Massive Australian cattle farm sold to locals
One of the largest farms in the world with over 1.6 million hectares has just been sold to new owners in Australia.
Clifton Hills Station is a massive farm that stretches all the way from Queensland into South Australia and is home to around 20,000 head of cattle.
Most farms are bought by investors
Previously owned by a partnership of a number of shareholders, Clifton Hills has been purchased by Australian beef farmers Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello of Crown Point Pastoral Company. The farm boasts a central homestead hub, multiple roads, airstrips, 24 sets of steel trucking yards, 6 flowing bores, and a large selection of farming equipment. Although the final price has not been revealed, the entire lot was previously listed for sale with a price tag of AUS$ 50 million. Large farms such as these do come up for sale from time to time but it is not so common for them to be bought by Australian buyers. In the past, large farms in Australia have more commonly been purchased by investors from China, Japan, Russia and USA. Buyer Viv Oldfield is well-known in the racing industry as a horse trainer and he also owns properties in the Northern Territory and South Australia. He also owns Tanami Transport, an outback trucking business.
The property was sold by the Clifton Hills Pastoral Company which is owned by David Harvey, Charles Simpson and Katherine Hartley. Selling agents Ben Forest, Jesse Manuel and Nick Dean from Colliers International, in conjunction with Wally Cooper, Rural Property and Livestock, had banked on interest running at AUS$ 1,550 per animal area with a maximum of 21,500 cattle.
The secret is the large land area
Referring to the property pre-sale, Mr Forest said: “Clifton Hills Station offers a very appealing opportunity for investors to acquire a substantial herd without the costs associated with freight and the complexities involved in purchasing new stock.”
Clifton Hills Station dates back to 1878 and covers 1.65 million hectares which is over half the size of Belgium or the entire size of Fiji. The historic station was sold on a walk-in, walk-out basis which included the sale of 18,000 head of organically certified branded cattle across the four pastoral leases on the Birdsville Track and extending into Queensland. Clifton Hills Pastoral managing director David Harvey said: “The scale of Clifton Hills is achieved without massive infrastructure. The secret is the large land area which allows cattle to be well spread-out.” The Georgina River, Cooper Creek and the Diamantina River all flow across Clifton Hills. Rainfall in their catchment areas consistently water large areas of Clifton Hills, creating some of the best cattle fattening in Australia.
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