Manchee Agriculture snap up Lawson Klopper’s 140,000ha Christmas Creek Station

A 140,000ha Kimberley cattle station will stay in Australian hands after it was sold to a Northern NSW family in a major deal.

A renowned Australian farming family with a beef and cattle production history spanning more than 140 years has made a bold move to expand into Western Australia’s Kimberley Region.

John and Liz Manchee, of Manchee Agriculture, at Narrabri in North West NSW, have completed a deal to purchase the 140,000ha Christmas Creek Station at Fitzroy Crossing.

Listed for sale at the start of the year, by pastoralist Lawson Klopper, offers for the property were expected to reach up to $30 million.

The Manchee family purchased the property in a walk-in walkout deal for an undisclosed price, understood to be about its expected value.

With ties to beef production dating back to the 1880s, the Manchee family has been producing stud cattle since 1947.

The enterprise comprises the Yamburgan Shorthorn stud, Wilgaroon Santa Gertrudis stud and the composite breed, Durham Tropicals.

John and Liz Manchee from Manchee Agriculture at Narrabri in NSW.

Manchee Agriculture owns about 8094ha at Narrabri, in NSW, and Roma, in Queensland.

John’s grandfather, John Stewart Manchee, at Dirranbandi in southeast Queensland established the Yamburgan Shorthorns in 1947.

In 1969 their enterprise was moved to the Narrabri property, on the Namoi River, where John and Liz are now based.

Mr Klopper is retiring after owning the expansive Kimberley Station since 1989.

Elders Real Estate pastoral specialist Greg Smith handled the sale, which attracted the interest of several family farming cattle producers.

“We had nine expressions of interest submitted and from that we narrowed it to a shortlist of five,” Mr Smith.

Mr Smith also said severe flooding at the start of the year in the Kimberley affected the sale process.

The Christmas Creek Station has been used as a breeding and finishing property with a carrying capacity of more than 7000 head.

Each year about 10,000 cattle are mustered with a 10-year average of about 4000 cattle sold per annum.

The original 400,000ha Christmas Creek pastoral lease was part of The Australian Land and Cattle Co and the Emanual family’s portfolio of properties.

In the late 1980s a number of large leases were broken up in what was known as ‘The Fitzroy Valley Reconstruction’.