Cattle mogul reveals plans for stunning hinterland estate

A former luxury car dealer turned cattle property magnate has revealed his plans for a world-class Maleny horse ranch.

Greg Willims is selling his home at 50 Pringle St, Ascot. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

A former luxury car dealership boss turned cattle property magnate has revealed his plans for a world-class Maleny horse ranch he has recently acquired.

Brisbane-based Greg Willims opened up to the Daily after his company Lambhill Pty Limited as trustee for The Willims Final Discretionary Trust, recently took ownership of the sprawling Montana Park estate on Mountain View Rd.

The fee disclosed under consideration in Queensland Titles Registry documents showed $6.1 million for the stunning 42ha property which sold for $7 million back in 2009.

Mr Willims, an Ascot resident who made his name selling brands including Bentleys, Audis, Maseratis and Lamborghinis in Brisbane, revealed his vision for the stunning hinterland ranch.

He said they were focused on making improvements to the property, particularly to pastures, water care and tree planting, before they decided what direction to take with the property.

Montana Park at Maleny.

Mr Willims said his expertise lay more in cattle breeding, despite the property being considered one of the country's finest horse properties.

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He said once the pastures had been restored they would look to bring trail riding horses in, while he was also in discussions with racing industry figures to gauge what they'd like done with the property.

"If they were looking to spell (racehorses), it's a great property," Mr Willims said.

"It's just a picture perfect property, that's what it is."

Mr Willims said he'd been eyeing off Montana Park several times over the past four years and it had always been a dream of his to acquire the property.

He said he was prepared to spend at least four months bringing the property back to "exceptional status".

The sprawling property at Mountain View Rd, Maleny.

His experience in restoring property was rich in a local sense, having undertaken a similar task at his nearby 39ha North Maleny property.

He said they'd undertaken improvements in the first year there at the former horse stud and it had taken another three years to get it to its "near perfect" condition today.

He said improvements had been made to pastures and planting of rainforest trees and trees along creek banks had been undertaken.

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Mr Willims has secured one of the region’s premier properties.

Mr Willims said that property was being "totally spelled" at the moment, and he expected it would become quite a sustainable, low-cost property once it was finished.

Mr Willims said Montana Park was "different" as it was a higher value site compared to the North Maleny property.

A full-blood wagyu herd had already been prepared for Montana Park, with 50 breeders and two wagyu bulls to enjoy the rolling pastures of the estate previously owned by former Neds managing director and ex-Ladbrokes CEO Dean Shannon.

Mr Willims said if Montana Park became an operational horse spelling property he would need a minimum of three staff.

Former car dealer Greg Willims has swapped cars for cattle.

He said he had immense respect for both car sales bosses, given the high pressure of the industry he sold out of four years ago, and for the skill and knowledge of farmers who successfully ran properties.

Mr Willims said he'd been drawn to Maleny in search of somewhere to "retreat from Brisbane" and he had sought somewhere green.

"Now Maleny's certainly green," he said.

The bathroom at Montana Park, Maleny

Mr Willims said while they remained predominantly Brisbane-based for now, as his family's schooling commitments eased he expected he would make the shift permanently to Maleny.

"That will occur one day," he said.

Mr Willims said he'd acquired the machinery needed to run Montana Park and the previous owner had been a "huge help" in the restoration of the property.

An irrigated hay farm at Neurum Rd, Mount Archer, would also help supplement cattle and horses at his Maleny properties when the dry winter months eventually arrived.

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