THE Foreign Investment Review Board has cleared the sale of one of the Hunter Valley’s biggest grazing properties to Chinese interests.
Glenrock Station, totalling about 30,000ha east of Scone, was bought by AAAW Pty Ltd, the Australian trading arm of a Chinese retailer for a price said to be around $45 million.
Improved pastures on 30,000ha Glenrock Station, east of Scone
The sale settled earlier this month and has now passed the final FIRB hurdle, following changes to foreign investment scrutiny rules enacted on March 1.
A spokesman for the sale said the new owners had been busy sourcing quality cattle to stock the property, with the intention of building numbers to around 5000 Angus cows and calves.
No indication has yet been provided about the company’s management or marketing intentions for the annual turnoff.
The sale was handled by Terry Burke of Burke and Smyth Tamworth, and his son Michael Burke of MacCallum Inglis Scone.
Glenrock Station, adjacent to James Packer’s Ellerston homestead near Scone, was placed on the market by financiers in 2013. Glenrock was last purchased in 2005 by then Babcock & Brown managing director Phil Green and Tricom brokerage firm founder Lance Rosenberg in a syndicate that paid $23 million.
The syndicate purchased Glenrock from Compagnie de l’Occident pour la Finance et l’Industrie, a Luxembourg corporation with interests in financial management, banking, property and agriculture.
I worked on Glenrock as a young jackeroo and it was a great experience. Was there around 18 months in the early 70s and owned I think then by Naroo Pastoral Co or British Tobacco. We all had a team of horses and they gave me Cadbury who was there to test all the newcomers. Every 6 months we went on a Brumby Run and that was great stuff. Not a country for the faint hearted. Filthy the Chinese have it..
I lived with my parents on Glenrock in 1956, it was owned by Vickory Brothers at the time. My father was the overseer.
in 1970 I installed first TV installation, with help, only worked for an hour due to movement of ionosphere with earth rotation but the other blokes turned the antenna from NBN Newcastle to Tamworth. I suppose they have sattelite now.
I worked at Glenrock cooking for the stockmen back in 1980
It was the most beautiful property I had ever seen, I would take the dogs and ride on horses over the land. It was owned by the Naroo Pastoral company back then, and Australian stockmen and manager ran it.
It saddened me to hear that the Chinese have grabbed this Iconic piece of Australian real estate.
1964 I was member of team wiring all Glenrock buildings for several weeks when power was first connected. It was then owned by W.D. & H.O. Wills (cigarettes), I fell in love with the place. At age 19 it was one of the greatest experiences in my life to see the size and beauty of that property and the memories are a big part of the larger picture which has helped me to be a very proud Australian. The sale of this property to overseas interest has made me extremely sad and depressed.
Our Government are allowing our country to be sold out. No wars required to takeover Australia,just buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!
First it was our top companies that sold out. Now our gov. Wants to sell off our land. Look at what the chinese have done to their own country and you can see why they want to be here. And they will do the same here. These pollies have to start listening to the people . We do not want our country sold off. Try and buy some of their prime land and i guarantee they wont allow it.
Stop selling our land if you must do business why don’t you rent or lease it to them for 25 years that way our country belongs to us , they don’t even sell there land people lease it for years
Australian Land should be Australian owned,we need to keep it for future generations. If we sell off our land, there will come a day our beautiful land will be owned by overseas, China and India will one day need more food to feed their countries, why can’t Australia be the one to do this, keeping our money in this country. This is our country!!!
Why not lease the land
What gives the government the right to sell Australian land or anything Australian. It’s not theirs to sell. It belongs to all Australians past present and future and should never be sold for any reason
Ever since Europeans settled this continent we have relied on British and American investment in our rural estate, in many cases in the north they lost money but in no cases did they take the land home with them. Now with the Chinese and Indonesians buying up odd properties, what is the problem?? The property will still be there when they go and so long as the land is well managed it will be good for Australia and will continue to produce for Australia
This plainly should not be allowed to happen! What is wrong with our politicians?
I partially agree with all comments, as I have made a living selling residential real estate to foreign investors Asia , New Zealand and PNG.
However I dont understand selling our farm land off. We should be value adding here in other words, owning the farm, growing out our live stock and shipping the chilled meat to China achieving the premium price that China will pay, and creating jobs for Australians, not allowing the Chinese to purchase our farm land grow out and sell to China in a closed circle there is no future for our farmers.
in the past it was british or American or other country of origin owners. Australians had the opportunity to purchase. As long as there is continued production with local employment and the land is managed properly, what is the problem?
God help Australians in foreign owned Australia no longer have a voice .We do not need political parties signing the TPP but they will anyway It is treason no matter which way we look at it Next will be Anna Creek will fall to the Chinese We do not need to be invaded the Political liberal party has sold us out and the 2major parties do not care about our nation Coal mining is ruining good food producing land Gas fracturing is poisoning our underground water supplies manufacturing sent off shore No protection in place for our Barrier reef No referendum to ensure the banks are not being fraudulent and dishonest with their financial advice and dealings Where will it all end?
This approval is plainly absurd and makes a mockery of the strong sentiment about retaining Australian ownership of its rural assets