Historic homestead and plenty of water on Tocumwal cropping property

RIVERINA property Pine Lodge offers buyers a taste of both the past and the future.

Historic homestead: Pine Lodge at Tocumwal is rich in history.

RIVERINA property Pine Lodge offers buyers a taste of the past and the future.

With a homestead and a shearing shed built in the 1900s, and being part of the original 120,000ha Tuppal Station, this is farming country with history.

TOCUMWAL

PINE LODGE and GLEN CLUAN

Property: Irrigation/cropping/livestock

Price: $4-million plus

Size: 976ha

Auction: May 9, 2014, on site

Agent: Landmark Harcourts

Contact: James Sides 0427 236 791

But current owners Richard and Jenny Smith believe there is huge scope for future development by any new custodians of this Tocumwal- district farm.

Certainly, with a big water allocation and irrigation country laid out, the operation spells potential.

Richard was drawn to Pine Lodge when he first saw it.

“It has amazing potential and is such a pretty property,” he said.

“It has 3km of frontage to the semi-permanent Tuppal Creek, and that is warm and pretty country. But then we have the Riverina Cypress Pines scattered across the property as well, which adds to its ­appeal.”

The Smiths bought Pine Lodge and Glen Cluan about a decade ago, which combined offer buyers close to 1000ha.

And one of the biggest assets the farm has, apart from the aesthetics, is its water.

The aggregation has a ­3133-megalitre allocation, a mix of water delivered through Murray Irrigation and bores.

That water allows a huge range of winter and summer crops to be grown and about 800ha of the farm is laid out to irrigation.

In their cropping program, the Smiths have grown cereals, canola and rice.

When all crop is planted, up to 250ha of crop is grown each year, including rice.

And they have also taken advantage of the properties to run extensive livestock operations.

That includes a Merino flock producing first-cross progeny, a prime-lamb breeding operation as well as a 220-head cattle herd.

The agricultural features of this well-known property offer buyers the chance to grow a range of crops and produce a variety of livestock.

But it also offers the new owners the chance to live in either a historic homestead or a newer house.

The Pine Lodge homestead was built in about 1900 and Richard ­clearly loves the place.

“The homestead is in very good order and it’s a lovely place to live,” he said.

There have been a few extensions in the homestead’s history, including one in 1947 when the Duke of Gloucester came to stay.

The homestead is set in a large 2ha garden, which is well maintained, and includes a “big swimming pool, not a puddle”, Richard said.

Then there is the house on Glen Cluan — a four-bedroom home built in 2004.

There is also a manager’s house.

Extensive shedding, including a hay shed with capacity for 600 large square bales under cover, provides a wonderful source of rainwater which supplies the house.

Other improvements include shedding, an airstrip and a hangar, the 12-stand shearing shed (four stands are used); sheep yards, two sets of cattle yards and grain storage.

Richard and Jenny plan to take things a little easier, but say they have only just scraped the surface of what can be done at Pine Lodge.

“I really think there is the potential to gross at least $800,000 from this farm each year without doing any damage to it or pushing it too hard,” Richard said.