Historic 86,000ha North Qld cattle station carved up

A Queensland cattle farming family have sold two of their stations, spanning a combined 34,500ha, in separate sales worth millions.

The 86,415ha Valley of Lagoons Aggregation has been carved up, with the Reedybrook and Hopewell Stations sold separately for a total of about $20m.

A historic 86,415ha North Queensland cattle station aggregation has been carved up, with two significant parcels of the pastoral run sold for millions.

The Valley of Lagoons Aggregation, located 45km north of Greenvale, has been split with the 9387ha Reedybrook Station and 25,200ha Hopewell Station sold for about $20m, including some additional cattle.

The purchasers of the properties remain undisclosed.

Believed to be North Queensland’s first settled cattle station, the Valley of Lagoons Aggregation was listed for sale about a year ago by vendors Patrick and Delinda Sheahan.

Hopewell Station was the cornerstone of the Sheahan family’s cattle operations and had been held in the family for over 40 years.

Reedybrook, acquired by the Sheahan family in 2018, has been used for breeding and fattening cattle.

Valley of Lagoons, the signature 51,829ha property of the aggregation, remains available for sale.

Stockplace Marketing selling agent Luke Westaway is handling the sale of the Valley of Lagoons Aggregation.

“Reedybrook is a magnificent parcel of land offering wetlands, basalt country and production reliability,” he said.

“Burdekin River properties like Reedybrook and the Valley of Lagoons are one of a kind.”

A partnership between Walter Jervoise Scott, his brother Arthur, George Elphinstone Dalrymple and the then Queensland premier Robert Herbert (Scott Bros, Dalrymple & Co) established Valley of Lagoons as a pastoral property 1862, originally spanning about 260,000ha stocked with 25,000 sheep and cattle.

When it was listed for sale the historic aggregation was offered with the capacity to carry around 10,000 cattle. It was listed with 7000 head of quality Grey and Red Brahman cattle plus plant and equipment.

The landmark Valley of Lagoons, which remains on the market, has 28km of Burdekin River frontage and extensive Lake Lucy fertile flats.

The sale of the Reedybrook and Hopewell Stations is the latest in a run of top-dollar Queensland cattle station sales this year, including the $47.5m sale of Lord Cattle’s 233,000ha May Downs station, near Cloncurry to McMillian Pastoral via auction in May.

Originally published as Historic 86,000ha North Qld cattle station carved up