A ceremony to celebrate public ownership of Mount Iron Recreation Reserve will take  place later this month.

Deputy mayor and Wānaka councillor Quentin Smith told the Wānaka App it was almost hard to believe the idea was becoming a reality.

“It is a really unique opportunity to bring this iconic landscape into public ownership and improve public access, amenity and recreation,” he said.

“It is an incredibly proud day to celebrate the completion of the acquisition after about three years of work by lots of people.  

“Huge thanks to the Cleugh family for being willing and patient in seeing this to reality. It would not have come to reality without the support of Mike Theelen, Jim Boult, Thunes Cloete and Dan Cruikshank (APL) and the previous council and community board.

“The hard work starts with the community to plan and execute a vision of management for recreation and environmental improvement on the site, an incredibly exciting time ahead.”   

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) community services general manager Kenneth Bailey encouraged anyone interested to come along and to help acknowledge the milestone.

“It'll be an exciting moment and a massive achievement to finalise this legacy acquisition for the community, and to recognise all the work that has gone into the shared vision behind it,” he said.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is in the process of issuing a new property title for the nearly 100 hectares of land which will soon become a community asset.

The celebration ceremony will be attended by mayor Glyn Lewers, elected members, council staff, iwi and the Cleugh family, and it will take place on Saturday (May 27) at 11am, at the start of the existing trail near the Allenby Place car park.

A blessing of the site will be followed by a ribbon cutting and unveiling of new signage.

Council plans to notify its intention to create a Reserve Management Plan for Mount Iron in June, which will provide for and ensure the use, enjoyment, maintenance, protection, and preservation of the reserve.

Existing public access will continue while this work is underway. Walking tracks from either side remain open but no new developments will be allowed on the site until the community has had a chance to provide feedback on future use.

Walkers are asked to please stick to the public walking tracks and abide by signage along the way identifying where private property begins. Some sections of Mount Iron and Little Mount Iron remain privately owned.