By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

From a field of 14 bidders, billionaire Andrew Forrest came out on top, acquiring the Quanbun Downs and Jubilee Downs cattle stations near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia in a deal exceeding A$30 million (US$20.9 million). 

The stations had been owned for more than 40 years by a partnership between Ed Bass, a Texas-based billionaire and environmentalist, and Keith and Karen Anderson and family, who managed the operation.

Pioneered in 1880, the stations total 221,308 hectares (546,877 acres) consisting of Fitzroy River floodplain and Alexander Island alluvial land, and were offered beginning in May of last year with more than 11,000 head of Droughtmaster cattle. 

Jubilee Downs has 54 paddocks and nine cattle yards, producing 330kg liveweight steers destined for both domestic and overseas markets, averaging sales of 3,300 head of cattle per year over the past decade.

The property includes Alexander Island where the Fitzroy River splits, with the northern branch running through the station, and the southern branch creating the southern boundary, giving the property 90 kilometers of river frontage that includes permanent water pools. 

However, the Forrests stated that it was the stewardship of Keith and Karen Anderson that included regenerative herd management resulting in high-quality animals that attracted them to the deal. As such, the stations will be considered key for Harvest Road Group, the “gate-to-plate” business of Tattarang, Forrest’s investment group.

“We are humbled to be able to continue the legacy Keith and Karen Anderson have built,” the Forrests said, reports ABC. “We are passionate about the unique environment of the Kimberley, and the precious waterway and lifeforce that is the Fitzroy River.”

But… the Yanunijarra

Not all are pleased with this deal, however. Native title holders Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation of the Kimberly region of Western Australia, together with the U.S.-based Nature Conservancy and Kimberly Agricultural and Pastoral Company, submitted a A$25 million (US$17.4 million) bid early in the sale process, but were eliminated in the first round.

“For a long time we’ve struggled, and here, the perfect opportunity to do something unique for our people, and it’s been swept from clean under us,” said Anthony McLarty, vice chair of Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation.

Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation was established in 2007 – the same year the native title of the Ngurrara people was officially recognized, to manage the native title, and to be a self-sufficient organization providing strong Indigenous governance; to create employment and training; to be stewards of the land; and to manage the impacts from development and tourism. 

McLarty told ABC that as traditional owners of the land, access issues were a concern. 

The Forrests have reached out to representatives of the Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation and have released a statement through Tattarang expressing their long history of working with Indigenous elders and groups, saying, “We recognise the Yi-Martuwarra have been the guardians of this sacred country for tens of thousands of years. We very much look forward to working with their local Elders and communities to ensure access, and to preserve and protect significant and sacred sites.”

 

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.