Historic NSW station sold for $54 million

A 178-year-old northern NSW station has been sold by a former model-turned-merino farmer and her husband via an off-market transaction.

The Bell family have sold the 20,076ha Cooplacurripa Station in northern NSW.

A 178-year-old cattle breeding property on the NSW Northern Tablelands has changed hands for the second time in three years after it was sold in an off-market transaction.

NSW property records show the 20,076ha Cooplacurripa Station, located 40km southeast from Nowendoc, has been sold by model-turned-farmer Vanessa Bell and her husband Phillip.

Records show financial services and asset management company Perpetual Corporate Trust is the new owner of Cooplacurripa following the $54.4m sale.

One of Perpetual Corporate Trust’s services includes providing investment management services for offshore real estate and property fund managers seeking to invest in Australia, according to its website.

The hefty sale price of Cooplacurripa Station equates to about $2707 a hectare, representing a 46 per cent rise in the value of the property across the last three years.

Cooplacurripa Station dates back to 1846 when it was established by the Australian Agriculture Company.

In 2021 the Bells paid $35m for the then 24,398ha station, equivalent to $1458 a hectare.

Since then they have also carved off the 1196ha Number One and 654ha Kerriki properties in separate sales.

In previous years Cooplacurripa, located on Kangaroo Tops Rd, had an estimated carrying capacity of 9000 cattle.

Vanessa, a former international catwalk model, runs a new women’s knitwear company, including her baby blankets, under the brand name Vanessa Bell.

Cooplacurripa, considered the largest holding on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range on the NSW mid-north coast, has changed hands several times throughout its history, including three times in the last 10 years.

First spanning 32,000ha, the station was settled by AACo (Australian Agriculture Company) in 1846.

In 1950 Ivan Livermore took the reins before selling the station onto the Bydand Pastoral Co in 2003.

A subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Rifa Holding Group, Rifa Salutary, then owned the property for six years after paying $32m for it and 5000 cattle in 2015.

In 2019 Rifa Salutary began selling its Australian farming portfolio, which included the Cooplacurripa Station plus 13 other properties throughout Victoria and NSW.