Unpaid rates: Gold Coast City Council to sell remote Currumbin Valley block over unpaid rates bill
The Gold Coast City Council will sell a giant block of land - more than 85 years after its named owner’s death - for a surprising reason. THE BIZARRE DETAILS
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The Gold Coast City Council will sell a giant block of land in a remote section of the hinterland, with its owners owing nearly $10,000 in unpaid rates.
The Currumbin Valley block became internationally famous more than a decade ago when council last put it up for sale after discovering its owner had actually died in 1940.
The block was owned by the late George Bertram McClymont, who died at the age of 62 during the first year of World War II.
Council declared the Currumbin Creek Rd land vacant in 2014 and moved to sell it but descendants of the McClymont family came forward to retake ownership.
Now more than 10 years later, it’s on the chopping block again
The council issued a notice of intention to sell the 7411sq m site, with a tally of charges revealing more than $9589.60 in unpaid rates since January 2018.
It’s expected to be auctioned off in coming months.
Area councillor Gail O’Neill said the city had been patient long enough.
“It was a long time before anyone came forward but obviously they have not been able to substantiate the ownership of it,” she said.
“Council doesn’t just sell properties willy-nilly, we give people right until the very last minute to make good on the situation.
“This has gone on for a number of years and council obviously did not charge rates on it for a long time but even though people came forward as descendants, they still have to pay rates on the site.
“It is a shame it has come to this but the process is applicable to everyone.”
It is the latest twist in the story of the land, which began more than a century ago.
Mr McClymont was born in Tasmania on February 25, 1878 and historical records indicate he took control of the property on November 28, 1923 with a mortgage registered to another person.
Council records show the site was owned by Mr McClymont from 1923 until his death in 1940 and that both his children had long since died.
Documents showed the land was thought to be public land in historical Albert Shire Council records and was listed as such without any note as to when the land was transferred.
This continued in the 1990s when Albert was merged with the Gold Coast to form the present-day city region.
It first came to the council’s attention 25 years ago in 2000 when a valuation notice was redirected back to the city, indicating it was not a rateable property.
In recent decades the land had been used by neighbours to house livestock, including horses.
The Bulletin revealed the existence of the strange saga in 2014 when council planned to sell off the site.
Following the story, some of Mr McClymont’s surviving nine grandchildren came forward and expressed an interest in regaining ownership of the block.
The site was handed back to the family in April 2015.
One of the descendants, Greg McClymont, of Tallebudgera, told the Bulletin at the time he and his siblings would jointly decide what to do with the land.
“It will be a family decision and we will get together to talk about it,’’ he said in 2015.
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Originally published as Unpaid rates: Gold Coast City Council to sell remote Currumbin Valley block over unpaid rates bill
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