One of Northern Australia’s premier large-scale beef cattle operations, Millungera Station, is now being offered to the market. Business advisory firm, Bentleys Queensland, based in Brisbane, is exclusively advising on the divestment of the asset for their long-term client, well-known Australian cattle family pastoralists, the Acton Family.
One of the jewels in the Australian cattle grazing industry, Millungera Station spans 342,000 hectares (approx. 845,000 acres) in the heart of the renowned North-West Queensland beef producing region. Strategically located approximately 130 kilometers north of Julia Creek, Millungera is home to a high-quality herd of approximately 50,000 Santa Gertrudis and Charbray cattle that have been the focus of a long-term genetic improvement program focused on driving calving rates and weight-gain.
Speaking exclusively to GAI News, Bentleys Queensland Managing Partner, Ben Cameron, said, “Millungera Station has a legacy of producing cattle for over 160 years and is a proven performer for consistently producing large volumes of high-quality cattle sought after by the backgrounding, feedlotting and beef processing market channels for the Australian and export beef markets.”
The property has been tightly held, with the Acton family owning it for over 40 years. Over that time they have made significant improvements to the property across water, fencing and cattle handling infrastructure to lift the cattle carrying capacity of the Station and for efficient movement and handling of cattle.
Extensive Water Availability
These improvements have contributed to make Millungera Station arguably the most water secure beef cattle asset in Australia. The Station has a vast supply of underground Artesian water making water security a cornerstone of Millungera’s success. The Station is supported by an extensive network of almost 700 kilometers (435 miles) of water reticulation infrastructure, from 21 bores. This is complemented by average annual rainfall of 655mm and the natural flows of the Flinders and Saxby Rivers These resources also feed into 25 strategically placed dams, ensuring year-round water availability.
Natural Capital
The diversity of country types and ecosystems across Millungera Station present strong opportunities to enhance the natural capital of the property. In a recent government ecological desktop assessment of Millungera Station, the findings considered it as having exceptional ecological values making it a suitable candidate for nature refuge areas. The assessment found Millungera’s biodiversity significance, extensive wetland systems, connectivity and role in representing under-protected regional ecosystems provides crucial habitat and conservation opportunities.
Further Development Opportunities
Mr. Cameron also referred to “the possibility of further development of water, fencing and cattle infrastructure to lift carrying capacity at the Station. Additionally its fertile soils and abundant water resources also offer potential for irrigated and broadacre cropping developments.”
Importance of Leasehold Tenure, Particularly for International Investors
Mr. Cameron also noted that “the asset was somewhat unique for a Station of this size to be on one parcel title. Also the new owner could be from a very broad pool of local and international buyers, given that it’s a leasehold tenure and in Queensland, generally leasehold interests will not be subject to foreign landholder duty levied on farmland that is owned by foreign companies and trusts.”
Interested prospective investors can learn more about Millungera Station and register their interest with Ben Cameron, Rohan Dunsdon and Brendan Goulding from Bentleys Queensland by visiting www.millungerastation.com.au.
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