Gina Rinehart’s Rockybank aggregation sells after foreign land tax dispute

In this week's rural property update: Gina Rinehart’s Rockybank aggregation sells after foreign land tax dispute, Marra Creek grazing heavyweight Womboin offered to market and historic Warroo Station hits market with $24 million price tag.

Gina Rinehart’s Rockybank aggregation sells after foreign land tax dispute

Size: 22,667ha

Location: Western Queensland

Sale price: More than $60 million

A major Queensland cattle aggregation owned by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart and her Chinese joint venture partner has been sold to two local farming interests for more than $60 million, following a high-profile sale campaign sparked by concerns over Queensland's foreign land tax regime.

The Rockybank aggregation, part of the historic S. Kidman & Co portfolio controlled by Ms Rinehart's Hancock Agriculture and China's Shanghai CRED, was brought to market in February after the company cited escalating foreign land tax costs as a key reason for divesting the asset.

Located 25km south of Roma in Queensland's renowned Maranoa region, the 22,667ha aggregation comprises the 16,441ha Rockybank property, the 4,145ha Holyrood holding and the 2,082ha Maffra South property.

The aggregation was purchased by two local buyers, ending more than a decade of ownership by S. Kidman & Co, which acquired Rockybank in 2013 before the broader Kidman portfolio was purchased by Ms Rinehart's Hancock Agriculture and Shanghai CRED in 2016 for $386.5 million.

The sale comes after S. Kidman & Co publicly criticised Queensland's foreign land tax surcharge, which applies to freehold land with any level of foreign ownership.

Despite Shanghai CRED holding only a one-third minority stake in the business, the aggregation was captured under the tax provisions.

When the property was listed, LAWD selling agent Danny Thomas described Rockybank as a rare institutional-scale opportunity in one of Australia's premier cattle-producing regions.

“This is an excellent turnkey asset, complete with high-quality cropping and grazing land, and an experienced management team prepared to stay on with the new owners,” Mr Thomas said at the time.

“The quality of cattle produced here is exceptional, with Hancock Agriculture’s premium 2GR Wagyu beef brand winning the world’s best grain-fed fillet at the World Steak Challenge Awards in London last year.

“The substantial investment in infrastructure sets the new owners up for immediate operational success and long-term growth.”

Historically, Rockybank served as the Kidman bull breeding unit, supplying Santa Gertrudis and Kidman composite bulls throughout the broader business.

More recently, it has been used as a breeding block and for finishing weaners to feedlot entry as part of Hancock Agriculture's premium Wagyu supply chain.

Mr Thomas said the aggregation's scale, flexibility and location had attracted strong buyer interest.

“This is a well-presented and developed aggregation and the opportunity to purchase either as a whole, or as separate assets, makes it very attractive to buyers,” he said when the aggregation was listed.

“It’s ideally suited to a local family operation seeking scale, or for a corporate or institutional investor looking for a backgrounding property that provides easy access to feedlots.”

The sale is the latest move in Ms Rinehart's ongoing reshaping of her agricultural empire, which has increasingly focused on premium Wagyu beef production and higher-value agricultural assets across Australia.

Marra Creek grazing heavyweight Womboin offered to market

Size: 14,443ha (35,690 acres), including a Crown Lands lease of 844ha (2,085 acres)

Location: Marra Creek, NSW

Sale method: EOI closing at 5pm on August 6

Price guide: N/A

A large-scale grazing enterprise in NSW's tightly held Marra Creek district has been listed for sale, presenting buyers with the opportunity to secure a proven sheep, cattle and wool production asset.

Womboin, near Nyngan in the state's Central West, is being offered to the market via Expressions of Interest through Meares & Associates, with submissions closing on August 6 at 5pm.

Owned by G W Welsh Pty Limited, the property is being sold as part of a strategic portfolio realignment across Central West NSW and Central West Queensland.

Meares & Associates Principal Sam Meares said opportunities of Womboin's scale and production history were rarely available in the district.

"Womboin represents a compelling opportunity to secure a large-scale, proven grazing asset in a district long recognised for quality sheep, cattle and wool production,” he said.

The holding comprises about 14,443ha (35,690 acres), including a Crown Lands lease covering about 844ha (2,085 acres) of Travelling Stock Reserve.

