Farm couple's mortgagee sale heartbreak

Stuart McNie's grandfather held on to his farm through the Great Depression. But he did not have to face floods, then drought, then the "harsh, uncompromising" actions of a mortgage company.

McNie and his wife Raewyn are the victims of a new recession the like of which has not been seen since the 1930s, when thousands lost their land and their homes.

Tauranga company First Mortgage Trust recovered its $1 million loan by selling their 360ha Raetihi sheep farm and homestead to former Federated Farmers' president, Charlie Pedersen.

So, on Friday, the couple packed their belongings and left the home where McNie's father and grandfather had died.

The house will sit empty. The new owners have no use for it.

Speaking to the Herald on Sunday that afternoon, McNie told about the week he got the news; how he had sat on a ridge and looked down on the beloved farm that had been in his family for 113 years.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 1 Mar 2009

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