiful harvest j weather was the general verdict on Wednesday at Waihaorunga, where a clearing sale of stock and plant was held by Messrs Guinness and LeCren (Limited). This estate, which originally consisted of nearly 13,000 acres, was subI divided three years ago into farms aveiagmg about 400 acres, and steady sales have since s been made, the land rising in value ihe whole 1 time. The homestead block, which was not m the market until the balance of the estate had been disposed of, has lately been secured by Mr Pairott, of Rangiora. A very large crowd was present when the drag bringing the auctioneers and several buyers from the Timaru district arrived at the homestead, all of whom, being strangers to Waimate, were much surprised at the wonderful land to be seen through the gorge, particularly on the Waihao Downs Estate, where harvest was starting and some ! very heavy crops of 'wheat and oats were being reaped. As soon as visitors had done justice to. the excellent lunch provided by Mr W. Miller for the Assets Realisation Board, a move was made to the sheep yards and a start made on the sheep. Before the sale Mr Guinness (who, with the- assistance of Mr Mahng, put through the numeious lots) announced that the general manager of the Assets Board, whe was present, had instructed him to sell every lot absolutely without reserve, and tne spirited bidding which was maintained throughout the sale showed that buyeis thoroughly believed they were fixing their ov.n values. The first lot offered was a nice pen of SSB fciu-tcoth ewes, and although biddms started at ils, it was not until he had offered 18s Id that Mr A. G. Field, of Waikakahi became the purchaser of 500, the remaining 83 being taken by the new owner of the Waihaorunga homestead. A line of 143 broken-mouthed ewes was thea put lip and secured by llr W. B. Jones at 9s, a nice lot of 36 "pets" consisting of wethers, ewes, and lambs, being taken at 12s 6d by Mr Parrott. Pen 4 contained about 1030 three and four-yeai-o.'d ew?s, and for these there was spirited competition, for although the teeth become worn at an early ape thrse ewes thrive veiy well down country. The highest bidder for the line was Mr Parroifc, who took 500 at I3s 8d ; the next inn of 150 being secured by Mr Stewart at 135 6d, a fuither 200 by Mr Gorman at Id less, the balance fai'irg to Mi S. R. Dickson's bid of 13s Id. Lots 5 and 6 weie sm?ll moto of 30 two and six-tooth ewes and 21 two pnd fcur-icoih wethers, which leahsed 133 7d and 15s Id respectively. The bargain of the day, however, was in the next line, about 1200 three-quarterbTed lambs, for owing to the present spell of dry weathei very few graziers will have any feed for this class of sheep until their stubbles are cler,-. so Mr Parrott secured 500 at Ss 4d, and the balance was knocked down 1< Mr Mcicdith (an adjoining' owner) at 9s 6d Pen 8 contained the cull lambs, for which there was keen competition, Mr L. Price eventually becoming the purchaser at 6s 2d. Rams sold j well for this season of the year, all the three- 1 shear E.L. being bought by neighbours at ljgs

j to l;gs with aged rams at lather over boilingclown price 3. A move was then made to the ■stockyard, where some of the hoises were offered. A sevsr-yeai-old .draught mare, with foal at foot, by Dalmuir Ptince, was bought by Mr Dynes, from Timaru, at £62, while a two-year-old draught filly realised £40, Mr Aitkeu being the purchaser; this buyer also secured a yearling colt at £21. Mr Wescruacott bought a nice five-year-old hack mare, with foal at foot, for £20, another brood hack mare being taken by Mr Parrott, with her foal, at £16. The working horses were then sold, and competition was very keen, showing that good, active draughts are still much in demand. Mr J. F Douglas was the last bidder for the six-year-old bay gelding Nugget at £49, and this gentleman also secured the seven-year-old brown gelding Jock for £47. An aged mare was knocked down to Mr Logan for £38, while a 10-year-old bay mare became the property of Mr Barron at £30. Other prices realised being £19, £16, and £12 for inferior sorts. The cattle were all purchased by the neighbours and present owner of the homestead, prices for cows being £7, £6 15s, several at £S down to £5 15s, calves at 35s each, and an aged bull at £3 7s 6d. As is usual at this class of sals, the sundries were very numerous and the quality mixed, but I excellent prices' were obtained considering nearly all the implements had seen many years' service on the estate. Prices for fencing wire, posts, sugar, etc., were so high thst a local ! merchant who was present was heard to say I lie wished he could only obtain equal value for | the same articles all the year round, and ! although a binder,, or what was once a binder, ! only realised 3s, prices as a whole were the , highest seen for some time. The sale was not concluded until nearly 6 o'clock, Mr Guinness and Mr Malm having put up and sold 294 lots ] m the time. The day was one of the hottest experienced this season, and that it was a thirsty one is borne out by the way in which the caterer was kept busy from start to finish without a break. It is estimated that there were from 300 to 400 settlers present, and doubtless the large attendance, many of whom had come from a very long distance (Waihaorunga being 15 miles from Waimate), accounts for the very excellent sale which so successfully wound up the business of the Assets Realisation Board m the Waihaorunga district.