An Austrian countess plans to establish a forest plantation following the purchase of a Hawke’s Bay farm. Source: Stuff NZ
Aristocracy has taken a stake in New Zealand forestry with the purchase of a sheep and farm block in northern Hawke’s Bay by an Austrian countess.
Countess Veronika Leeb-Goess-Saurau, whose family tree can be traced back to the early 1600s, has bought a 381.9 hectare property at Tutira for NZ$2.2 million.
Acting on behalf of the vendors Jeanette and Neil McMillan, Roger Sinclair and Ross Williams, Sally Sisson from farm and forestry investment company Roger Dickie said she would not reveal much about the countess and her family, except to say they were “nice people”.
The countess proposes to establish a commercial forest operation.
Sisson said Roger Dickie would be involved in establishing and managing it.
“It’s brilliant to see people are investing in an inter-generational business. This country needs more forests,” Sisson said.
In giving its consent to the sale, the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) said the transaction would be of “‘substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand” because it would provide jobs, additional investment for development purposes, safeguard historic heritage and walking access.
Countess Veronika is the seventh child of Count Carl-Anton Goëss-Saurau and Baroness Maria Mathilde Mayr von Melnhof.
While the countess keeps a low profile, her brother and estate owner in the United Kingdom, Count Konrad Goess-Saurau has received an equal share of praise and blame for his actions.
On the one hand he has been lauded for his conservation work on his estate where he has built up a “first rate pheasant and partridge shoot” according to Field Sports magazine.
However, he upset residents of a small village when he forced them to abandon playing cricket on their field in a dispute over his plan to build houses on the field.
Asked for background on the countess, the Overseas Investment Office said it was treating the request under the Official Information Act, and a response would take 20 days.
“We will need to consult with the applicant before we can release details about them,” the office said.