Historically, Womboin has carried 6,500 Egelabra blood ewes and, in favourable seasons, has also supported between 500 and 1,000 trade cattle or agistment programs.

The property is particularly well known for producing fine 18 to 19 micron wool, with Womboin fleeces regularly recognised in local, regional and national competitions.

Its landscape ranges from productive alluvial Marra Creek flats along the western boundary to extensive clay pans and lighter red and brown loams to the east.

Extensive ponding across the clay country has encouraged a strong mix of annual and perennial herbages, clovers and grasses, while old man and bladder saltbush feature throughout the holding.

The Warrambool, a natural non-permanent watercourse that runs through the property, provides additional seasonal feed security during wetter years.

Recent investment has focused heavily on water infrastructure, with three new bores equipped with solar submersible pumps and Farmbot monitoring systems feeding an extensive trough network servicing most of the property's stock and domestic water requirements.

"Womboin combines proven carrying capacity, quality output and recent investment in water security and cattle infrastructure, giving incoming owners both reliability and flexibility in normal seasonal conditions but importantly better upside opportunity in wetter years," Mr Meares said.

The operation is further supported by 31 dams, many linked to silt tanks and supplied via pumping from Marra Creek through an internal channel system when required.

Infrastructure includes a 10-stand shearing shed, updated 16-room shearers' quarters, four sets of sheep yards, extensive machinery and hay shedding, 1,200 tonnes of raised silo storage and new all-steel cattle yards completed in 2025 with capacity for about 1,000 head.

Accommodation includes a four-bedroom manager's residence and a powered homestead site overlooking a substantial lagoon near the property's main operating hub.

Mr Meares said the property's combination of scale, productive grazing country and recent capital investment positioned it strongly in the current market.

"In the current market of strong red meat prices, continual recovery of the wool trade and an increasing focus on input costs, native grazing assets of this scale and calibre in the Marra Creek district represent a compelling investment opportunity," he said.

Historic Warroo Station hits market with $24 million price tag

Size: 9,358ha

Location: Southern Downs, Queensland

Sale method: Private Treaty

Price guide: $24 million

One of Queensland's most historic and significant grazing properties, Warroo Station, has been listed for sale with a $24 million walk-in walk-out price tag, including plant and equipment.

Located about 40km south-east of Inglewood and positioned between Goondiwindi, Warwick and Stanthorpe, the Southern Downs property spans 9,358ha (23,124 acres) across 15 freehold titles.

The station is being offered to the market by the Goodrich family and is capable of running about 1600 breeders, or the equivalent of 20,000 dry sheep equivalents.

Established in 1849 by wool industry pioneer Frederick Bracker, Warroo has built a reputation as one of Queensland's premier mixed grazing operations, with a long history in both sheep and cattle production.

The property is particularly well known within the sheep and wool industry, having reportedly produced the world's first sub-12 micron wool, while also developing a strong reputation for high-quality Red Angus cattle.

Marketing agent Phillip Kelly, of Elders, said the property was now being offered for private sale following an auction campaign.

According to the listing campaign, Warroo represents a rare opportunity to secure one of the largest freehold landholdings within easy reach of south-east Queensland.

“With 15 separate titles across 23,123 acres, majority with public road access, ‘Warroo Station’ is one of the largest freehold parcels of land within a 200km radius of Brisbane, Gold Coast and North Coast (NSW),” Mr Kelly said in the listing description.

“The opportunity to secure a large-scale, multi-titled freehold property on the Southern Downs of Queensland, such as ‘Warroo Station’, is unique.”

The property includes about 1675ha of arable country and benefits from extensive water infrastructure, including more than 47 stock dams, spring-fed gullies, numerous creeks and semi-permanent waterholes.

The station is divided into 38 main grazing paddocks supported by laneways and holding paddocks.

Infrastructure includes the main homestead, manager's residence, cottage and staff quarters, along with several cattle and sheep yards, extensive machinery sheds and storage facilities.

The sale also includes all station working plant and equipment, motor vehicles, workshop equipment and a substantial inventory of spare parts and accessories.

The listing campaign describes Warroo as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for investors and pastoral operators alike.

“On-going pastoral activity including beef cattle and sheep production may underpin a future landbank opportunity,” the listing states.

“This creates an exceptional opportunity for the astute investor, pastoralist, or developer to capitalise on what could be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”