Pakatoa goes on market for $30m or more

The owner of Pakatoa Island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf is once again testing the market for interest in the "picture-perfect" 24-hectare paradise.

According to an advertisement in The Dominion Post, the island includes "three white sandy beaches with riparian rights" 32 kilometres from Auckland or 15 minutes by helicopter.

Pakatoa has a colourful history as a treatment centre for female alcoholics under the Salvation Army early last century, and as an object of desire in the 1990s for Ralf Simon and Giovanni Di Stefano, two international businessmen dogged by fraud accusations.

Many of the original structures still exist, including 24 beachside cabins and 38 two or three-bedroom units.

New Zealand businessman John Ramsey, of Crusader Meats, bought Pakatoa for $4.25 million in 1994 and now has a price expectation of between $30m and $40m.

The property has been recently listed by Colliers in its national portfolio and advertised nationwide, as well as to buyers overseas, according to marketing agent Roger Seavill.

News of the owner's willingness to sell has been no secret in the past five years and Mr Seavill said the property had never been off the market.

"When I say never, I mean it's been loosely available at a suitable price for some time.

"This is a more formal effort to reach whatever market there is." The asking price was quoted at $30m when last on the market in 2005.

Mr Seavill said the island would be more than suitable for commercial development, with "generous subdivision provisions". But it would also make an extremely private holiday retreat.

"Someone could buy it, move everything off the site, build their own place and enjoy an idyllic island with riparian rights, so technically no-one could go beyond the high water mark."

Neighbouring island Rotoroa has recently been leased to a trust by its owner, the Salvation Army.

The trust will open the island to the public from next February and Mr Seavill suggested a similar outcome has "been explored as a possibility".

It would be "great" for Auckland's new super-city council to buy the land, or even the Sea Scouts or a school, to make the destination more available to Aucklanders, he said.

"It would be like a Camp Adair on the water."

Any overseas buyers would need to satisfy Overseas Investment Office regulations, Mr Seavill said.

"We've been marketing it overseas but by that token the Sultan of Brunei couldn't buy it under the OIO rules, so overseas marketing has to target ex-pats or people who are nine-tenths on the way to being a resident."

Auckland City mayor John Banks said it was unlikely the island would come into public ownership unless a benefactor gave it to the city.

- © Fairfax NZ News