Historic Bundarbo Station farm to sell for second time in 170 years

The homestead at Bundarbo Station at Jugiong.
The homestead at Bundarbo Station at Jugiong.

Bundarbo Station, the cattle farm of late media executive Sam Chisholm in the NSW Hilltops Region, has been listed for sale by the executers of his estate.

The farm is located at Jugiong, a small community on the Murrumbidgee River, northwest of Canberra.

The next buyer of Bundarbo, which comprises 160ha of rich alluvial river flat land, will only be its third owners since the pioneer settlement.

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The property was taken up in the 1840s by the well-known pastoral Osborne family, at that stage a holding of 65,000 acres (26,300ha).

It was held in the family for 150 years until sold to Chisholm and wife Sue.

It is home to a herd of about 1110 Hazeldean Angus breeders.

The sale of Bundarbo will create huge interest both here and overseas

Despite being predominantly a beef cattle breeding and fattening holding, Bundarbo Station has also been run as a successful merino sheep and prime lamb-breeding property.

Meares & Associates Sydney agent Chris Meares is handling the sale with a $30 million-plus price guidance.

Meares says Chisholm had been a very keen supporter of rural Australia.

“Sam always believed that every successful Australian should invest back into the rural sector,” he says.

“The sale of Bundarbo will create huge interest both here and overseas,” Meares suggests.

“Over the past two to three years, in particularly, we have seen an increase in focus on the rural sector and agribusiness projects.”

Meares notes that agriculture is now a global product. “There’s an acute shortage of quality property for sale.

“There is arguably no other property with the unique features of Bundarbo with its magnificent homestead and guest complex, nationally recognised gardens and a working property with size, scale and reputation — producing 1000-plus cattle for sale annually.”

Chisholm is best known for shaping the television industry landscape, locally and internationally, working at times for Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch.

This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.