Oldfield and Costello families purchase 730,000ha Mount Doreen station

The Oldfield and Costello families have expanded their mammoth cattle station portfolio after purchasing the 730,000ha Mount Doreen station.

Two Northern Territory mates Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello of Crown Point Pastoral Company have further expanded their rural property holdings after acquiring Mount Doreen station.

In a deal worth a reported $34.7 million, Mr Oldfield and Mr Costello, Australia’s largest landholders, have purchased the 730,000ha cattle station from the Braitling family.

In February Mount Doreen station was listed for sale for the first time in 90 years, with a price tag of about $50 million including 18,000 head of cattle, plant and equipment.

It is unclear if the $34.7 million price includes the 18,000 head of cattle.

Mount Doreen station, one of Australia’s largest organic cattle stations, is located on the Tanami Road, about 380km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

The farm was established in 1932 by William and Doreen Braitling and has grown to carry more than 30,000 head in average rainfall years, with its long-term sustainable carrying capacity estimated at 22,000 to 23,000 adult equivalent cattle.

Mount Doreen station has been purchased by Crown Point Pastoral for $34.7 million.

The transaction brings Mr Oldfield and Mr Costello’s landholdings to 9.2 million hectares across the NT, Western Australia and South Australia after they purchased 3.2 million hectares earlier this year.

The pair claimed the title of Australia’s largest private landholder from Gina Rinehart after acquiring a suite of cattle farms from Ms Rinehart and S Kidman and Co.’s property portfolio.

In the last 12 months Crown Point Pastoral has bought Innamincka Station (1,360,000 hectares) and Macumba Station (1,100,000 hectares) in South Australia and the Ruby Plains and Sturt Creek Stations (800,000 hectares) near Halls Creek in Western Australia.

Colliers International Jesse Manuel and Rawdon Briggs brokered the deal.

William Braitling was born in Springsure, Queensland and left home at the age of 16 to work on cattle properties in the Victoria River District and Kimberley region.

He was a WWI veteran, who on his return to Australia, devoted his life to running cattle throughout Central Australia and eventually creating Mount Doreen station