A BIG DEAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 174, 31 December 1914, Page 6

A BIG DEAL.

GLENMARK ESTATE SOLD TO THE GOVERNMENT. 11,000 ACRES FOR CLOSER SETTLEMENT. At a price which is said to bo highly satisfactory to the residuary legatee, Mr T. 11. Moore, the balance of tho preat Glenmark Estate, less a small block retained with the homestead, has been purchased by the Government for closer settlement (says the Lyttelton Times). The sale and purchase contract was completed in Wellington on Tuesday by Mr M. S. Brown, representing the trustees for Mrs Townend's estate. In all, the Government has acquired 11,452 acres, the plantations and homestead block, which have l>een reserved, j representing 250 acres .The prico paid has not been made. known, but it is understood to be a high figure. Glenmark was offered to the Government by Mr G. FT. Moore in the early nineties after Cheviot had been acquired by the Liberal Government, but the price asked was considered too high, and Mr Moore would not accept the Government's offer. G LEXMARK'S HISTORY. The 80,000 acres of Glenmark were originally owned from the Waipara into the Waikari Valley and on to Hurunui River with lesser blocks by the Duke of Manchester; by Messrs Mallock and Lance, Horseley Downs; by Mr G. Mason, North Waipara; by T. Sanderson, i Qreta Peaks; by Greenwood Bros., Teviotdale; by Mr G. E. Mason, Hurunui; and in tho direction of the large Cheviot block by Messrs Clifford and Wold, while Mr J. Macfarlane held Mount Grey. About the end of February, 1855, Mr George Henry Moore purchased 28.000 acres of public land at ■, Double Corner for £14,000, Double Cor-, ner being tho placename for Glcnmark,' Teviotdale, and Waipara. Mr Moore was attracted to tho Dominion from Australia by Sir George Grey's advertisement of land for 10s an acre, and, when ho arrived in tho Dominion he "mysteriously disappeared" in order to | avoid those who had hind for sale, i Ho proceeded into north Canterbury at ] once, and his first night on the famous I Glenmark estate was spent in a bushy three feet tussock. In July, 1856, with his partner, Mr Kermode, Mr Moore took up 29,360 acres at the mouths of the Rakaia and Ashburton, and in February, 1858, 30,000 acres at the Hinds, and other blocks wero added to their holdings. MR MOORE ACQUIRES THE ESTATE. After tho opening of the railway, stock was sent from one run to another by means of long stock trains, and in 1873 Glenmark was offered for sale as a going concern in order to decide a partnership account between the joint owners. The sale attracted buyers from all over Australasia, and Mr H. Mason was tho auctioneer. The first lot was 35,871 acres of freehold and 11,500 acres of leasehold with 25,400 sheep. Mr Moore made a bid of £05,000. and, then had a lively contest with the Hon, Wm. Rolleston, but finally secured the lot for £85,000. The next lot, Dean's Peaks, consisting of 40SK1 acres of freehold, and 7500 acres of leasehold with 5000 merino sheep, was started by Mr Mooro at £7OOO, and was ultimately bought by Mr France Courage for £13,500. A block of 3959 acres at Waipara was bought by Mr Moore for £BSOO, and the Black Hills, 34,(570 acres, held under depasturing license and 12,500 sheep, was acquired by him for £13,500. Ho also secured the Doctor's Hills, 32,300 acres under lease and 84 acres freehold, with 12,500' sheep, for £14,750. Fifty acres at Weka Pass he bought for £75 and 100 acres at Saltwater Creek, he bought for £IOSO. Mr Moore also paid £52,000. for tile Ashburton property, 7000 acres of freehold, 00,000 acres of leasehold with 4000 sheep. The properties of tho partnership realised £lS(ijs74, and Mr Moore acquired in all 411,074 acres freehold, 100,800 acres of leasehold, 34,070 acres under license, and 54,000 sheep for £171,875. T"\7 ' COSTLY FIRES. The estate improved considerably in apointments ;..-.d in value, though in 18SG 10,000 sheep were destroyed by Ore. When the capital value of the Glenmark estate readied £320,000, there was a homestead on it costing £30,000, but it was burnt in 1 S!)l. Later Mr Moore offered the estate, less I 400Q or 5000. acres in the. homestead block, at £4 per acre, but the Government valuers placed a price on the land i which Mr Moore would not accept, and in after years, the owner sold most of the land to private purchasers until only 11,732 acres remained. DISCOVERY OF MOA REMAINS. One of the most interesting features of the estate, a feature which made Glenmark known the world over, was the discovery of moa remains in the 'sixties. They were found in a stream on Glenmark in a hollow of tho postpleoceins alluvium skirting the, hillside. The, remains included different species of the Dinornis and subsequently remains wre found in other parts of the estate, and all went to enrich the museums, many specimens now being in the Canterbury Museum.