Historic shearing shed on Tubbo, which once shore 121,000 sheep in a season

HEWITT Cattle Australia, backed by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board, has paid more than $40 million for the historic Tubbo Station in New South Wales’ Riverina.

Tubbo was offered to the market via an expressions of interest campaign by LAWD and was sold on a walk-in, walk-out basis, including plant and equipment, a solar farm and 19,402 sheep.

Selling agent Col Medway could not disclose the sale price, but said it was above the $40 million guide price.

“The interest was mostly domestic from existing sheep industry players in southern New South Wales and the Riverina,” he said.

The Hewitts purchased Tubbo Station as an expansion of their other New South Wales Certified Organic sheep and lamb enterprises – 127,337ha Tandou Station, 40,878ha Packsaddle and 1696ha Warilba.

While contracts have exchanged, the settlement will be subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board. If the transaction goes ahead, the deal will involve an offshore vendor selling to an offshore buyer.

Mr Medway paid tribute to Tubbo Station manager Rob Stein (formerly of Kameruka Estate in NSW’s Bega Valley).

“He has been a tremendous steward – securing water, erecting fencing and allowing the country to recover from overgrazing. Mr Stein is the reason why the property achieved such a strong result,” Mr Medway said.

Tubbo is a highly regarded sheep and cattle station that has been held by the UK-based Pritchard-Gordon family for the past ten years.

In 2011, the Price family’s Four Arrows Group offloaded Tubbo Station in five different parcels for more than $30m, after the former corporate high-flyer Rodney Price filed for bankruptcy.

Today, Tubbo spans 14,875ha of highly productive classic Riverina country at Darlington Point, 53km from Griffith and 150km from Wagga Wagga.  It currently operates as a self-replacing Merino flock producing both wool and lambs.

The property can run 39,000 dry sheep equivalents on the open and sheltered riverine plains supporting productive grass and legume pastures.

It is watered by 20km of Murrumbidgee River frontage, as well as 18 bores and dams.

A 539ha solar farm generates $560,000 in income annually.

Despite its name, Hewitt Cattle Australia now controls a large Certified Organic sheep enterprise across western NSW and South Australia, complementing the company’s northern Organic cattle assets across northern and Central Queensland, and the Central Australia region east of Alice Springs.

Click on image for a larger view

History

Tubbo Station is regarded as one of the richest and largest grazing and sheep properties in the Riverina.

It was first established during the mid-1800s by a Scottish squatter, John Peter, who managed around 20 runs spanning more than 300,000ha by 1866.

Following his death, the investment company that purchased the Tubbo Run in 1887 shore as many as 121,847 sheep, which was the third largest woolclip shorn in New South Wales.

Tubbo Station was one of the few stations that managed to avoid losing much of its holdings to government subdivision and soldier settlement.

• Hewitt Cattle Co is currently advertising via Beef Central’s popular recruitment platform, Jobs Central, for a station manager for Tubbo. Click this link to access the job description.