He spent 35 years building his dream property—then someone else tried to claim part of it
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Property ownership can feel straightforward—until it suddenly isn’t.
A quiet farming life in regional New South Wales took an unexpected and costly turn for one local after a surprising discovery about his own land.
What followed was a tense auction, an ethical debate, and calls for greater oversight.
A forest farmer in regional New South Wales found himself paying a high price—literally—for a small stretch of land he’d long believed was his.
Peter Marshall had bought his property in the 1990s and spent decades cultivating it into an award-winning truffle and forest farm in the Southern Tablelands.
But what he didn’t realise was that a four-metre-wide slice of his driveway, running a couple of hundred metres through his land, technically didn’t belong to him.
That small error in paperwork came to light only recently, and not through official channels.
‘I didn’t learn it 35 years ago when I thought I’d bought it, I learned it when the neighbour rang up a month before the auction,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t informed by [the] council.’
The sliver of land had quietly amassed a mountain of unpaid rates—tens of thousands of dollars in debt—over decades. It was one of 24 obscure rural properties put up for public auction in May by the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC), part of a campaign to recover unpaid rates.
Peter’s expectation was that he’d be the only person interested in the lot, and the council didn’t anticipate much competition either.
‘I imagined that I’d be paying a couple of thousand just to tidy up the title,’ he said.
QPRC general manager Rebecca Ryan agreed that this type of auction was usually straightforward: ‘Normally the neighbour can come along…and there’s no other interest, so that’s generally how it has worked in the past. But this was certainly a different experience.’
What unfolded was a fiercely competitive auction that caught everyone off guard.
On auction day, 87 bidders registered across the 24 lots.
‘It was quite terrifying,’ Ms Ryan said. ‘The bids were coming from everywhere and every direction and very fast. There was a property in Mongarlowe, 400 square metres, we thought it might go for $1,000 or about $500. It went for $18,100.’
Peter knew he had to win his bid—without that land, his access to his tractor shed and main driveway would be compromised.
‘I couldn’t have the conflict of having somebody I don’t know owning a tiny fragment in the middle of my place,’ he said. ‘They’d have to trespass on me to get access to it, and then I’d have to trespass on them to get access to my tractor shed. I just couldn’t imagine how ridiculous that situation would be.’
Despite the land being landlocked, with no access or building entitlements, the auction turned frenzied.
‘There was a group of people there who were bidding on almost everything, including landlocked pieces of land like this one which they could never have access to,’ Peter said.
‘They bid it up on $1,000 increments, and I had to bid back…and it ended up at $19,000.’
Some neighbouring farmers weren’t so lucky. They were outbid on similar parcels—some paying double Peter’s amount, while others had to walk away altogether.
Peter described the situation as ‘unethical’.
‘I would say it’s actually unethical for a council to sell a landlocked piece of property, whether they want the rates back or not,’ he said.
‘They’re creating two really unhappy ratepayers—the people who bought it can’t use it for anything, and the people who surround it now can’t use their own land.’
Concerns about the auction’s legitimacy extended beyond Peter. Seven buyers who signed contracts for the lots ended up walking away, forfeiting their deposits. The council later struck private deals with neighbouring landowners for those blocks.
And while QPRC followed the legal requirement of public auction before a private sale, the event triggered internal concern.
QPRC councillor Mareeta Grundy was so unsettled by the aggressive bidding that she formally raised the matter.
‘At the auction, the frenzied bidding that went on was so astounding to me that I did write to the general manager expressing my concerns about the auction and the bidding wars that went on,’ she said.
‘I’ve asked for an investigation and a review of proceedings on that day.’
She called for greater transparency around the identity and intent of the bidders: ‘What transpires from here, it must pass the test of accountability and transparency.’
There were also whispers of more troubling behaviour.
‘We knew of two people who have been attending a lot of these auctions throughout NSW, particularly rural NSW,’ Ms Ryan said.
‘They go to the auctions, they’ll purchase lots, and then use that purchase to then either try and sell it at a higher price or the deposit they pay falls through. They’re just not there for the right reasons.’
While those two individuals were not confirmed to have attended the Queanbeyan-Palerang auction, their associates remained a question mark.
Reports had been lodged with NSW Police, but authorities confirmed they were aware of the auction and would not be investigating.
Peter urged the council to dig deeper into the motivations of those who bought multiple blocks.
‘They must have some form of plan, and I’d be really curious to know what it is,’ he said.
‘I’d really like for [the] council—who know these people because they’ve just sold property to them—to make enquiries about their intentions.
‘I can’t know if there was criminal activity, but there was destructive and pointless activity…I would really like to see some investigation, possibly anti-corruption.’
Ms Ryan said QPRC would review the auction process and was considering lobbying the state government to allow more flexibility in handling unique rural blocks.
‘The only way that these properties can be transferred is via public auction,’ she said. ‘It would be good to have a clause in there that says that if that little lot is part of a general farming area…we could go through the process of a private treaty.’
She said the council might propose a motion for legislative review at the New South Wales conference of councils later in 2025.
Have you ever discovered something surprising about a property you thought you fully owned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
In regional communities, neighbourly ties can make or break your peace of mind—especially when disputes over land or boundaries come into play.
For older Aussies who’ve worked hard to secure their properties and lifestyle, tensions with neighbours can be more than just frustrating—they can be deeply unsettling.
If you’ve ever dealt with difficult neighbours, this story might strike a chord.
