Source: Radio New Zealand
The Molesworth landscape. Supplied / Pamu Farms
Five groups are vying to take over the country’s largest farm.
Molesworth Station, the iconic high country property, is run as a cattle farm by state-owned Pāmu.
The area, known formally as the Rangitahi/Molesworth Recreation Reserve, at the top of the South Island, covers 180,000-hectares of land owned by the Crown and administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) .
However, with Pāmu’s lease ending in June, DOC has been seeking new applicants to take over.
Applications closed last week with five groups putting forward applications to take over running farm operations at Molesworth.
DOC’s South Marlborough operations manager Stacey Wrenn said it was a “big decision”.
“We’re looking at the next 30 years of this absolutely, incredibly and nationally important place as well as New Zealand’s largest farm,” she said.
“So we are so excited that we have got this set of really high quality proposals. And we’re looking forward to working through those and working out who the best and most appropriate person is to take Molesworth forward into the future.”
Jim Ward, former manager of Molesworth station. PAMU / SUPPLIED
Molesworth’s former-manager of more than 20 years, Jim Ward, confirmed he had been involved in a proposal to see it run as a not-for-profit with heritage status.
“There’s three things that everything revolves around,” he told RNZ.
“The first is the vision for the proposal is we’re calling it the ‘Station for the Nation’, and the values are ensuring accessibility for all and the mission is to maintain the integrity of the land and ensure the longevity of the cultural and historic assets.”
The existing lease with Pāmu expires on the 30th June 2026. It would not confirm if it had put forward an application.
DOC and Pāmu were working together to ensure operations continue smoothly while the preferred operator is selected and new concession processed, and to work through the change of operators, if necessary.
“As the incumbent, Pāmu continues to engage closely with the Department of Conservation regarding the future of the Molesworth lease, and we’re committed to working constructively through their process,” a Pāmu spokesperson said.
Wrenn said she appreciated the effort that had gone into preparing the applications which would now be carefully assessed against set criteria with DOC hoping to select a preferred operator by the end of May.
“Assessment criteria includes the operator’s experience, skills and resources, how biodiversity and heritage values will be protected, how cultural values will be upheld, and how public access will be improved and facilitated.
“Once a preferred operator is chosen, they will be invited to apply for a concession, which will be publicly notified so people can have their say on the proposal.”
Wrenn previously said Molesworth was a special place that was home to threatened plants and animals so there would be restrictions on any lease – the farm can not be used for deer farming, forestry or for activities like game hunting or safari parks.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/24/molesworth-station-the-groups-vying-to-take-over-the-countrys-largest-farm/