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

• Blue ribbon Victorian enterprises tipped to make $60m
• Strong interest in Beaufort holding
• CQ beef producers continue downsizing
• Well-watered breeding country in FNQ
• 3000 breeders offered on North QLD’s Inkerman
• Negotiations underway for Maranoa’s Well Gully
• Wide Bay grazing attracts good inquiry

 

Blue ribbon Victorian enterprises tipped to make $60m

Two notable properties in Victoria’s Western District – one of Australia’s most fertile and productive agricultural regions – have hit the market.

The highly productive grazing and cropping property Tuloona, listed by the Craig family, is expected to make around $30 million, bare.

Situated near Harrow, 20km west of Balmoral, the 2418ha holding has been carved off the original 4200ha property purchased by the Adelaide-based Craig family in 1985.

It is being sold as part of a generational rationalisation.

Tuloona is currently operated as a grazing enterprise focusing on the production of sheep for fine wool and prime lambs, as well as beef cattle, oilseeds and cereal cropping.

Three quarters of the country is gently undulating arable red gum tableland, with the balance dissected tableland with gentle slopes.

Rotational cropping is undertaken on 425ha with canola, barley, wheat, lupins and clover.

Tuloona has been extensively developed with improved pastures, water infrastructure, fencing, laneways and paddock layout – all greatly enhancing its productivity.

The structural improvements and infrastructure include numerous dwellings and accommodation, extensive rural shedding and livestock handling.

The property is well-located in relation to key infrastructure supporting the operations, including saleyards at Hamilton, processing facilities in Ararat (Ararat Meat Exports), Warrnambool (Midfield Meats) and Colac (Australian Lamb Company) and port facilities in Portland.

Tuloona is being offered for sale by expression of interest closing on July 1 by Danny Thomas from Land Agribusiness Water Development (LAWD) in conjunction with Graeme Linke LMB Livestock & Land.

Mr Linke said the market is pitching the carrying capacity at between 26,000 and 32,000 dry sheep equivalents.

He said there has been good strong interest from locals, large farming families and corporates.

Strong interest in Beaufort holding

Meanwhile, there has been remarkable interest from locals, institutional and foreign investors in one of Western Victoria’s notable rural holdings, which is anticipated to sell for more than $28 million bare.

Craig and Judy Carpenter’s Buln Gherin is a versatile mixed farming operation ideally suited to wool, prime lamb, cattle and cropping pursuits.

Two hours from Melbourne, the enterprise is situated 15km south west of Beaufort and 62km west of Ballarat and enjoys spectacular views of Mount Cole and Mount Langi Ghiran.

Settled more than 100 years ago, Buln Gherin (which means Black Cockatoo in the local aboriginal language) has been owned by just two families, including the Carpenters.

Spanning 1881ha, the aggregation comprises three contiguous land holdings – 1089ha Buln Gherin, 267ha Buln Gherin North and 525ha Ellimatta.

The property boasts a productive combination of black/red volcanic and grey loam soils that can carry 28,000 DSE, with scope to increase with further development.

Buln Gherin has an extensive list of outstanding structural improvements, including a state-of-the-art six stand woolshed complex and undercover yards with a 4000 sheep capacity.

There is an abundance of natural water stored in a 2.6 million litre rainwater tank, as well as bores and numerous catchment dams.

Buln Gherin is being offered as a whole or as three contingent holdings via an expressions of interest campaign closing on July 8.

Sean Simpson and Nick Myer from Elders are handling the sale.

CQ beef producers continue downsizing

Central Queensland-based beef producers John and Kate McLoughlin will auction their large-scale Thornhill Aggregation in north west Queensland as four separate properties.

The Thornhill Aggregation is situated 50km west of Hughenden and 65km east of Richmond and features open undulating black soil, Mitchell and Flinders grass downs country with some prickly acacia.

The 36,891ha holding comprises four adjoining properties:

• 10,060ha Thornhill is watered by the Walkers and Eastern Creek channel systems and a bore. It can carry 1250 AE.
• 10,712ha Killarney is watered by the Sloane channel system and two bores. It can run 1350AE.
• 11,688ha Tamworth is also watered by the Sloane channels and a bore. It can run 1400AE.
• 4431ha Bareeba is watered by a bore. Water is also supplemented via a piping system from Tamworth and Killarney for extra security. It can run 500AE.

Henry Slaney from Slaney & Co and Tom McLeish from TopX are handling the marketing campaign and sale.

Mr McLeish said it is an ideally located, tick free, group of properties with a good body of feed for this season.

“It is well set up to handle large mobs of cattle with extensive water and fencing development,” he said.

“With bitumen frontage via the Flinders Highway, the operation has the ability to supply markets all year round, wet season or dry season enabling it to be run as either a breeding, backgrounding or trading enterprise,” Mr McLeish said.

Interested parties can purchase the aggregation separately or as a whole at auction on July 13.

Thornhill, including the 10,084ha Mugwee, was purchased by the McLoughlins in July 2018 for close to its $13.7 million ($291/ha) asking price.

The couple are downsizing, following the sale of a number of properties over recent years:

• November 2020 – 420,000ha Roxborough Downs and Mudgerebar in north-west Queensland was sold to McMillan Pastoral for around $40m bare.
• April 2020 – 3560ha Arcadia Valley property Leeora Downs at Injune was sold for around $17m to neighbours, Sam and Heather Crowther.
• March 2017 – 147,510ha Aroona Station at Katherine sold to Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart for $24m (including 14,000 cattle).

