We're buying Lilydale Station for NZ
Together, we Kiwis can do this, so let's be generous & bring this beautiful wilderness home & incorporate it into our conservation estate.
Canterbury
THE FINAL MEDIA RELEASE
CROWD FUNDING CAMPAIGN TO BUY BACK LILYDALE STATION FOR NZ ENDS
When the 'we're buying Lilydale for NZ' give a little campaign was launched I reached out to a number of organisations in the hope that they would support this campaign & assist us in publicising it. Some, such as QE2 National Trust & Ngai Tahu did not even reply to our request & others like Forest & Bird & The Federated Mountain Clubs decided against publicly supporting this undertaking. On Sunday I learnt that some of these organisations have instead decided to work behind the scenes to lobby the Government to buy Lilydale Station. Let's hope they're successful? I also learnt that Lilydale is probably worth much less than the 3.5 million that its American owner paid for it. This all means that our crowd funding target was far too high & our campaign no longer has a purpose, so our give a little page will be closed down this week. In some ways this campaign has been successful though, as it has highlighted the fact that there are many Kiwis who want to see the foreign ownership of properties such as Lilydale brought to an end. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you who have supported this campaign by making pledges, in my eyes you're all patriotic heroes.
When I heard that the American owner of Lilydale Station in South Canterbury had put the property on the market, I thought it would be great to buy it back for New Zealand so that all Kiwis could enjoy what this pristine, high country environment has to offer.
So a little time later, inspired by the story of the guys who bought the beach in Able Tasman National Park through crowd funding, I decided to follow in their footsteps & launch a 'give a little' crowd funding campaign to raise the necessary buy back finance.
I'm currently in the process of forming a small team to help me out, as this is turning out to be quite a mission. So here we are NZ, off on a buying Lilydale Station for New Zealand journey. Our aim is to raise 3.5 million dollars so that we can get this done.
Lilydale Station is situated not far from Fairlie in the majestic South Canterbury high country & is a stunning scenic & recreational playground. Check out the photos of Lilydale Station in the gallery.
It has three water catchments, a ski field, a walking track, two huts with fireplaces & contains 4,046ha of Tahr and Red Deer hunting country. Four Peaks walking track & Lake Opuha are nearby. It has public conservation land on each side of it. If you would like to see PDF maps of the area then use the question tab to send your email address to us.
2167 Clayton Road, Fairlie, Mackenzie, Canterbury, 4046ha
Land value Improvement value Capital value
$2,910,000 + $730,000 = $3,640,000
Property use: Development site
Land area: 40460000m2
Includes: 450ha for grazing
Price: Price by negotiation
This fantastic property has heaps of potential for future conservation, recreation & local tourism projects. Wouldn't it be bloody fantastic if we, the public owned it.
At some point in this journey I'm hoping that big players like the NZ Government, DOC, Ecan, Ngai Tahu & Forest & Bird might get in behind this campaign, & even throw a few dollars our way.
Let's try a hashtag, no idea how this works, help required please, just go for it: #BuyLilydale4NZ
N.B. We're currently in the process of setting up the Lilydale Station Trust. This charitable trust will become the transitional owners & stewards of this property until we can arrange its transfer to a Crown entity like DOC. At the moment this page is in my own name, but as the intention of this project is to be as transparent as possible, as soon as the charitable trust is formed & a trust bank a/c is opened I will make this known on this page. If we reach our target all funds will be held in our trust account until the purchase, future management & gifting details are finalised. If you want to know more then just send a question our way.
For the latest about the campaign from stuff news, click on the link below:
This story has been outlined in a recent stuff news article, click on the link below:
For more information about Lilydale station on Trade me, click on the link below;
https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1719263133
For more property information from realestate.co.nz, click on the link below;
Use of funds
We are in the process of establishing the Lilydale Station Trust, & all funds raised will be used to purchase Lilydale Station & to facilitate its transfer from private to public ownership. This trust will decide how best to utilise any surplus funds.
Latest update
Open Letter (email) sent to Jacinda Ardern ~ Winston Peters ~ Ron Mark ~ Shane Jones ~ Eugenie Sage ~ James Shaw ~ Simon Bridges 13 August 2018
An Open Letter.
Good morning to you all,
You may be aware, or not as the case may be, that I have started a 'give a little' crowd funding campaign aimed at raising funds to buy back Lilydale Station for NZ. New Zealander's are becoming increasingly concerned about large tracts of land being snapped up by wealthy foreigners, & that successive Governments & the current one are doing little about this appalling situation. When I discovered that Lilydale Station in South Canterbury was on the market I felt it my duty to try to find a way to buy it back from its American owner for NZ, so that all Kiwis can enjoy what this pristine wilderness has to offer. The approach I've taken is too follow in the footsteps of the guys who bought the beach in Able Tasman National Park, as near the end of their campaign the Government stepped in & helped them get across the line. This is what I am hoping will happen with our campaign. Another reason for taking this action is to bring these matters to the attention of the general public. As the Forest & Bird spokesperson said recently on TV3 when she was interviewed about this campaign "the Government should be buying properties such as these", not the exact quote but the general idea. Another of my personal concerns, especially with the repercussions of accelerating climate change looming large before us, is future proofing & water & food security. If we are to act swiftly to adapt to these changes in our climate we will need to increase the conservation estate for a number of reasons such as; protecting water catchment areas & tracts of marginal land which may be required to grow such things as (edible) food forests, alternative multipurpose crops such a hemp & indigenous & exotic forests. Please do not see this email or the crowd funding campaign as a criticism of your government but as a call to arms at a critical time in our history. Crowd funding is just another tool in the tool box, & I'm sure, if the Government saw fit to support this buy back campaign, such a move would go down very well in the eyes of many Kiwis who feel not enough is being to safeguard our nation from foreign influence, ownership & control. We must regain control of our destiny & put our national interest before those of others if we are to meet the really important challenges of our times, & survive the hard times that may lie ahead. This may mean being not such a great little compliant global citizen for a wee while, but to be a better global global citizen in the future will firstly mean getting our own house in order, coming up with workable transitional solution's, & leading by example. This campaign, I believe is a small step in this localisation direction.
Best Regards,
John Overton
Latest pledges
Who's involved?
Page Q&A
Ask a question hereAny concerns?
Report this pageThank the donor
Your message will be displayed on the page and emailed to the donor.
Your new message will also be emailed to the donor.
Saving a blank entry will delete the current comment.