KEY POINTS:
Nature lovers want the Conservation Department to line up with wealthy investors to bid for one of the jewels in the Bay of Islands, which is coming up for sale at a mortgagee auction this week.
DoC has days to decide whether to bid for the stunning 2.7ha Snapper Rock property on Roberton Island, a favoured haunt of celebrities and royalty. The Government valuation is $2 million but the island could fetch much more at the auction.
DoC owns part of the island and Bay of Islands conservationists want more of it to be given Government-protected status.
DoC's Bay of Islands area manager Rolien Elliot said staff had been on the island assessing whether it met the criteria to be recommended for purchase by the Nature Heritage Fund.
The property has to satisfy the fund's criteria on landscape, ecosystems and recreational value.
"The landscape has been substantially modified. There is housing and open lawn areas," said Elliot.
"Infrastructure doesn't fit well within the criteria of the fund and it pushes the price up."
Elliot said it was unlikely DoC would bid at the auction.
Bryn Jamieson, chairman of the Eastern Bay of Islands Preservation Society, is leading the campaign to purchase the property.
"These islands should be owned by the Crown and available to all New Zealanders for recreational purposes. It's a fabulous place, a playground."
Jamieson said if DoC decided not to bid for Snapper Rock, it would be up to Bay of Islands people to "mobilise" and find the money.
The island was reportedly visited by the Queen and Prince Edward.
The auction is in Auckland on Wednesday. Bayleys real estate agent Michael Pleciak said it was rare for a property on one of the area's islands to come up for sale. "There will be overseas interest."
