The 957ha coastal property near Palmerston is being sold by the Ironside family who have operated it as a sheep and beef finishing and breeding unit since buying it in 2008.
Jim Ironside died in 2022 and his wife Jill and son Euan had picked up the reins in recent years. The family now wanted to sell and move back to Canterbury, a statement from Bayleys Real Estate said.
Bushey Park, which has about 4km of coastline, is one of Otago’s most notable farms. In the late 1800s, it was owned by the Rich family who ran one of the province’s first merino stud farms, also later importing deer calves from Scotland to establish a recreational hunting herd.
Following several changes of ownership, the farm was acquired by J. A. Johnstone, chairman of stock and station agency Wright Stevenson, in the 1920s. He planted thousands of trees and founded a prominent Corriedale stud operation, exporting offshore. He later farmed shorthorn cattle and established a Clydesdale horse stud.
After being farmed by Mr Johnstone’s estate for many decades, and several other entrepreneurial owners, Clive Jermy and his family bought the property in 1988, embarking on an ambitious upgrade programme across all aspects of the property, including pasture, water supply, the multiple dwellings and infrastructure.
Most of the farm was converted to deer farming and a flagship deer complex was built.
While deer had not been farmed on the property for the past 16 years, the land could revert to deer and there were also other options to support the long-term economic viability of the property, Willy Rathbone, of Bayleys Dunedin, said.
Tenders close on November 14.
