Mr Buckham and his wife Vicki, who have owned the Speargrass Flat Rd property for more than 30 years, lodged the appeal after their 2021 consent application for up to100 events a year was refused by Queenstown Lakes District Council commissioners.
They have since scaled back the proposal, which now seeks permission for 50 events a year.
Of the 15 submitters who opposed the original application, 10 parties have maintained their stance.
A resident of the nearby Stonebridge subdivision, Abby O’Neil, told the court the events were "disruptive to our lifestyle".
However, Ms O’Neil went further, accusing Mr Buckham of "lying" and distortion, and called him a "total bully" in his dealings with at least one neighbour.
Another Domain Rd homeowner, Rena Holland, said the Buckhams were seeking to "exploit" the rules, and the council did not appear to be monitoring their events.
Neighbour Gabrielle Urwin said the Buckhams had breached their consents in relation to guest numbers, finishing times and noise levels on multiple occasions.
She gave evidence about two weddings with "unreasonable" noise levels from live music, which had gone past the required 8pm finishing time.
One wedding, which had featured loud "rap" music, had not finished until after 10pm.
In a testy cross-examination, the Buckhams’ counsel Rebecca Wolt accused Ms Urwin of "retrospectively concocting" her evidence.
Mr Buckham said some neighbours had long believed the events were being run unlawfully and without consent.
They had failed to do their "research and homework" to ascertain the facts, and assumed any party noise in the neighbourhood was coming from Thurlby Domain.
He and his wife, a justice of the peace, were "very conscious of following the rules".
"We’ve complied with every event on the property."
Ms Wolt said the proposal was for "low-key" events, mostly weddings, with stringent controls over issues such as noise and parking.
The couple had been holding permitted events on the property for 30 years, well before the opposing neighbours had arrived in the area.
They were not motivated by financial gain, as the income they earned "far from covers" the costs of maintaining the property, which contained five category one-listed historic buildings.
The opposing neighbours were simply "frustrated" the district plan allowed temporary events in their neighbourhood and were disappointed the "idyllic rural environment" they had hoped for did not match reality.
Their claims about effects from the events had been "sweeping, unsubstantiated and pejorative", and should be given little or no weight by the court, she said.
Thurlby Domain was developed in the 1870s by political and business leader Bendix Hallenstein.
