An inquest into the disappearance of Maxwell George, missing for eight years, yesterday heard that the couple who leased his property continued to farm it four years after the lease expired.
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George and Audrey Tremain had a lease for the property ‘Rockdale’ from July 1999 to December 2004, Dubbo Coroner’s Court heard, and continued to run stock and some crops on the land.
The inquest yesterday heard evidence from Mrs Tremain, who said her husband and Mr George were in a “50-50” share farming agreement.
She denied having any financial benefit from ‘Rockdale’, but said they had been running sheep on the land as well as crops.
Mr George was last seen at a property near Brewarrina owned by Mr and Mrs Tremain in March 2000.
Mr Tremain reported him missing to Brewarrina police on March 27.
The court yesterday heard that Mr Tremain drove out to the property the day before, reported Mr George missing and returned to Dubbo on March 28.
There was heavy rain in the lead-up to that date the inquest heard, which Mrs Tremain said prevented her husband from going to the property earlier because of difficulty with vehicle access.
She said Mr Tremain was “very upset and cried” when he told her of Mr George’s disappearance.
When asked if his reaction seemed “odd”, Mrs Tremain said “no because he was missing Max”.
A month after his disappearance, Mr and Mrs Tremain paid $15,000 of Mr George’s debt for his property.
Mrs Tremain said this was because they didn’t know whether he would return. The court was also told of an option to purchase Mr George’s property for $100,000 on the lease document, a price Mrs Tremain said she thought was “just a small amount” under value.
Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon presented Mrs Tremain with a document signed by Mr George and Mr Tremain that set out the terms of agreement for the lease.
Deputy State Coroner MacMahon said the agreement did not include an optional purchase, however, the lease document did.
When he asked Mrs Tremain if she knew who instructed her lawyer’s office to include the option, she said, “I can’t explain it because I don’t know”.
The inquest continues today.