West Wimmera farm, Toonambool, for sale

With historic ties to a renowned Australian farming family, a 3370ha cropping and grazing farm north of Kaniva is for sale for millions.

More than 3370ha of mixed farmland in Victoria’s West Wimmera region with famous family ties has been listed for sale.

Toonambool, located at 1810 North Serviceton-Telopea Downs Rd, is held in four separate titles and is for sale as a whole or in any combination of the four lots.

With both grain and livestock producing capacity, Toonambool is expected to field offers of about $4941-$7412 a hectare ($2000-$3000 an acre), meaning it could fetch more than $17 million in total.

Toonambool is held in a partnership by people with business interests in the Nhill-Kaniva districts, which began after it was acquired in the early 2000s from the McGregor family, who were renowned southeastern Australian woolbrokers and wool producers.

Driscoll and Co selling agent Gary Driscoll said Toonambool was a renowned mixed farming property in the Kaniva-Bordertown district.

“I have worked in the district for 35 years and been associated with Toonambool all that time and in my opinion it is one of the better mixed farming properties in the district,” he said.

Toonambool was part of the McGregor family’s holdings for decades.

KANIVA-SERVICETON

TOONAMBOOL

Property: mixed farming

Size: 3379ha held in four adjoining lots

Sale: expressions of interest close December 5 at 5pm

Price: $4941-$7412 a hectare ($2000-$3000 an acre)

Agent: Driscoll and Co

Contact: Gary Driscoll, 0149 595 132

“Potential buyers could range from neighbours looking to add individual lots, to people coming from away to buy the farm as a whole and up to corporate investors.

“Toonambool is well established with a small area capable of further development.

“Its reliability of rainfall, location and accessibility and its scale are the key features.

“With scale it can mean a lot of different things, but with Toonambool it means there is enough room to do a lot of different things.”

In the 1960s the Telopea Downs district, situated north of Kaniva, was one of the last parts of Victoria to be opened up to agriculture and was used primarily for grazing.

The McGregor family via Sir James Robert McGregor and Harold Waddell McGregor, the eldest and third sons of Scottish-born James Wigham McGregor held Toonambool as part of their significant land holdings acquired in the 1950s.

The family developed large land holdings, the most significant being Balquhidder in South Australia and included Glenalpine and Toonambool in Victoria.

In September 2018, the McBride Group purchased the 11-farm 47,677 hectare aggregation known as Telopea Downs from the Qatari based Hassad corporation, which included Glenalpine.

Toonambool is for sale as a whole or in any combination of the four lots.

In 2007 Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes purchased the sprawling 3000ha Balquhidder Station, 30km west of Victor Harbor, for more than $20 million.

Since purchasing Toonambool in the early 2000s the vendors have cropped mixed grains and vetch and produced Merino and crossbred sheep on the property.

Toonambool, located 16km north of the Western Highway, has sealed road frontage, all-weather sandstone road to the east and dry-weather road to the north.

There is also a large laneway which runs east-to-west down the middle of the property.

Toonambool consists of gently undulating to mostly flat open country with heavy Mallee flats and loam rises.

There is also a new watering system from a six inch bore with electric submersible pump to tank and pressure pump with the main line along the laneway with eight branches to all parts and paddocks.

Infrastructure includes an existing shearing shed with four Evo stands planned for four-five stand raised board, a large wool room, kitchen, office and steel sheep yards and holding pens plus the laneway.