Farming veterans bid farewell to premier livestock enterprise in $28m deal

An award-winning South Australian farming family has bid farewell to its premier livestock enterprise it has owned and managed for close to 25 years.

Rohan and Sue Giles, along with son Tom and daughter Mandy, have relinquished the reins of their 1870ha property at 3595 Konetta Rd, Lucindale, which includes two historic and highly productive grazing farms.

Known as Crower and Fellwood, the property was put up for sale in February with price expectations of $35 million.

It is understood it sold for a $7m discount, with veteran beef cattle breeders Ian and Louise Johnson acquired the slice of South Australian farming history for $28m.

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The beef, prime lamb and wool powerhouse, about 350 kilometres south-east of Adelaide on the Limestone Coast, comes with a history spanning more than 160 years, with the centrepiece of the aggregation being the two-storey, heritage-listed Crower homestead built in 1865.

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The heritage-listed Crower homestead was built in 1865.

It has been renovated top-to-bottom.

The homestead’s modern bathroom comes with character appeal.

In an interview with The Advertiser earlier this year, Mr Giles said he and his family acquired the property in a bid to expand their beef and lamb operation in 2000, moving to the property from nearby Penola.

“Coming from Penola, you’re used to good, quality underground water, which this property has, so that was one of the main attractions for us in buying this property 24 years ago,” he said.

“That and the scale and the main house, of course, which is something else.

“You wouldn’t really expect to see something like this around here.

“The previous owners had done a pretty nice job upgrading the house and the gardens, something my wife wasn’t opposed to and definitely added to the appeal.

“So all up, the property has been really good to us but it’s now time for someone else to take it on.”

The history of Crower dates back to 1859 when farming brothers John, Malcolm and William McInnes took over its lease.

Within six years, the McInnes’ famously turned an already formidable pastoral run into a 1.2 million acre giant, adding a massive four-stand stone woolshed, which shore more than 40,000 sheep annually — rivalling the output of the super-wealthy Victorian squatters across the border.

The two farms sit on a massive 1870ha landholding.

The property also includes an old sheering shed.

The property was purchased by veteran beef cattle breeders Ian and Louise Johnson.

Constructed in 1864, the woolshed is said to be still in good workable condition.

With the government of the day encouraging pastoralists to invest in their holdings, the Crower’s stately homestead came into being just a year later.

In 1888, the property was bought by the Feuerheerdt brothers, who introduced Australia’s second Romney Marsh stud and shearing machinery to the district in 1905.

More recently, the Giles family set up the farms to run 4800 crossbred ewes, 150 Poll Dorset stud ewes, 6000 prime lambs and 380 cattle.

The family also made a number of improvements to the four-bedroom homestead, including restoring the home’s main veranda, and updating the main bathroom and kitchen.

Fellwood additionally features a solid three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in need of some TLC and a small three-bedroom cottage, well suited for a worker or extended family.

The sale of Crower and Fellwood was handled by Grant Schubert from Elders South East.