Thompson family sell Booroorban aggregation to East Loddon Merino’s Hooke family

The family named sheep farmers of the year at The Weekly Times Coles 2021 Farmer of the Year awards have purchased a major pastoral farm near Deniliquin.

Winners of The Weekly Times Coles 2021 Farmer of the Year Sheep award, the Hooke family, have expanded their holdings buying another major Riverina aggregation.

The family partnership, East Loddon Merinos, consisting of Bill and Diane Hooke (parents), Tom and Marcus (brothers) and their respective partners Sarah and Cassandra Hooke, on Thursday bought the 10,293ha Booroorban Aggregation and water entitlements for $17.806 million via an auction in Deniliquin.

The family now own four Booroorban district pastoral stations carrying more than 10,000 commercial breeding ewes with the recent acquisition.

The Weekly Times Coles 2021 Farmer of the Year Sheep award winners Marcus and Tom Hooke with parents Diane and Bill, at Warwillah, Wanganella, NSW. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The Hooke family secured the Booroorban Aggregation under the hammer for $16 million, and took up the first option to purchase 516ML of lower Murrumbidgee groundwater entitlements at $3500 per ML for an additional $1.806 million.

A crowd of about 60 people attended the auction at Deniliquin’s Coach House Hotel where there were multiple bidder registrations, including one from interstate.

Elders Deniliquin selling agent Matt Horne completed the sale and said premium farming properties were still attracting interest from buyers despite southeast Australian flooding and rising interest rates.

“The Booroorban Aggregation result shows there is still an appetite for good quality rural assets,” he said.

The Booroorban Aggregation has carried between 6000 and 7000 Merino ewes, and 150 to 200 cows plus replacements as a whole.

“The Hooke family viewed the aggregation as an excellent opportunity to expand their Merino operation.”

Bill and Diane Hooke first started East Loddon Merinos at Serpentine, 50km northwest of Bendigo.

The family expanded into the Riverina in 2002 buying Warwillah and relocating their stud sheep in 2010.

As part of their expansion the Hooke family have also purchased the 2428ha Elmsleigh farm and Geoff and Jill Chapman’s property, Nyangay Station, in August 2017.

The Booroorban Aggregation has a six-bedroom brick veneer homestead, a 2005 three-bedroom home, two original homesteads and a two-bedroom mud brick homestead.

Melbourne-based Thompson family listed the Booroorban Aggregation, which comprises three parts, in September this year.

They first acquired part of the property 17 years ago.

In 2005, the Thompsons bought the 3501ha Cooneen then acquired the 3554ha Oaklands and 3237ha Park Estate in 2007.

Located 50km south of Hay and 75km north of Deniliquin, the Booroorban Aggregation is renowned for its breeding and fattening of livestock, wool and fodder production, summer and winter cropping.

The sale of the Booroorban Aggregation comes after other Riverina pastoral farms Rhyola and Inverness were sold in July for $16 million, while the Eriwah and Gum Creek farms at Carrathool were sold at a September auction for almost $10 million.