Rosella Plains was bought by Jack Scholes and his sons, a well- known grazing family from Julia Creek in western Queensland. The purchase included 5000 cattle. The station is half breeding and half basalt finishing country, regarded as among the best pasture country in north Queensland.

John Crompton, from rural valuers Herron Todd White, said there had been a number of major cattle sales in the past month that illustrated how healthy the climate was for large cattle properties.

Camboon, a 21,202ha freehold forest breeding property 50km east of Theodore in central Queensland — including 2550 head of cattle – – bought at auction for $7.45 million by Richard Wilson and family of nearby Banana Station.

* Rural

TWO cattle properties sold for more than $10 million this week as the market continues to command prices above even the most optimistic forecasts.

Rosella Plains, an 80,000 hectare cattle property 300 kilometres north-west of Charters Towers in Queensland, sold on Wednesday for $6.6 million. This was well above expectations.

Earlier in the week, the Comara Station, a 4498ha property on the Macleay River west of Kempsey in NSW, exchanged before auction for around $4 million.

Rural property specialist Chris Meares, of Meares and Associates, said the company’s last four major sales of cattle properties had sold for excellent prices pre-auction.

Rosella Plains was bought by Jack Scholes and his sons, a well- known grazing family from Julia Creek in western Queensland. The purchase included 5000 cattle. The station is half breeding and half basalt finishing country, regarded as among the best pasture country in north Queensland.

Primac Elders agent Lorin Bishop said the healthy price indicated a property market that continued to firm despite a weak cattle market, rising interest rates and a strengthening dollar.

“There has been a period of three or four good years in the industry, good seasons, and the live export trade has been good, so people in the north are cashed-up,” Mr Bishop said.

John Crompton, from rural valuers Herron Todd White, said there had been a number of major cattle sales in the past month that illustrated how healthy the climate was for large cattle properties.

“I have not seen it this strong before in my lifetime,” he said.

An example of this, Mr Crompton said, was the northern Gulf cattle station Strathmore. which sold recently for $15.35 million on a walk-in walk-out basis with 17,543 Brahman cattle.

“A feature of the market is that it is being driven by established grazing families,” Mr Crompton said.

“They are conservative in their outlook. They invest for the long term. They don’t react to blips in the market.”

Other big cattle property sales in recent weeks include:

North Delta at Barcaldine in Queensland, a 31,258ha leasehold mixed soft desert property, which sold for $3.5 million bare of stock and plant, realising a 75 per cent increase on the $2 million sale in January 2000.

Camboon, a 21,202ha freehold forest breeding property 50km east of Theodore in central Queensland — including 2550 head of cattle – – bought at auction for $7.45 million by Richard Wilson and family of nearby Banana Station.