THIS week’s property review includes a wrap-up of recently completed sales:

• Argentinians add NT’s Stapleton Station to their portfolio
• Acton’s CQ headquarters makes around $80m
• $12.5m buys scale and water in North Queensland
• Record price for CQ’s Marobi
• NSW blue-ribbon blue granite grazing
• Well known Well Gully changes hands
• Local expands in NSW’s Southern Tablelands

Argentinians add NT’s Stapleton Station to their portfolio

Cross Pacific Investments, backed by Argentina’s Buratovich family, has paid $7.3 million for the Northern Territory’s Stapleton Station.

Two years ago, the Argentinian cropping company paid almost $44m for almost 550,000 hectares of cattle country near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Those deals included:

• November 2019 – 67,840ha Sturt Downs – $6.8m
• August 2019 – 101,850ha Scott Creek – $12m
• May 2019 – 379,000ha Manbulloo– $25m

The 59,810ha Stapleton Station, 80km south west of Katherine and 305km south east of Darwin, represents a viable standalone operation or as part of a broader supply chain.

Stapleton features diverse land and soil types comprising open forest transitioning to ridges timbered with bloodwood, stringybark, box, bauhinia and lancewood on predominantly red and grey soils. Around 125ha has been cleared and developed for hay production.

Water on Stapleton is secured by numerous stock dams and bores which provide water to a network of tanks and troughs. Natural waters include frontage to Mathison Creek and natural springs.

Stapleton last traded in 2015 for around $3.4m. It was purchased by the Lynch family from Tara Station, north of Cloncurry, who had been running cattle on agistment there due to drought at home.

It is understood Geoff Warriner from JLL handled the sale, although he declined to comment.

Acton’s CQ headquarters makes around $80m

The Acton family’s Central Queensland Croydon Station has sold for a reported $80m bare of stock, to Central Queensland’s Redrock Trading Co owned by Rolleston-based John and Margaret Speed.

The 59,669ha of showcase growing and finishing country is located in the renowned Lotus Creek district, centrally positioned between Rockhampton and Mackay.

The sale of Croydon Station was handled by Richard Brosnan from Ray White Rural Rockhampton and Pat O’Driscoll and Tom Acton from Knight Frank Agribusiness.

While the agents were unable to disclose the sale price or the incoming purchasers, they said the public tender campaign saw ten inspections from mostly Central Queensland farming families, with seven competitive tenders submitted by the end of June.

In May 1998, the late Graeme Acton and his wife Jennie purchased Croydon Station and added it to the family business (Acton Land & Cattle Co), relocating there with their four children.

The western part of the property comprises 27,300ha of developed scrub with improved pastures, while 32,369ha to the east of the Marlborough Sarina Road features forest country with patches of scrub influence.

The property is well watered by 26 dams, two equipped bores and two permanent natural waterholes equipped with pumps along the Lotus Creek.

The infrastructure is well improved and boasts a substantial homestead complex, two sets of yards and 120km of new fencing.

$12.5m buys scale and water in North Queensland

Andrew and Priscilla Wedel have paid more than $12.5 million for Dartmoor Station, the large-scale breeding operation with exceptional water in Queensland’s Whitsunday region.

Virgil Kenny from Elders said there were ten registered bidders with four active at the auction, which saw Dartmoor Station pass in for $12.5m and sell immediately afterwards for an undisclosed sum.

The Wedels own the 4286ha Muidart, an integrated grazing and grains operation, along with a licensed feedlot developed to handle 400 head of cattle, about 25km west of Dysart.

The couple will use Dartmoor as a breeder enterprise to complement their existing backgrounding and feedlot operations.

The 22,450ha block is 90km from Collinsville and 110km from Bowen.

A feature is the 8km double frontage to the Bowen River which provides permanent water supported by nine bores and 18 dams.

The country on Dartmoor Station is predominately open undulating hills lightly timbered with ironbark and bloodwood that can run more than 2000 breeders plus progeny.

The Kenny family, who has owned Dartmoor for 16 years, is consolidating its assets after paying more than $10 million (including 600 females) for the large-scale breeding and fattening property Develin, in Queensland’s tightly held Marlborough district, in July last year.

The sale of Dartmoor included 1000 breeders plus followers and station plant.

Record price for CQ’s Marobi

Record prices have been achieved at four consecutive property auctions conducted by Central Queensland’s Hourn & Bishop Qld.

The latest is the 403ha Moura block Marobi which achieved $6425/ha bare of stock and plant – paid by a nearby neighbour adding to their existing holdings.

