Mr Larnach died in 1898 in what the ODT described at the time as a ''painful occurrence'' in Parliament buildings. He had committed suicide.
Placed by the Public Trust, the notice acknowledges Mr Larnach's death, established by the authority ''after due inquiry''.
The land's value did not exceed $40,000.
Public Trust communications manager Kiely Evans told the ODT the purpose of the notice was to identify potential claimants, and so far, there were none.
Mr Larnach had not made a will.
''We are aware Mr Larnach passed away many, many years ago.
''His relatives could definitely claim this land if they wanted to.
''We were approached by a property developer working on behalf of the councils who are wanting to develop these parcels of land into a walkway and legal road respectively.''
The councils are the Dunedin City Council and Waitaki District Council. The land in Palmerston comprised two parcels (3905sq m and 5778sq m).
The land in Portobello comprised three parcels (9sq m, 4sq m and 86sq m).
Ms Evans said the situation was not unusual.
''You'd be amazed at the funny tiny bits of land throughout the country that people don't realise are not part of their property, so it's not an unusual situation for small parcels of land like this.
''Often, they haven't been touched for years and years, and it's not until someone wants to do something with it and they do a title search that they find out who the real owner is.''
