#Five applicants compete for lease of New Zealand’s largest farmFive applicants are competing to run Molesworth Station as the Department of Conservation weighs new plans for farming, conservation, tourism and public access.BNZ Business Breakfast1News Reporters

"The Crown Is Leasing Out an Ancestral Landscape — And Calling It Conservation" - 19 May 2026

They took Rangitahi. They farmed it into the ground. They fenced off the best bits and called themselves conservationists. And now, in May 2026, they're running a business tender for it.

Five applicants compete for lease of New Zealand’s largest farmFive applicants are competing to run Molesworth Station as the Department of Conservation weighs new plans for farming, conservation, tourism and public access.BNZ Business Breakfast1News ReportersDOC's own historical record confirmsFarmers Weekly reportedMarlborough NZ records