A 7.8ha coastal section owned by descendants of one of the original settler families of Mangawhai is on the market for the first time in 125 years with a capital valuation of $3.1 million.
Moir Point, named after Johnny and Martha Moir, who farmed the property from the late 1890s, has sweeping views over the estuary, sand dunes and ocean at the popular holiday destination, north of Auckland.
In the 1800s, European settlers were drawn to the area to collect kauri gum, and the bush was gradually replaced by paddocks for cattle and sheep. Over the past 50 years, Mangawhai, with its natural harbour, estuary and white sandy beach, has become a haven for people seeking a coastal lifestyle.
Karen Messenger, the great grand-daughter of the original owners, is reluctantly selling the "slice of paradise", although family members are keeping a 0.8ha piece of the farmland. She remembers learning to swim in the estuary, gathering shellfish, kayaking, water skiing, climbing trees and hearing her grandmother refer to the flowering pohutukawa as Christmas trees. Mrs Messenger said the property was originally part of a larger parcel of land, which was farmed until the 1970s and then gardened commercially to supply pumpkins, watermelon and rock melon to supermarkets in Auckland until the mid-1980s. Since then it has been used to graze sheep and beef and has remained a summer camping retreat for the family.
