By ANNE GIBSON
Former Fletcher Challenge chief executive Hugh Fletcher and his wife, Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, have bought a majority stake in a Canterbury high-country sheep and cattle station.
They have acquired a three-quarter share of about 4000ha of Lake Station, near Hawarden. According to Quotable Value NZ information service, the land was worth $1.4 million in September 1998.
The station was used to rear Hereford cattle for beef and Corriedale sheep for meat and wool, Mr Fletcher said yesterday.
"My wife and I have been looking at buying a beef and sheep station for many years and we've finally found one that we like."
Mr Fletcher had looked at buying other high-country sheep and beef stations, but he could not make the purchase stack up because of the high prices wanted for the land. Prices were now more reasonable.
The purchase ends a 10-year search that took Mr Fletcher to the Hawkes Bay, Northland, Canterbury and Otago. "Earlier on, prices were too high, but they have fallen, which represents the revenue that the properties can produce, and that's declined and I think more realism is returning into farming values."
Asked if he planned to move from Auckland to Canterbury, Mr Fletcher said the purchase had been made for financial reasons: "My wife in her current job doesn't get much spare time, so we won't spend much time on it in the short term, but we will build a house on it during the next couple of years."
Mr Fletcher described Dame Sian as a "workaholic," but said he and his wife had looked for a station more actively since he retired. "We've bought 75 per cent of the property - the other 25 per cent is owned by Mr Ted Phipps, who lives there and is the manager," he said.
Mr Phipps had made the approach after hearing Mr Fletcher talk about his search for a station on National Radio's former Top O' The Morning show with Brian Edwards.
Mr Fletcher said most of his time was devoted to chairing the ministerial inquiry into telecommunications. He is also on the boards of Fletcher Challenge, New Zealand Insurance, the University of Auckland and Infrastructure Auckland.
Fletcher takes to country life
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