A crumbling South Island estate that had a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster and was at the centre of abuse allegations has hit the market as a liquidation sale.
Campbell Park Estate, in Otago, is being sold by the liquidators of a company linked to one of the directors of the failed Mainzeal company.
The 79ha property is about the size of a small town and comes with a gothic-style castle, 32 homes, stables, an old jailhouse, a gymnasium, and an underground cave.
It memorably featured in the 2005 hit fantasy film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and has hit the headlines in recent years over allegations of abuse at a school run on the estate.
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The school, which was established in 1908, was closed in 1987.
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The property, which has a 2023 RV of $2.9m, was bought by an Auckland company, Richina Ltd, in 2016 for a reported $4m, and there were hopes at the time the new owners would bring it back to life.
The company's main shareholders are Tina Wang and her husband, Richard Yan, who was a director of troubled property and construction firm Mainzeal.
Yan and his fellow Mainzeal directors, including former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, were recently ordered to pay more than $60m for breaching their directors' duties following Mainzeal's collapse in 2013.
Richina Ltd was tipped into liquidation in August by Insolvency New Zealand, according to reporting by Business Desk. The heritage-listed estate is one of three parcels of land owned by the company.
The estate is the size of a small town and comes with multiple properties. Photo / Supplied
Inside the Gothic castle, which was built by the family whose name the estate bears. Photo / Supplied
According to historical accounts, the property was first owned by pastoralist William Dansey, whose original hut still survives to this day.
The property was subsequently sold to the Hon Robert Campbell, who commissioned prominent Dunedin architects Mason and Wales to design a grand home on the estate. Campbell was said to have brought craftsmen and materials from Scotland and Italy for the job.
Bayleys agent Graham Fielding, who is selling the estate on behalf of INZ, said Campbell's country house home was a historic landmark in need of restoration.
“This impressive building was once the heart of the vast Otekaieke Station, but now awaits a new owner with a vision to restore it to its former glory,” he says in the listing on OneRoof.
Fielding, who grew up on a neighbouring farm, remembers sitting under huge trees at the estate eating his mashed egg sandwiches and jelly, waiting to take part in athletic events held there.
Pioneer William Dansey's original rustic hut is included in the sale. Photo / Supplied
He said one of the mysteries of the property was the subterranean cave. It was blocked off when he was a child but rumour is that it was an escape route for the Campbell family.
“It’s very mysterious. Legend has it that it was connected to the house. It was a worst-case scenario for the Campbell family back in the early days. If they were ambushed in the 1800s or early 1900s, they could make a retreat through the cave system.”
Fielding remembers every building on the site from childhood. “The stables are sensational. [The building] needs re-roofing, but I see it as being a drawcard for many that might wat to use the park going forward as a conference or event centre.”
Although the liquidator has had a registered valuation prepared, it is anyone’s guess how much the property will sell for.
However, the buyer would need deep pockets to restore the property to its former glory, Fielding said. “So essentially it’s going to be millions to get yourself in the gate, and then it’s going to be millions to put it back together.”
- 408 Special School Road, Otekaieke, Otago, is for sale, tenders closing February 14
* Additional reporting by Diana Clement
