Size: 31,000ha
Location: Leigh Creek, SA
Sale method: Expression of Interest opening in March
Price Guide: N/A
After 89 years under the ownership of the Ragless family, South Australia’s ‘Puttapa Station’ is set to hit the market in March via an expressions of interest campaign.
The 31,000ha sheep station, located 4km south of Leigh Creek on The Outback Hwy, has been home to three generations of the Ragless family since Len Ragless purchased it in 1936.
Len’s grandson, Graham Ragless, is the current owner and said it was a bittersweet decision to sell the station, which dates back to 1854 when John Haimes applied for a pastoral lease.
Len’s son Richard, who is Graham’s father, also took over and ran the station for many years.
But Graham said, despite wondering if he should hold on to mark 100 years of the Ragless family owning Puttapa, the time was right to step back.
“It’s just time to wind down and have some semi-retirement,” he said.
“We've still got two farms in the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa Valley.
“It (Puttapa Station) has been a great place to grow up over the years.
“It’ll be a sad day when it comes. I guess the last time I drive out there, there’ll probably be a little tear in my eye.”
Primarily a grazing property, Puttapa Station has traditionally run Merino sheep but later transitioned to Dorpers and Aussie White sheep for meat production.
The property also has a history of running some cattle and harvesting feral goats.
Graham has undertaken significant improvements over the years, including eight sets of sheep/goat yards, 17 water troughs, three windmills, four solar systems, and three submersible pumps on mains power.
The station’s homestead, a four-bedroom house, has also been renovated, with additional accommodation in the connecting caretaker’s residence.
The property also boasts tourism potential, with established shearers’ quarters featuring nine rooms, along with 4WD tracks and popular motorbike routes.
“There’s so many things to see up there, in the Flinders (Ranges) and further north,” Mr Ragless said.
“When Lake Eyre fills up, you have plenty of water there and even just around the property there’s plenty of birdlife and springs where you can take a dip.”
As for the ideal buyer, Mr Ragless hopes the station remains in a family’s hands.
“Hopefully there’s someone to love and take care of it as much as our family did,” he said.
Ray White Rural South Australia are the selling agents, with Puttapa Station to officially hit the market, via EOI, in March.
Size: 1495ha
Location: Cootamundra, NSW
Sale price: N/A
A prime mixed-farming property near Cootamundra has changed hands in a quick sale, ending generations of ownership by the Leahy family.
Spring Creek, a 1495ha holding located 10km northwest of Cootamundra, was listed for sale in October last year as part of a succession plan.
The sale, handled by Angus McLaren of Miller and James Real Estate, was finalised in under two months.
While the final transaction details remain undisclosed, it is understood a neighbouring farming operator bought the entire property.
According to the listing, Spring Creek was “generally regarded as one of Cootamundra’s finest farms”.
“With a perfect mixture of gently undulating farming and fattening country and higher sloping breeding country, 'Spring Creek' would suit either an investor looking for a blue chip addition to their portfolio, or a farmer looking to expand or relocate,” the listing said.
Divided into 40 main paddocks, Spring Creek featured a combination of lucerne, clover and phalaris-based pastures, along with wheat and canola crops.
Infrastructure includes a new four-stand shearing shed with undercover, steel sheep yards, new steel Proway cattle yards with loading ramp, 17 self-emptying silos and four machinery sheds, with 700 tonnes of grain storage with concrete floor.
Water security was also a major drawcard, with Goldenfields Water connections supplying troughs in most paddocks, along with 42 dams and multiple spring-fed creeks.
Size: 33,959ha
Location: Mungallala, QLD
Sale method: Expression of Interest, closing at 12pm (AEDT) on March 27
Price Guide: N/A
A well-developed Wagyu breeding and finishing property in Southwest Queensland has been listed for sale, offering investors and graziers a large-scale, turn-key cattle operation.
Taylors Plains, a 33,959ha holding 101km north of Mungallala, has been owned and developed over the past 22 years by Noel and Jo-Anne Chiconi.
The family has transformed the once drought-stricken property into a highly productive grazing enterprise, with a carrying capacity of 6,250 adult equivalents.
“The incoming buyer will need to spend virtually nothing on the property – the fencing, waters, cattle yards and accommodation are all in A1 condition, and Taylors Plains is in a highly regarded ‘safe’ area with an average of 605mm of annual rainfall,” Mr Chiconi said.
“We have been breeding Wagyu cattle since 2014 and turn off Wagyu feeder steers that do very well on the dense stands of buffel supported by native grasses. Our decision to sell has not been taken lightly, but it’s time.”
Water security is a key feature, with seven bores supplying 105km of poly pipe to 27 tanks, two turkey’s nest dams, and 105 concrete troughs. An additional 47 dams provide further water reliability.
The property supports a mix of buffel grass pastures along with bambatsi, fine cut rhodes, digitaria, and creeping blue grass.
The Chiconis have run Wagyu cattle since 2014, focusing on feeder steers, with most cattle work carried out on horseback by their son, Gary, and his team.
The property includes suitable facilities for horses, including stables and a horse walker.
Infrastructure includes steel cattle yards with a covered working area, hydraulic crush, drafting pound, and a double-deck loading ramp.
There is also a commodity shed with concrete panelled bays, machinery shedding, a workshop, a butcher’s shop with a boning room, and a 130sq m chiller.
Accommodation is extensive, with a four-bedroom homestead, a four-bedroom manager’s residence, a two-bedroom cottage, two expander homes, and several additional cottages and demountable quarters.
The property is connected by 118km of laneways and formed roads with cattle grids.
LAWD Senior Director Col Medway described Taylors Plains as “a standout” in the Queensland property market.
“The property’s combination of land types and pasture provides tremendous carrying capacity and fattening capability, as proven by the Chiconi family’s success in first turning off quality Angus cattle, and for the past 10 years, premium Wagyu feeder steers,” he said.
“Taylors Plains will not require a cent to be spent by the successful buyer because they will be walking into a sophisticated cattle operation backed by guaranteed water, abundant pasture and top-notch infrastructure.”
The property is for sale by Expression of Interest, closing at 12pm (AEDT) on March 27.
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.
