THIS week’s property review includes this wrap-up of recently completed sales, and a separate article on interesting recent listings across the country.

• Talwood’s Rangelands sells prior to auction
• Heytesbury adds NT’s Carbeen Park to its portfolio
• Richmond family purchases tightly held Gulf breeding country
• NQ’s Springfield Station sells with 7000 cattle
• NSW govt secures Broughton Vale Station for a national park

Talwood’s Rangelands sells prior to auction

South Queensland’s Rangelands has been snapped up prior to auction selling to a local family for expansion.

The 2641ha fully exclusion-fenced livestock and cropping opportunity is located 43km from Talwood and halfway between Goondiwindi and St George.

Capable of running 600 backgrounders, Rangelands is close to livestock markets in Queensland and New South Wales, as well as feedlot operations and grain handling facilities.

Nutrien Harcourts GDL agent Andrew McCallum was unable to disclose the buyer or the price but said it met vendor expectations.

Last month, Mr McCallum reported Rangelands was experiencing a good season.

“Conservatively stocked and boasting plenty of feed, livestock do exceptionally well. Rangelands and the broader Talwood district are conducive to backgrounding and breeding operations with a blend of cultivation,” he said.

Described as low-cost, low-maintenance and easily managed, Rangelands has soft red belah soils running to lighter red undulating box, sandalwood and wilga soils with areas of brigalow.

Vendors David and Annie Beare had been growing around 80ha of fodder crops, however there is potential to expand this area to more than 800ha.

Watered by nine dams (two are equipped), the infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, a shed and two cattle yards.

Heytesbury adds NT’s Carbeen Park to its portfolio

Heytesbury Pastoral Co has paid $12.8 million bare for a Katherine cattle depot and backgrounding block offered with a 750ML water extraction licence from the Katherine River.

The 7390ha Carbeen Park is a freehold grazing property 350km from Darwin Port. It was sold by businessman Henry Lui after three years of ownership.

Heytesbury Pastoral (owned and managed by the Holmes à Court family) operates six stations in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, spanning 2.7 million hectares and running 165,000 head of cattle. Iconic Victoria River Downs is the centrepiece.

Boasting 14km frontage to the Katherine River, Carbeen Park has a registered 5000 to 8000 head feedlot, with yards and pens and a weighbridge.

Up to half of the operation has quality river levee soils suited to horticulture, cropping, hay and pasture.

Around 1600ha is cleared and planted to pastures, with 40ha traditionally planted to sorghum under a centre pivot and 365ha to established pastures. The balance is used for grazing.

Infrastructure includes a seven-bedroom home. The sale of Carbeen Park was handled by Elders agent Alison Ross.

Previously, Carbeen Park was leased by AA Co as a holding depot for its Livingstone Abattoir near Darwin, as well as Consolidated Pastoral, which used it as a live export depot.

Carbeen Park was once owned by Noel Buntine, a top end cattle transport legend who founded and ran Buntine Roadways after the opening of the Katherine Meatworks in 1963. Later, the property was also owned by northern live export industry identity John Quintana, who died tragically in an aviation accident in 2013.

Mr Quintana used the property as a live export holding depot and pre-shipment facility – backgrounding and feeding cattle, farming crops and producing his own feed requirements for the sea voyages.

The 7390ha Carbeen Park is a freehold grazing property and cattle depot near Katherine

Richmond family purchases tightly held Gulf breeding country

A grazing family from Richmond in Queensland’s north-west has secured Gulf breeding country with an approved carbon project.

Sold by a New South Wales-based family who was consolidating its assets, the 235,932ha Bowthorn Station is situated in the tightly held Burke Shire, 70km from Doomadgee and 170km west of Burketown.

The turn-key operation was offered on a walk-in walk-out basis, including 6053 breeders and followers and 143 bulls, plus an extensive list of plant and equipment.

Ray White northern property specialist Liam Kirkwood was unable to disclose the price but said the marketing campaign (conducted with Brodie & Co’s Sam Daniels) generated good interest from both private and institutional investors here and overseas.

The leasehold country ranges from red to sandy loam with areas of seca stylo and buffel, as well as spinifex hills.

A reliable average rainfall of 714mm grows a good body of grass for a carrying capacity of 7500 breeders, and potential to increase numbers with further development.

Bowthorn is watered by multiple all year-round natural watercourses, including the Nicholson River, 30 waterholes, 27 dams, 14 bores and numerous creeks and springs.

Infrastructure includes a four-bedroom home, two cottages, an eight-bedroom workers quarters, numerous sheds and six steel cattle yards.

NQ’s Springfield Station sells with 7000 cattle

A Sydney-based corporate operator with country in southern Australia has secured North Queensland breeder operation Springfield Station.

The 68,500ha enterprise is located 30km south-east of Mount Surprise and 250km south-west of Cairns.

It was offered to the market in September by Belyando’s Hewitt family without a price guide on a walk-in walk-out basis, and sold with full station plant and 7000 branded cattle.

Queensland Rural agent Peter McPherson was unable to disclose the buyer or the price paid.

A large area of Springfield is basalt-based soils and black soil flats and softer frontage sections capable of running 7500 joined females and 2500 followers.

It boasts 20km of double frontage to the seasonal Lynd River. The above ground and below water, including the permanent spring fed Fossilbrook and Saltwater Springs, provide unlimited water supply for the entire property.

During their tenure, the Hewitts had significantly improved the water infrastructure installing five new bores and equipping the 12 existing ones with solar.

Infrastructure includes a four-bedroom home, two three-bedroom cottages, a six-bedroom quarters, new steel cattle yards and more than 100km of new fencing.

Springfield near Mt Surprise

NSW Govt secures Broughton Vale Station for a national park

Broughton Vale Station in New South Wales’ far west has been acquired by the Minns State Government to protect threatened plants and animals and preserve a sacred Aboriginal site.

The 31,500ha property, located 75km east of Broken Hill, is the largest of 12 land acquisitions made in 2024 to expand the network of national parks in NSW by more than 36,000ha.

Broughton Vale includes the Kukirrka or Burkes Cave, a sacred Aboriginal birthing cave used for more than 2000 years and other significant cultural sites containing artworks and engravings.

The cave and a nearby freshwater spring were also used by Burke and Wills during their 1860 expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and as a Cobb & Co stopover between Broken Hill and Wilcannia.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has promised to carry out feral animal and weed control.

Broughton Vale adjoins the recently created Langidoon-Medford State Conservation Area formed following the 2021 purchase of the Wall family’s neighbouring Langidoon and Metford Stations.

Spanning 60,468ha and located 65km east of Broken Hill, it was described as the second-largest land acquisition in NSW for national parks in the past decade following the purchase of Narriearra Station the previous year.