Mainfreight chairman Bruce Plested has purchased a 300ha farm on Waiheke Island for $72 million, OneRoof can reveal.
The rich-lister, who already owns property on the island, made the purchase after selling off $75m in shares in Mainfreight.
The multi-million-dollar property, which has only been in the hands of just two families, boasts around 5km of private coastline and is one of the biggest parcels of land to have come on the market in the Auckland region in years.
The listings agency for the property, Bayleys, declined to comment on the sale.
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The property had been earmarked for development but Plested told Gulf News that he intended to protect the land.
“I just think it’s one of most beautiful properties on earth. It’s very special, and we would like to leave it very much in its natural state,” he said.
Plested has been a vocal critic of plans to develop a marina on the island and has overseen the restoration of native bush at his property in Pie Melon Bay.
Mainfreight chairman Bruce Plested has pledged to protect the land. Photo / NZME
His new 300ha farm, known as Fountainhead, was originally purchased by the Carey family in 1871 and then bought by Californians Philip and Diana Goldman in 1971.
It had already been divided into 16 titles and the listing highlighted that buyers could turn part of it into a luxury lodge and golf course or build multiple houses on the land.
The property runs from Woodlands Bay in the west of the island and through to Carey Bay in the east and back to Man O’ War Bay Road, with a parcel of land that sits across the other side of the road on the wetlands.
The beach at Carey Bay, which is part of the 300ha property. Photo / Supplied
“There hasn’t been another parcel of coastal land this big come on to the market in the wider Auckland region.”
The property had been operated as a farm but there were heritage areas attached to the site.
The listing agent, Duncan Ross, said at the time the property went to market: “The history pre-dates European settlement. There are Maori pā sites and terraces on it and registered archaeological sites.
“The Carey family purchased the land in 1871 and built a cottage, the original homestead, in 1886 and a component of that has been added to but the heart of it is the original cottage."