Once the Thornhill Aggregation is offloaded, the McLoughlins will be left with their Central Highlands property Rainbow at Rolleston and the 10,084ha block Mugwee near Hughenden.

 Well-watered breeding country in FNQ

More than $8.4 million bare is anticipated for Einasleigh’s 22,700ha Redrock Station in Far North Queensland.

Gary Carrington and Sonia Watts who have owned Redrock for the last nine years are selling due to a change of investment focus.

The well-respected, safe breeding cattle enterprise in the lower peninsula has attracted a high level of interest, especially from locals who understand its capabilities and from Central Queensland producers chasing a breeding enterprise to support downs country.

Redrock is close to the Atherton Tablelands and within 330km of Charters Towers, Townsville and Hughenden – in other words, saleyards, meatworks, live export and grass fattening markets.

It consists of mostly undulating to hilly and useful range country, with fertile alluvial and black soils on the river frontages and strong pastures.

Selling agent Henry Slaney from Slaney & Co said Redrock ticked a lot of boxes.

“It is ideally located, within a predictable rainfall climate, to provide a reliable cattle turnoff to live export or meatworks,” he said.

The property boasts 24km of double and single frontages to Einasleigh River. It is also watered from extensive permanent and semi-permanent river and creek waterholes, 17 dams, a bore and a permanent spring feed creek.

The boundary is fully fenced and well maintained and consistently runs between 2500 and 3000 mixed cattle.

The sale includes 1900 head of cattle comprising 1790 mixed females, 80 weaner heifers, all progeny at foot and 30 bulls.

In January, the neighbouring 15,600ha Ellendale sold for $370/ha bare, or $7.5 million, including 1500 head of mixed cattle.

Redrock Station will be auctioned on July 6.

3000 breeders offered on North QLD’s Inkerman

Inkerman Station, in the heart of North Queensland’s Lower Burdekin, has been listed for sale with 3000 breeders and calves.

Located 15km south of Home Hill, the 16,665ha comprise 4935ha of quality black soil and 11,729ha of grazing country.

Vendors Russell and Janelle Dobe from Bowen purchased Inkerman in October 2016 for $11.125m as a going concern, on a walk-in, walk-out basis with 2000 females and an extensive working plant.

David Buckley from Nutrien Harcourts Queensland Rural said the large-scale grazing and farming property has attracted inquiry from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

“Inkerman is situated in a sought-after coastal region, boasting high and reliable rainfall and a long growing season. The country has responded to the current seasonal conditions and the pastures are showing excellent growth,” he said.

“There is a mix of quality black soil farming and large areas available for further development, with quality tableland grazing country and excellent improvements and pastures.”

The existing 50ha cane farm, located adjacent to one of the large lagoons on the property, is supported by a 393 megalitre licence.

The property boasts new tanks and troughs and the existing bores have been upgraded with submersible solar pumps.

The sale includes 3000 females and calves, 100 Brangus bulls, extensive plant and equipment and around 800 tonnes of irrigated and fertilised forage and lablab silage.

Inkerman Station is being offered for sale by expressions of interest closing on July 8.

Negotiations underway for Maranoa’s Well Gully

Negotiations are continuing for Errol and Candy Brumpton’s 1036ha Well Gully, in Queensland’s Maranoa, following the cancellation of the June 3 auction.

The modern, high production, highly developed property is situated 24km from Mitchell and 108km west of Roma.

Selling agent Darryl Langton from Nutrien Harcourts is dealing with several interested parties outside the auction terms.

Founded in 1974, Well Gully was once home to the renowned Well Gully Poll Merino Stud which developed highly profitable wool and meat sheep.

Along the way Well Gully amassed a number of remarkable achievements including producing fleece that delivered the world’s lightest woollen cloth at 150 grams per lineal metre.

In August last year, after more than 40 years, the stud breeders sold their 1806 elite Merino ewes to buyers in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia and Kangaroo Island.

In November, the Brumptons sold the adjoining 1554ha East Lynne for $4.1m ($2638/ha).

Well Gully is fully boundary fenced and suitable for feeding, fattening, a stud or an operations base for 500 steers or 2500 breeding ewes.

The country is developed brigalow, belah, bottletree, wilga soils improved with buffel, bisset creeping blue, purple pigeon and native grasses. Around 210ha can be cultivated.

Well Gully is watered by high-capacity shallow sub-artesian water, four bores and two earth dams.

Wide Bay grazing attracts good inquiry

There has been good inquiry from across Queensland for a grazing block in the Wide Bay area.

The 264 hectares of fertile breeding and fattening country is situated at Lower Wonga, 20 minutes north west of Gympie on the Wide Bay highway.

The block is 98 percent cleared with scattered shade trees and fenced into five paddocks. There are cattle yards, a number of pens, a plunge dip, a race and a crush.

Water is supplied via several dams and numerous waterholes on Hookey Creek and other gullies.

The Lower Wonga block is one of a number of assets vendor Brian Portas has been offloading as he moves towards retirement.

The expressions of interest campaign, which closes on June 28, is being handled by Lex Townsend from the Professional at Gympie.

 

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