THE 18,000ha Tasmanian wilderness estate of an American who bought land to escape the nuclear threat of the Cold War is on the market.
Agents believe the estate of Utah lawyer Martin Polin, who died in 2007, could be worth more than $10 million, The Mercury reports.
The Polin Estate will offer by tender 23 properties in the Central Plateau.
The sale is the biggest since Gunns sold some 28,000ha of native forest to Chickenfeed owner Jan Cameron in 2010 for $27.5 million.
Coincidentally, many of the Polin blocks are situated next to the former Gunns land now owned by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.
LJ Hooker commercial property consultant Heather Mason said the Polin portfolio included some of the most rare holdings ever offered for sale.
"There are extensive land parcels located in the remote Tasmanian wilderness, renowned for its diversity of flora and fauna," Ms Mason said.
The land includes native forest, grazing and lake frontage property, as well as residential, recreational, development and tourism opportunities, she said.
Ms Mason said she expected similar interest to the Gunns land from conservation and tourism investors from Tasmanian, national and foreign interests.
Tasmanian Land Conservancy chief executive Jane Hutchinson said the organisation wanted to see the land protected for its biodiversity.
"Our vision is for Tasmania to be a global leader in nature conservation and sustainability," she said.
"There are areas within the Martin Polin estate that are of high conservation value and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy is interested in those areas being protected for biodiversity conservation in perpetuity. Protecting areas of high conservation value for biodiversity on private land in this state is an important part of achieving that mission."
The blocks vary from 81ha to the 7040ha Stone Hut & Split Rock property at Miena.
Mr Polin, who was described as a conservationist and a survivalist, built an underground bunker at a property known as Circular Marsh, near Bronte Park.
Ms Mason said the properties had some incredible history.
She said Gordonvale was the home of Ernie Bond, the Prince of Rasselas, who established one of the last Tasmanian pioneering bush enterprises in the 1930s before World War II.
Bond had gone to the osmiridium mining settlement in Adamsfield, but later developed Gordonvale, which included some eight stand-alone buildings, including a homestead, butchery, bakehouse and bathhouse.
As the mining industry gradually diminished, Bond was at the forefront of the initial promotion and growth of bushwalking by Tasmanians, mainlanders and international tourists.
Read more at The Mercury.