The productive, well-positioned property, ideal for breeding, backgrounding or fattening, is located 7km south east of Moura and 70km from Biloela.

The gently undulating developed brigalow, belah and softwood scrub country is well grassed with established stands of improved pasture that can run 150 cows and calves or 240 backgrounders.

It is watered by three dams and has three metered outlets to the Gibihi Water Scheme with a 4.8meg of water allocation.

In April, Hourn & Bishop Qld sold three standout properties in Central Queensland.

• 1350ha Currawong, 21km from Baralaba and 80km from Biloela, made $6.05m ($4481/ha).
• 5211ha Yantumara, in the renowned Bauhinia District, sold for $22m ($4222/ha).
• 866ha Newlands, located at Gainsford, set a new district record, selling for $5.25m ($6062/ha).

NSW blue-ribbon blue granite grazing

A showpiece grazing property at Tenterfield in northern New South Wales has sold for $6.25 million.

The 882ha Knockdon Park attracted 13 registered bidders and sold to a family with other grazing interests in the area.

For the last 30 years, the blue-ribbon property was meticulously managed and maintained by the late Dr Terry Casey. Knockdon Park was being sold to finalise his pastoral assets.

The property comprises mostly undulating blue granite grazing country with access to shelter in the timbered ridgelines.

Water is both pure and plentiful with double frontage to the Cataract River, Carrolls Creek and Spring Creek, as well as numerous dams.

Supplementing the natural water is a reticulated system which sees water gravity fed to a network of 22 cement troughs as well as the homestead gardens.

Knockdon Park can run 350 breeders and was offered with a list of working plant and equipment.

Well known Well Gully changes hands

A local has secured Errol and Candy Brumpton’s 1036ha Well Gully, in Queensland’s Maranoa district, for an undisclosed sum.

Darryl Langton from Nutrien Harcourts was unable to name the buyer or the price paid but eight months ago, the Brumptons sold the adjoining 1554ha block, East Lynne (that had no infrastructure) for $4.1m ($2638/ha) bare.

The modern, high-production well-developed Well Gully is situated 24km from Mitchell and 108km west of Roma.

Founded in 1974, it 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 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.

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 and around 210ha can be cultivated.

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

Bollon country makes $475/ha

Louise Harris from Barraba in New South Wales has finalised the sale of her Queensland grazing holdings after her Bollon property Marango sold under the hammer for $5.65 million or $475/ha.

The fully exclusion-fenced property was purchased by Michael and Maureen Borello from the Mount Emu Pastoral Co at Hughenden.

Louise and her late husband Wilf purchased the 11,9881ha Marango six years ago for undisclosed sum as a key link in the Harris family cattle supply chain.

Situated 30km north of Bollon and 118km from St George, most of the country is deep red loamy soils growing buffel grass in the summer and a mix of herbages in the winter, running up to 1000 cows in an average year.

Around 30 percent is low flood out country from the Mungallala Creek providing a mix of feed – an additional drought mitigation measure.

Water is provided by the share bore on Bindebango, supplying 16 tanks and 22 troughs, as well as 17 earth dams.

In August last year, Louise Harris sold 14,357ha Whyenbirra, 60km south of Bollon and 132km south west of St George, to well-known meat industry identity Robert Woodward for $4.1m.

Mr Woodward and family owns the vertically integrated Swan Hill Abattoir and Murray Valley Meats businesses called Woodward Foods Australia.

The fully exclusion-fenced Whyenbirra is suited to breeding and backgrounding cattle, sheep and/or goats.

It offers safe and reliable bore water, and a mix of buffel and flood-out country that can carry up to 1500 cows.

The marketing and sale of both Marango and Whyenbirra were handled by Nick Dunsdon from Nutrien Harcourts GDL.

Local expands in NSW’s Southern Tablelands

A producer from Young has secured a signature offering of highly improved pasture country in New South Wales’ Southern Tablelands.

The 473ha Pejar Park (the property, not the homestead) is situated near Woodhouselee, 25km from Crookwell and Goulburn.

The country comprises gently undulating rolling hills and a 6km frontage to the major water storage, Pejar Dam.

A mix of red basalt and granite derivative soil types supporting productive phalaris and clover pastures are capable of carrying 5500 dry sheep equivalents or 11.6 DSE per hectare.

Water is secured from multiple sources including a three megalitre stock and domestic water licence from Pejar Dam, 23 dams, multiple springs and two creeks.

Tim Corcoran from LAWD, who was unable to disclose the price paid or the buyer, said the incoming purchaser was seeking country to complement their existing enterprise.

 

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