Veteran rural property identity Lex Heinemann is to make a surprise return to national agency operations, being announced yesterday as Landmark Harcourt’s director of rural growth, responsible for the Queensland/NT region.

Mr Heinemann, 71, will make a return to the company – then operating under the Dalgety and later Dalgety Winchcombe flags – where he forged his property marketing and agency reputation. He negotiated many of northern Australia’s largest cattle property deals during the 1980s, 90s and 2000s.

He left Dalgety Winchcombe in 1994 to launch a specialist rural property division for the Ray White property group. Ray White Rural over a period of years grew to become one of Australia’s largest rural property marketing companies.

Mr Heinemann sold his shares in the Ray White Rural property business in 2009, but maintained an ongoing consultancy role.

Mr Heinemann was closely involved in many of Australia’s benchmark rural property deals over the past 30 years, including the CSR portfolio dispersal, Western Grazing, King Ranch, Sherwin Pastoral Alice Springs Pastoral Co dispersal and others.

His return to Landmark takes his career full circle to where he first started as a branch manager in western Queensland centres like Charleville, Townsville, Mitchell and Cunnamulla in the 1970s. He shifted to Brisbane with Australia Estates in 1973, moving into a specialist property role ever since.

While his new role will be heavily oriented towards property, it will also involve stock and other parts of Landmark Harcourt’s northern business.

Mr Heinemann will report to Landmark Harcourt’s national chief executive, Darren Cole.

$4.5m buys Monto’s Rawbelle

In other property news overnight, showcase Central Queensland) breeding property Rawbelle changed hands soon after auction yesterday for $4.5 million, or approximately $225/ac bare.

Vendors Tim Fairfax and family's highly-regarded 8228ha freehold EU-accredited Monto district grazing property went to auction in Biloela yesterday, through Moura agents Hourn & Bishop.

Buyers were Eidsvold beef producers Paul and Ingrid Hatton and their sons, Adam and Brett. The Hatton’s earlier bought Old Delargum, another property not far from Rawbelle.

The auction produced four bidding cards and two physical bidders, and the $4.5 million result, achieved soon after being passed in for $4m, will help re-establish values for well-developed forest country in the region. Bother buyers and vendors were said to be well satisfied with the result  

Situated 70km south of Biloela, Rawbelle is predominantly well-improved forest country, with smaller areas of scrub. The property was sold bare, but will comfortably run 1500 breeders.

The Fairfax family has developed Rawbelle as their ‘home’ property over the past 40 years, but decided to sell to ‘consolidate their pastoral holdings in Central and Central Western Queensland.

• The agent was Gary Bishop, Hourn & Bishop Qld.