Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:41a.m.
Dick Eade
A New Zealand businessman gunned to death on his farm in Vanuatu was involved in a land dispute, his wife has confirmed.
Dick Eade, 70, was killed on the island of Efate on Thursday. A paramedic said he had a gunshot wound in his chest.
Mr Eade had lived in Vanuatu for decades working on market gardens and he also recruited locals to work on New Zealand orchards and farms. He was one of Vanuatu's identities and was known as Vegetable Dick.
"We're very, very shocked. I just cannot believe it.... All over a bit of land, it was a dispute. We own a lot of land there and he's been selling sections and there was a squatter on the place," the Weekend Herald quotes his wife Muriel Eade, 69, as saying.
She says Mr Eade was one of life's good guys who cared deeply for the Vanuatu people.
Mrs Eade lives in Palmerston North with an 18-year-old daughter the couple adopted in Vanuatu. They moved back to New Zealand for the girl's schooling and because Mrs Eade has a heart condition.
The Daily Post newspaper has reported a suspect for the shooting was in police custody and was due to appear in court on Friday.
Vanuatu police deputy commander George Towmey earlier said the death was believed to be related to a land dispute.
Mr Eade was a key recruiter for New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employment Scheme, which brings in workers from Pacific Islands to cover labour shortages in the horticulture and viticulture industry.
NZN
