One of the final remaining beachfront sections in what was once a sprawling family-owned farm overlooking a magnificent stretch of inner-harbour has been placed on the market for sale.

The prime waterfront section in the lifestyle enclave of Pahoia just north of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty was established in the 1940s by Ian and Jean Lankshear.

Wellington-born Ian was a heroic fighter bomber pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Beaufighter squadron based in England where he achieved the rank of flight sergeant.

Ian's beloved wife Jean was a member of the New Zealand Women's Auxiliary Air Force based in Wellington.

At the end of the war, the young couple sought peace and solitude away from the stresses of war – and moved north to the Bay of Plenty where they were able to take advantage of a Government ex-servicemen and women's bank lending programme.

Together they purchased 60-hectares of prime waterfront farmland at Pahoia on the Tauranga Harbour foreshore – establishing a a herd of 110 dairy cows and supplying milk to the Kaimai Dairy Cooperative. During the 1950s and ‘60s, the Lankshear clan was one of only 10 families living on the Pahoia Peninsula.

Over the ensuing years Ian and Jean raised eight children, and Ian served two terms on the local council.

Among their children was Bruce, who has fond memories of growing up on the once highly productive rural landholding with its waterfront access.

"We experienced a subsistence environment in a lush oasis of natural beauty, where the productivity of the land meant we never went short. Everything we ate came off the property," recalls Bruce.

"We had meat from the farm, fish from the sea, vegetables from the garden and fruit from the orchard. Although we were a big family, the land was productive enough to provide for all of us."

As society changed and Tauranga grew, Pahoia's tight-knit farming community slowly began either subdividing or selling off their productive land, and more and more homes began appearing in the area.

"Those changes transformed Pahoia, which gradually but steadily went from being open pasture and grazing land into a suburb.

"Where previously, there were 10 dairy farms with 10 homes and families, today there are 120 homes along the peninsula, with most of the density down at the waterfront. This has created a new community of people enjoying a special lifestyle."

Family matriarch Jean Lankshear died in 2006. Ian remained at Pahoia, continuing to enjoy the land with its spectacular views until he passed away in 2017.

Now the undeveloped 1.092-hectare block of freehold land at 275D Pahoia Road is being marketed for sale for $2,830,000 through Bayleys Tauranga.

Salespeople Brent Trueman and Rhys Trueman say the property was the second to last property remaining in Pahoia from what was once the greater Lankshear family farm.

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