The Sydney Morning Herald has published a comprehensive and interesting overview of cattle station corporate ownership changes over the last 6-12 months, with comments on expected changes. Written by Paul Myers, the unusually good quality article well illustrates the fact that he’s been writing about Australian agriculture for several decades (as distinct from the usual shallow drivel that appears in capital city newspapers – churned out by disinterested journalists who wouldn’t know the difference between a farmer and a grazier and think Katoomba is ‘out west’.
This article has notable quotes and recent sales and purchases by the longest-term property owners such as the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) and acting Chairman Charles Bright, Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) and Chief Executive Ken Warriner, S Kidman & Co (S.K.), McDonald Holdings (MDH Pty Ltd) and principal Don McDonald, Heytesbury Pastoral Company and Chief Executive Paul Homes a Court; plus more recent cattle station owning companies such as Georgina Pastoral Company and previous part owner Peter Hughes [Peter Hughes’ family dissolved their partnership with Bill Scott and his sons, when Georgina Pastoral Company stations were sold to Macquarie Pastoral in late January 2009], Great Southern Plantations and Sterling Buntine, Macquarie Bank’s Paraway Pastoral Company and Chief Executive David Goodfellow; plus brand new rural land owners Terra Firma Capital Partners and Primary Holdings International; plus individual owners such as Peter Camm, Charles Lund and Melbourne barrister Allan Myers; and comments by rural property specialists such as Kerry Herron of Herron Todd White and Bruce Gunning of Ray White Rural.
Apparently Great Southern Holdings will be getting out of the cattle stations, so Wrotham Park Station (west of Cairns), Chudleigh Park (west of Townsville) and Moola Bulla (near Halls Creek, East Kimberley region of WA) are expected to be listed on the property market soon.
Since December 2008, rural property sale contracts have been exchanged for more than 30 cattle stations, worth more than $1.1 billion.
Tags: Pastoral companies, Rural properties for sale and ownership