Property

Iconic Australian rural properties draw interest nationwide

Written by Kylie Dulhunty | Nov 14, 2024 12:48:32 AM

Milford Rocks and Rawlinna Station have hit the market, offering vast rural landscapes and prime agricultural setups, while Gunners Dam has just sold for $4.875 million. From Queensland’s cattle pastures to WA’s wool powerhouse and NSW’s mixed-farming success, these properties highlight Australia’s agricultural strength. With features ranging from luxury homesteads to extensive livestock facilities, they’re drawing interest from investors nationwide.

Epic outback legacy up for grabs

Size: 1,046,323ha

Location: Rawlinna Station, WA (400km east of Kalgoorlie)

Sale method: Staged EOI, starting November 2024

Price guide: N/A

Australia’s wool powerhouse, Rawlinna Station, will be sold for the first time since being developed in the 1960s.

Jumbuck Pastoral has appointed Elders to divest Australia’s largest sheep station, which comprises 1,046,323ha, and is renowned for a boundary exclusion fence that spans 400km in length.

Established pastoralist, Hugh MacLachlan, first visited what would become Rawlinna Station in the mid-1950s when the Indian Pacific train he was travelling on from South Australia to Perth, stopped at a remote siding called Rawlinna.

He recognised that the siding had good quality underground water and, being an established pastoralist, he could see the miles and miles of open saltbush, bluebush and grass plains.

Elders’ Executive General Manager Network, Tom Russo, said Mr MacLachlan saw the land as a blank canvas and an opportunity to design the country’s most efficient sheep station.

The first survey peg went in the ground in the 1960s and with meticulous planning and substantial investment, Rawlinna Station was born.

“This represents a rare opportunity to acquire Australia’s largest sheep station during a period of unprecedented growth in demand for quality Australian fibre and protein,” Mr Russo said.

“The station is strategically located to give access to both the western and eastern markets and is a powerhouse of wool production, having carried up to 69,000 sheep in recent history.

"The short-term opportunity is immense as Rawlinna has benefited from an outstanding season and is very conservatively stocked presently.”

Rawlinna Station forms part of Jumbuck Pastoral, one of the largest livestock production enterprises in Australia, which was established in 1888 as a family-owned company.

According to the Financial Review, Jumbuck remains a major player in Australia’s agricultural sector despite a split in the MacLachlan family’s rural holdings last year.

After brothers Jock and Callum exited the business, patriarch Hugh MacLachlan and his daughters, Airlie MacLachlan, Islay McKenzie, and Brooke Yates, retained Blina Station in WA, Bulgunnia Station and Commonwealth Hill in SA, Gunbar Station in NSW, and Rawlinna.

Jock MacLachlan now controls McCoys Well Station in SA and Derby Station in WA, while Callum holds the renowned Wave Hill and Killarney Stations in the NT.

Located 400km east of Kalgoorlie, mustering and droving at Rawlinna starts in January, with motorbikes and aircraft to locate the sheep.

It can take up to 100km to get the sheep into the shearing shed, with the 10-week shearing program starting in February.

The station is also a stop for the Indian-Pacific train, which runs between Perth and Sydney, offering passengers a dining experience while they take in the outback and the Nullabor.

The property also hosts the Nullabor Muster, a gymkhana, each April.

Mr Russo said given the strategic advantages and efficiency that could be achieved by operating an enterprise of Rawlinna’s scale, he expected to receive offers from large private and corporate investors within Australia and internationally.

He said Jumbuck Pastoral would continue to own a substantial portfolio of sheep and cattle stations in Australia.

“The portfolio of agricultural assets that has been acquired by Jumbuck over many years of sustained investment is truly extraordinary,” Mr Russo said.

“Whilst the divestment of Rawlinna constitutes a significant sale, in the context of their overall portfolio, this is merely a refinement to better align the asset base with Jumbuck’s strategy moving into the future.

“Jumbuck’s intention is to continue to invest in the improvement and growth of their proudly Australian family owned agricultural enterprise.”

The station will be offered to market by way of a staged expression of interest process starting later this month.

Milford Rocks: stunning cattle farm near Brisbane for sale

Size: 1,150ha

Location: 888 Nukinenda Road, Anduramba, QLD

Sale method: EOI closing November 28 at 12pm (AEST).

Price guide: N/A

Milford Rocks, a stunning South East Queensland property offering a balance of scenic lifestyle and productive cattle farming, is now on the market.

Located at Anduramba, just an hour from Brisbane and 56km from Toowoomba, the 1,150ha estate features a five-bedroom homestead with a 12m inground pool, manicured gardens, and expansive green lawns.

With a carrying capacity for 240 breeders, the property has two sets of robust steel cattle yards, strategically planned fencing, and a laneway system to streamline livestock movement.

LAWD Director Grant Veivers described the sale as an unmissable opportunity, highlighting the property’s unique blend of lifestyle and productivity.

“With its open grazing land, lush natural bushland, high peaks, and peaceful gullies, Milford Rocks offers a perfect blend of work and lifestyle,” Mr Veivers said.

Water supply on the property is plentiful, with livestock water sourced from a groundwater bore that feeds into a 250,000L steel header tank, then distributed via poly pipes to concrete troughs throughout.

This supply is backed by 18 catchment dams and multiple seasonal and spring-fed creeks.

The land is a mix of bluegum and ironbark timber, interspersed with fertile soil ideal for grazing, including Rhodes and panic grasses, seasonal legumes, and herbages.

The property also includes key infrastructure, such as a 110sq m hay shed, two large machinery sheds, and a 175sq m stable.

The homestead, built in 2012, is a replica Queenslander, featuring a master suite, four additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and expansive verandahs with sweeping valley views.

Located on Waterhole Gully Road and near the township of Crows Nest, Milford Rocks is easily accessible to livestock markets in Toogoolawah, Toowoomba, and Dalby.

The property is for sale via expressions of interest, closing November 28 at 12pm (AEST).

Historic ‘Gunners Dam’ fetches $4.875M at auction

Size: 528.2ha

Location: 522 Gunners Dam Road, Curra Creek, NSW

Sale method: Auction

Sale price: $4.875 million

For the first time since 1927, ‘Gunners Dam’, a mixed farming enterprise in Curra Creek, south of Wellington, has changed hands after selling at auction for $4.875 million.

Five buyers were registered to bid at the Elders auction, with the hammer falling at about $9233/ha ($3736/acre).

Set on 528.2ha, 'Gunners Dam' is celebrated for its efficient mixed-farming operations, featuring a self-sustaining Merino sheep flock, thriving cattle fattening enterprise, and extensive wheat, canola, and barley crops.

The sale comes on the back of an outstanding cropping season in central NSW, with ‘Gunners Dam’ including 80ha of wheat, 67ha of canola, 100ha of barley and 33ha of oats.

Elders Real Estate Dubbo Rural agents Brian McAneney and Joe Simpson handled the sale, noting the property had secure water resources, including two bores and 20 dams, to support the livestock and crop irrigation across the property.

With 39 troughs fed by elevated holding tanks, and 30 paddocks managed through a centralised laneway system, 'Gunners Dam' was set up to handle the demands of high-scale agriculture.

The three-bedroom homestead offered comfort and scenic views, and the working infrastructure included well-maintained machinery sheds, steel yards, a four-stand shearing shed, and ample grain storage.

A journalist with more than 20 years experience covering everything from court to health, it wasn't until Kylie Dulhunty took a job she didn't want - as a real estate reporter - that she truly found her passion. Today, Kylie loves nothing more than turning market trends, industry insights and epic property sales - residential, rural and commercial - into stories that captivate and inform.