Family in line for land windfall

A Bay of Plenty family could inherit a section valued at up to $220,000 if they prove they are the only descendants of a 19th-century matriarch who is still the registered proprietor of land in Cardrona.

For the past seven months, Macalister Todd Phillips solicitors Tanya Surrey and Rohan McKenzie, of Queenstown, have searched for the descendants of pioneers Rebecca and George Bond and 17 other registered owners of abandoned land, on behalf of the Queenstown Lakes District Council for referral to the Public Trust.

A Tauranga man telephoned Ms Surrey about a week after an Otago Daily Times article on the Bond family and the search was published on January 31. The man said his great-grandmother was Rebecca Bond and his grandmother was one of Mrs Bond's five daughters.

"At this stage it seems to be a genuine response and he was very interested to hear [the land] was still in his great-grandmother's name," Ms Surrey said.

"He's going to speak to his wider family and collate a more detailed family tree and get back to me."

The 456sq m parcel of land in the Cardrona Valley is still registered in the name of Mrs Bond, with title issued in the late 1880s. It is believed to be about 150m south of the Cardrona Hotel.

The Bond land claim will be referred to the Public Trust. The High Court and trust will consider legislative requirements before land is given to descendants.

Public Trust managing solicitor Richard Calvert said the entity would look at the Administration Act and determine what share the Tauranga claimant had, depending on the family tree.

"The trust wouldn't be able to transfer the land to him without extensive research into Rebecca's descendants. We have to establish to the High Court's satisfaction that there is no other person who can apply to the court to administer Rebecca's affairs. If we can, we become appointed as property manager, which leads to dealing with Rebecca's property by way of sale or subdivision or grants of easements.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES