Channel Country’s Roxborough/Mudgerebar deal worth...

CONTRACTS have been exchanged for the sale of large-scale, well-regarded Northwest Queensland channel country aggregation Roxborough Downs and Mudgerebar Station.

New owner is McMillan Pastoral Co, which operates a large  cattle operation based at Corella Park near Cloncurry. Involved in the business are Harold and Cathy McMillan (based at Mt Roseby) and their sons and daughters-in-law, Mark and Chelsea (Carsland, Cloncurry), Tom and Penny (Jessievale, Cloncurry) and William and Amanda (Wollogorang, Burketown).

It is the second extensive northern grazing acquisition for McMillan Pastoral this year, having secured the 4814sq km Gulf Country breeding properties Wollogorang and Wentworth in May for $53 million, including 30,000 Brahman cattle.

No price has been disclosed, but Roxborough Downs and Mudgerebar, totalling more than 420,000ha (or a million acres in the old language), carried an indicative asking price of $40 million, bare of stock, when the holdings were offered through an expressions of interest campaign earlier. It is understood the McMillans have negotiated to purchase the stock separately.

Settlement on Roxborough Downs and Mudgerebar Station is due late December, Beef Central understands.

Vendors John and Kate McLoughlin offered the aggregation as part of succession planning. They bought Roxborough for a price reported at around $10 million in 2009 from the North Australian Pastoral Co, which was adjusting its grazing portfolio at the time, considered to be ‘top heavy’ in finishing country.

NAPCo had held the property for 15 years, having paid $3.36 million for the 208,000ha Roxborough portion in 1994, bought from long-term owners Mark Fennell and family. The Mudgerebar portion was added some years later.

In 2017 the McLoughlins also sold their 147,000ha Aroona Station in the Northern Territory to Hancock Pastoral’s Gina Rinehart. John McLoughlin told Beef Central a figure of $13.5 million for the sale originally published in this item was inaccurate.

Located about 240km southwest of Mt Isa near Boulia, Roxborough Downs has a double frontage to the Georgina River, and extensive areas of productive channel country.

The properties are adjoining and are located in a tightly-held and highly-regarded cattle growing region. Carrying capacity was quoted at around 16,000 adult equivalents, and the holdings currently exhibit an excellent body of feed.

The leasehold properties cover three main grazing country types. The balance of gidgee and Cloncurry buffel grass country complements the extensive channel flood-out areas, making for a “well-rounded offering with good even production,” marketing agents said last year.

The paddocks are serviced by multiple bores and water points, with further potential for water improvement and carrying capacity in outlying areas. The aggregation has multiple sets of high-capacity cattle yards.

The sale was handled by Colliers International’s Rawdon Briggs and Bram Pollock. Neither were prepared to comment for this story.