In this week’s property round-up with Kylie Dulhunty: Property with multi-income potential hits the market, $14.2m Scenic Rim deal and 'Redfern' offers scale and development potential.
Size: 323.7ha
Location: Nabiac, NSW
Sale method: Private treaty
Price guide: N/A
A 323.74ha rural holding on the NSW Mid North Coast has been listed for sale for the first time in 36 years, with the Ma family placing Riverview Farm on the market as they look to pass the property on to a new generation of landholders.
Located at 79, 81 and 249 Elliots Road, Nabiac, the holding spans 22 titles and combines productive agricultural country with a substantial sand deposit, abundant freshwater access and 6.5 kilometres of Wallambah River frontage - a mix rarely found east of the Pacific Highway.
The property is being marketed by Ray White Manning Valley principal Rob Chapman.
Owner Frank Ma, who purchased the property with his wife Rosemary in 1990, said the decision to sell followed decades of growth and consolidation. The family, now based in China, steadily acquired neighbouring lots over the years to expand the farm to its current scale.
“It has beautiful alluvial flats, and water that sits just two to three feet below the surface - even through that five-year drought, we never once had a shortage.
“It is an absolutely beautiful spot,” Mr Ma said.
The property currently supports a commercial beef cattle operation capable of running more than 250 head. As part of the sale, one bull and 87 breeding cows will be included, along with farm equipment such as tractors and slashers.
“We have built this up over many years - what started as one purchase grew as neighbouring lots became available, and we were able to acquire them one by one,” Mr Ma said.
“We also secured some former crown land and unmade road reserves, which helped us consolidate the boundaries beautifully.”
A significant feature of Riverview Farm is a substantial sand deposit on the western portion of the holding, a remnant of an ancient beach system. Mr Ma said interest from sand mining operators had already been received and could present a strong commercial opportunity subject to approvals.
“We have had interest from sand mining operators, and we believe it represents genuine commercial value for the right buyer,” he said.
Mr Chapman said the property’s scale, water access and income potential would appeal to owner-operators looking to capitalise on multiple revenue streams. Two tenanted three-bedroom caretaker cottages are included, serviced by an on-site pump supplying freshwater to both dwellings.
Despite living overseas, the Ma family has continued to manage the farm, but Mr Ma said they hoped the next owner would be closer to fully unlock its potential.
“We have been managing the property from China, which has made it genuinely difficult to devote the time the farm deserves,” he said.
“The ideal buyer is someone on the east coast who can be hands-on - someone who can develop the sand asset, run cattle on the non-sandy country, or perhaps return to what the previous owners did and grow vegetables on those beautiful alluvial flats near the river.
“The soil there is excellent.
“Over time, there is also the opportunity to do boundary realignments and, if the new owner chooses, to eventually divide and sell individual lots.
“There are so many ways to approach this property. We just want to see it go to someone who will appreciate it as much as we have.”
Size: 1750ha
Location: Croftby, QLD
Price: $14.2 million
A local family has secured a significant foothold in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, paying $14.2 million for the Mt Toowoonan Aggregation, a picturesque beef and fodder enterprise positioned on the edge of Maroon Dam.
The 1750ha holding, purchased by the Leaney family, sits near Croftby, about 26km from Boonah and roughly 90 minutes from Brisbane.
The aggregation comprises three adjoining properties - Foxes (194ha), Sandy Creek (988ha) and Colemans (568ha) - offered as a single-scale opportunity in a tightly held regional market.
Interest in the offering was strong, with enquiries coming from local buyers, tourism developers and western Queensland producers seeking additional country closer to metropolitan markets and the coast.
The property’s location on the shores of Maroon Dam, combined with its scale and established infrastructure, underpinned buyer competition during the campaign.
Over the past six years, the Yates family operated the holding as a diversified rural enterprise focused on breeding and backgrounding cattle, alongside irrigated silage and hay production.
The aggregation carries about 1,170 adult equivalents, reflecting significant pasture and operational capacity.
Water security was a key feature of the offering, with more than 1.5km of frontage to Maroon Dam, supported by six bores, including two of them equipped, extensive creek frontages and 20 dams.
Improvements across the aggregation include a six-bedroom homestead, a three-bedroom dwelling, multiple cattle handling facilities, horse round yards, numerous sheds and three silos with a combined 48-tonne capacity.
The sale was negotiated by LAWD agents Darren Collins and Alex Horan.
Size: 2053.35ha
Location: Mitchell, QLD
Sale method: Auction, April 16 at 10am (AEST) at the Mitchell Bowls Club
Price guide: N/A
Heavy red brigalow country near Mitchell in south-west Queensland is set to go under the hammer, with a 2053.35ha grazing property offering scale and development potential for cattle producers.
Raine & Horne Rural Roma has listed ‘Redfern’, located at 1148 Nalpa Downs Rd, Mitchell, for auction on April 16 at the Mitchell Bowls Club.
The property sits about 30km northwest of Mitchell and around 120km west of the Roma Saleyards, Australia’s largest cattle selling centre.
Raine & Horne Roma agent Seamus Filan said the holding presented a solid opportunity for buyers seeking productive grazing country in a tightly held region.
“Redfern is located 30 km northwest of Mitchell on the Nalpa Downs Road and 120 km west of the Roma Saleyards and consists of approximately 5071 acres of freehold land,” Mr Filan said.
The property features a mix of country types suited to grazing, including brigalow, belah and bottletree softwood country across about half the holding, alongside box and wilga country and areas of cypress pine, bendee and mulga.
Around 121ha (300 acres) have been cultivated and planted to silk sorghum, while the property has recently benefited from rainfall that has boosted pasture growth.
“With the PMAV locked in, this property is ideal grazing country, with room to develop the property and increase the carrying capacity,” Mr Filan said.
“Recently receiving 80mm of rain, the pastures have come away and with good stands of buffel and patches of native pastures.”
Water security is a key feature of the property, with a bore drilled in 2017 to a depth of 306m and equipped with a solar pump feeding a 50,000L Rhinotank.
Water is distributed across the property via poly tanks, while six dams also support livestock watering.
“Redfern is well watered by a bore and 6 dams,” Mr Filan said.
Infrastructure includes steel cattle yards with a vet crush capable of handling about 100 head.
The property is fenced into three paddocks and is estimated to carry about 220 breeding cows plus progeny or 450 dry cattle.
Kylie Dulhunty is a journalist with more than 20 years experience covering everything from court to health. Today, Kylie loves nothing more than turning market trends, industry insights and epic property sales - residential, rural and commercial into captivating stories.