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

• Kilcoy grazing makes $16m+
• Kopyje Station sells for $5.2m
• District record for NSW western lands lease
• $7.6+ for grass and water in southern QLD
• Central Highlands family adds Kulumur to its holdings
• Western QLD aggregation withdrawn from the market

Kilcoy grazing makes $16m+

The lotfeeding Morgan family from Condamine has paid $16.1 million for blue ribbon cattle country at Kilcoy, in Queensland’s south east corner.

The 1372ha Brooklyn, close to the Sunshine Coast, was offered at auction for the first time since the 1890s.

The property has been held by four generations of the Ferling family and was sold by Graham “Snow” Duncan who is retiring.

Mike Barry from Shepherdson & Boyd said a property like Brooklyn had never before been offered to the Kilcoy market.

“It was an outstanding result for an outstanding property. Situated in the heart of premium cattle country, it is the pick of the best and that is why we took it to auction because we honestly didn’t know what it was worth,” he said.

Located in a reliable 900mm-950mm rainfall area, Brooklyn is a well-developed and maintained property featuring a circa 1920s high set Queenslander homestead.

The country comprises expansive creek flats, hollows and gently rolling hills, as well as a small area of timbered, higher country.

Brooklyn is renowned for producing finished, prime heavy bullocks. Over many years, it has been conservatively stocked with 600 breeders, 650 steers to prime finished bullocks or 850 young cattle.

The property has an abundance of natural water including frontage to the permanent Sheep Station and Oakey Creeks, permanent watercourses, 14 dams, two lagoons and an equipped bore.

Kopyje Station sells for $5.2m

Steph Hughes, a Forbes primary producer and lawyer, has paid $5.2 million ($586/ha) for the 8788ha Kopyje Station in New South Wales’ north-west.

The 35-year-old Ms Hughes, who comes from a mixed grazing and farming background, said she had been looking to invest in a property for some time.

“Kopyje is a low maintenance operation offering the opportunity to diversify. The openness of the country and its location were also attractive,” she said.

Situated 35km north of Nymagee and 115km south-west of Nyngan, Kopyje is carrying a huge body of native grass and watered by 14 earth dams.

Around 2423ha is arable, but has not been farmed since 2009.

The country is flat to slightly undulating red loams to grey soils timbered by box kurrajong, pine, malley ridges, rosewood and wilga.

Kopyje is currently running 322 cows and followers, 10 bulls and 300 Dorper ewes. It harvests around 1200 nomadic rangeland goats a year.

Filipino lawyer and businessman Romeo Roxas sold the western New South Wales holding to further develop his Central Australian cattle station Murray Downs, 400km north of Alice Springs.

David Russell from Nutrien Russell Property and Livestock handled the marketing and sale.

District record for NSW western lands lease

Mark and Peta Botton from Benalla in Victoria have paid $4.6 million ($281/ha or $1104/DSE), a district record, for Gundabooka in New South Wales’ north-west.

Located 40km north-east of Louth and 60km south-west of Bourke, Gundabooka spans 16,371ha – most of which is western lands lease (8.4ha is freehold).

Greg Seiler from Nutrien Harcourts said the interest was tremendous with 58 inquiries, 17 inspections, 11 registered bidders with five active on auction day.

“Bidding started at $3.3m and rose to $4.6m, surpassing the vendors’ expectations. The Bottons were seeking a farming operation, as well as a lifestyle change. The couple grew up in the Cobar district and have local connections in Bourke.”

The sale ends 93 years of family ownership, with owner Tony Falkenhagen set to retire to Louth.

A feature of Gundabooka is 21km of Darling River frontage running onto heavy black country that floods out at times. This country grows a good body of grasses and herbages in season.

The red country is open to semi-open with areas of woody shrubs and is carrying a good body of grasses, herbages and salines.

Gundabooka is well watered by the Darling River, dams and numerous tanks. It has been lightly stocked over recent years but is rated to run 4040 DSE.

$7.6m+ for grass and water in southern QLD

Condamine’s Andrew Smith has paid more than $7.625 million for what Nutrien Harcourts GDL describes as an excellent parcel of local country with a strong production history.

Held by the Gilmour family since 1953, the 1901ha Moorlands is situated 120km west of Dalby and 140km east of Roma.

Selling agent Andrew McCallum said the property was passed in at auction but sold shortly afterwards to the top bidder.

“Moorlands is supporting a large body of pasture in a splendid condition and attracted interest from all sectors of the market, including western producers looking to come in closer and add to their existing western and northern holdings,” he said.

Moorlands comprises around 1500ha of open grass country with the remainder renovated to bambatsi and well-established buffel, Queensland blue grass and herbages in season.

Well-watered, Moorlands has 4.5km of Dogwood Creek frontage, three dams, nine troughs and five storage tanks. There is a licence to construct a weir on the Tomahan Creek that runs through the property.

Central Highlands family adds Kulumur to its holdings

A family operation from Queensland’s Central Highlands has secured the breeding, backgrounding and fattening property Kulumur prior to auction for an undisclosed price.

The 14,131ha holding is situated 60km south west of Emerald and is currently running 3600 branded cattle plus calves.

Kulumur has fertile river flats along the Nogoa River rising to undulating developed brigalow, bottle tree and softwood scrub to ironbark, box and bloodwood forest country.

In the past five years, the vendors have applied 50,000kg of pellets at a rate of 12.5kg per hectare (around 4000ha) as part of a development program for regrowth control, in addition to regrowth pulling.

The well-watered property includes a bore, 28 dams and permanent water holes in the Nogoa River.

Tony Hoch from Hoch & Wilkinson Livestock & Property said the sale will enable Vic and Jan Appleton to facilitate succession planning.

Withdrawn: Western QLD aggregation withdrawn from the market

Stirling Buntine’s large-scale breeding, backgrounding and fattening aggregation in western Queensland has been withdrawn from the market.

The 54,300ha Tulmur, 14,140ha Tranby and 6220ha Owens Creek were listed in April by JLL Agribusiness and Rural Property and Livestock, however the May 10 auction date was pushed back several times before being cancelled altogether.

While the selling agents were unable to give a reason as to why the aggregation was withdrawn, 450mm of rain over the past month providing abundant feed is likely to have influenced the decision.

 

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