Read more: Feuding neighbours caught on video as years-long dispute erupts into chaos
A quiet farming life in regional New South Wales took an unexpected and costly turn for one local after a surprising discovery about his own land.
What followed was a tense auction, an ethical debate, and calls for greater oversight.
Peter Marshall had bought his property in the 1990s and spent decades cultivating it into an award-winning truffle and forest farm in the Southern Tablelands.
But what he didn’t realise was that a four-metre-wide slice of his driveway, running a couple of hundred metres through his land, technically didn’t belong to him.
Driveway drama stuns long-time NSW farmer. Image source: ABC News/Luke Stephenson
That small error in paperwork came to light only recently, and not through official channels.
‘I didn’t learn it 35 years ago when I thought I’d bought it, I learned it when the neighbour rang up a month before the auction,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t informed by [the] council.’
The sliver of land had quietly amassed a mountain of unpaid rates—tens of thousands of dollars in debt—over decades. It was one of 24 obscure rural properties put up for public auction in May by the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC), part of a campaign to recover unpaid rates.
Peter’s expectation was that he’d be the only person interested in the lot, and the council didn’t anticipate much competition either.
‘I imagined that I’d be paying a couple of thousand just to tidy up the title,’ he said.
QPRC general manager Rebecca Ryan agreed that this type of auction was usually straightforward: ‘Normally the neighbour can come along…and there’s no other interest, so that’s generally how it has worked in the past. But this was certainly a different experience.’
What unfolded was a fiercely competitive auction that caught everyone off guard.
On auction day, 87 bidders registered across the 24 lots.
‘It was quite terrifying,’ Ms Ryan said. ‘The bids were coming from everywhere and every direction and very fast. There was a property in Mongarlowe, 400 square metres, we thought it might go for $1,000 or about $500. It went for $18,100.’
Peter knew he had to win his bid—without that land, his access to his tractor shed and main driveway would be compromised.
‘I couldn’t have the conflict of having somebody I don’t know owning a tiny fragment in the middle of my place,’ he said. ‘They’d have to trespass on me to get access to it, and then I’d have to trespass on them to get access to my tractor shed. I just couldn’t imagine how ridiculous that situation would be.’
Despite the land being landlocked, with no access or building entitlements, the auction turned frenzied.
‘There was a group of people there who were bidding on almost everything, including landlocked pieces of land like this one which they could never have access to,’ Peter said.
‘They bid it up on $1,000 increments, and I had to bid back…and it ended up at $19,000.’
Some neighbouring farmers weren’t so lucky. They were outbid on similar parcels—some paying double Peter’s amount, while others had to walk away altogether.
Peter described the situation as ‘unethical’.
‘I would say it’s actually unethical for a council to sell a landlocked piece of property, whether they want the rates back or not,’ he said.
‘They’re creating two really unhappy ratepayers—the people who bought it can’t use it for anything, and the people who surround it now can’t use their own land.’
Concerns about the auction’s legitimacy extended beyond Peter. Seven buyers who signed contracts for the lots ended up walking away, forfeiting their deposits. The council later struck private deals with neighbouring landowners for those blocks.
And while QPRC followed the legal requirement of public auction before a private sale, the event triggered internal concern.
QPRC councillor Mareeta Grundy was so unsettled by the aggressive bidding that she formally raised the matter.
‘At the auction, the frenzied bidding that went on was so astounding to me that I did write to the general manager expressing my concerns about the auction and the bidding wars that went on,’ she said.
‘I’ve asked for an investigation and a review of proceedings on that day.’
She called for greater transparency around the identity and intent of the bidders: ‘What transpires from here, it must pass the test of accountability and transparency.’
There were also whispers of more troubling behaviour.
‘We knew of two people who have been attending a lot of these auctions throughout NSW, particularly rural NSW,’ Ms Ryan said.
‘They go to the auctions, they’ll purchase lots, and then use that purchase to then either try and sell it at a higher price or the deposit they pay falls through. They’re just not there for the right reasons.’
While those two individuals were not confirmed to have attended the Queanbeyan-Palerang auction, their associates remained a question mark.
Reports had been lodged with NSW Police, but authorities confirmed they were aware of the auction and would not be investigating.
Peter urged the council to dig deeper into the motivations of those who bought multiple blocks.
‘They must have some form of plan, and I’d be really curious to know what it is,’ he said.
‘I’d really like for [the] council—who know these people because they’ve just sold property to them—to make enquiries about their intentions.
‘I can’t know if there was criminal activity, but there was destructive and pointless activity…I would really like to see some investigation, possibly anti-corruption.’
Ms Ryan said QPRC would review the auction process and was considering lobbying the state government to allow more flexibility in handling unique rural blocks.
‘The only way that these properties can be transferred is via public auction,’ she said. ‘It would be good to have a clause in there that says that if that little lot is part of a general farming area…we could go through the process of a private treaty.’
She said the council might propose a motion for legislative review at the New South Wales conference of councils later in 2025.
Have you ever discovered something surprising about a property you thought you fully owned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
In regional communities, neighbourly ties can make or break your peace of mind—especially when disputes over land or boundaries come into play.
For older Aussies who’ve worked hard to secure their properties and lifestyle, tensions with neighbours can be more than just frustrating—they can be deeply unsettling.
If you’ve ever dealt with difficult neighbours, this story might strike a chord.
Read more: Feuding neighbours caught on video as years-long dispute erupts into chaos
