A multi-million dollar slice of kiwi paradise given to charity

A multi-million dollar portion of New Zealand’s most spectacular landscape is being donated to charities to protect it from development and ensure it remains intact for future generations.

Queenstown couple, Dick and Jillian Jardine, will cede 900 hectares of their Remarkables Station to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII), which is dedicated to protecting the country’s natural heritage.

The pristine land lies at the foot of the Remarkables Range and borders the edge of Lake Wakatipu, one of the most recognizable landscapes in the country.

The trust will hold freehold land in perpetuity, ensuring that the land and biodiversity on the property are protected.

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The property will officially change hands and a QEII covenant will be placed on the title in 2022, 100 years after the Jardine family first purchased it.

It is rented as a working farm, and that will continue for the foreseeable future.

Jillian Jardine said that the biodiversity and visual comforts of the land were precious and that they never wanted any housing or development to be allowed on it.

“It’s worth a lot of money, but we don’t need it,” he said, refusing to put a value on it.

She had hoped to mark the occasion with a formal announcement on Wednesday, but was disappointed that new Conservation Minister Kiri Allan and local MP Joseph Mooney were not present. Parliament is formally inaugurated the same day.

The property was purchased by Dick Jardine’s grandfather in 1922 and the family has raised sheep, cows and, most recently, deer at the station.

Dick and Jillian Jardine took over the farm about 30 years ago and have since sold important sections for commercial development, including the Jacks Point golf course and subdivision, and the exclusive Homestead Bay development.

The couple have become known for their philanthropic gestures, including broad support from local arts organizations. In 2016 they gifted their four hectare property in Woolshed Bay to the University of Otago Foundation Trust.

It is being developed as a research retreat for academics.

They previously established a QEII convention in part of the station known as Gardens’ Boulder Field, where large rocks, some the size of buses, are popular for sightseeing and rock climbing.

Dick Jardine said the family was delighted to be spending a large part of Remarkables station in the care of QEII.

“Having QEII as the caretaker for this property gives us the comfort and security of proudly passing on this gift for all of New Zealand to enjoy and appreciate.”

QEII President Bruce Wills said the gift to New Zealand was “extraordinarily generous”.

Future ownership of the “iconic” property was a huge liability for the trust.

“It is also an exciting opportunity for us to demonstrate the integration of pastoral agriculture, conservation, public access and landscape protection in such a prominent and accessible site,” he said.

It is not the first piece of land in Wakatipu to be placed in the trust’s care.

In 2014, music producer Mutt Lange, ex-husband of country music star Shania Twain, invested 53,000 hectares of land with the trust, creating New Zealand’s largest private pact.

The conventions cover most of the Motatapu, Mount Soho, Glencoe and Coronet Peak stations, which are located between Queenstown and Wānaka.