Porter family to sell historic Naracoorte farm Childerley Park

A South Australian family is selling its 1650ha mixed farm near Naracoorte, ending a tenure dating back almost 100 years.

A five-bedroom stone homestead stands at Childerley Park.

More than 1650ha of southeast South Australian farmland has hit the market in one of the biggest rural property listings in the state so far this spring.

The Porter family is selling its 1654ha mixed farming enterprise Childerley Park, with the third and fourth generation custodians opting to sell the property.

The property is expected to field offers in the vicinity of $23 million, largely due to its cropping and livestock capabilities alongside significant underground water entitlements.

Childerley Park farm manager James Porter said the family was selling the property to focus on other interests in the region.

“The sale of Childerley Park will enable us to consolidate our agricultural, horticultural and viticultural interests in the Coonawarra,” Mr Porter said.

Offered for sale via expressions of interest closing November 9 at 4pm, Childerley Park comprises productive plains suited to cropping and sheltered range country supporting sheep and cattle.

Alongside Childerley Park, the Porter family also owns a 1000ha property named Bundalong at Coonawarra, about 40km south of Naracoorte.

The family has run 4500 ewes at Naracoorte and 3500 at Coonawarra in previous seasons. Meanwhile at the Coonawarra property the Porters have planted 70ha of vines, growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz grapes for their brand Bundalong.

The Porters have carried 4500 ewes on their 1650ha Naracoorte farm in previous years.

At Childerley Park, which has a stocking rate of 12.4 dry sheep equivalents a hectare, the Porter family has run a herd of about 240 Angus-cross cows alongside ewes.

The plains country on the property also supports cereal, beans and canola crops, with several paddocks earmarked for hay production.

A key feature is the five-bedroom stone homestead, recently renovated and surrounded by private parklike grounds.

There is also additional accommodation available in an upgraded three-bedroom cottage with one and a half bathrooms.

Existing farm infrastructure includes a four-stand raised board woolshed with high-capacity bugle-style yards, along with upgraded cattle yards.

Cropping cereal, beans and canola is undertaken by the Porter family at Childerley Park.

Water at Childerley Park comes via underground supply with a 43ha centre pivot that draws upon the 259ML allocation.

There is also a series of solar pump-equipped bores. An electric pump located at the workshop provides stock water.

Despite Childerley Park’s strength as an agricultural asset, TDC Livestock and Property selling agent Tom Pearce said the property could be subdivided for lifestyle pursuits.

“The property is contained within multiple titles, whilst as a whole Childerley Park offers rare scale, it does lend itself to be broken up,” Mr Pearce said.

“There are six smaller titles ranging from seven to nine hectares with highway frontage that definitely have lifestyle appeal.”

In a recently completed sale last month, four Vic-SA border cropping farms near Serviceton have been sold in separate deals to local buyers worth more than $12.2 million combined.