Awaroa beach crowdfunders' result revealed
The crowdfunding was all about a community effort to keep the beach in public hands.
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See also: Andrew gives a little to Awaroa
Ownership of a $2 million beach at Awaroa will be fast-tracked into the Abel Tasman National Park after a successful crowdfunding bid secured the property.
At the 11th hour, the government tipped in a small amount to get the bid over the line.
The property was sold by Wellington lawyer Mike Garnham via his father-in-law Michael Spackman who was the trustee for the property.
The deal will be fully settled in 10 days.
Crowdfunding promoter Duane Major from Christchurch was inundated by media inquiries this morning.
The crowdfunding effort over three weeks attracted 30,000 supporters who pledged varying amounts.
The big test now will be whether they all front up with the money.
For Mr Major, the crowdfunding was all about the voluntary community effort to keep the beach in public ownership.
Businessman Gareth Morgan used the crowdfunding publicity to highlight his own offer on condition he would be given a small portion of it.
His efforts and unusual reasoning to justify his bid were rejected. In subsequent blogs he appeared to scorn the crowdfunders, accusing them of naivety.
A yet-to-be-revealed donor also helped tip the balance in favour of the crowdfunders.
The final amount raised by the crowdfunders was $2.278,171.
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Chris Hutching
Wed, 24 Feb 2016
Wed, 24 Feb 2016
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Awaroa beach crowdfunders' result revealed
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