Western District farm Rose Park seeking more than $4.4 million

A farm in the Western District has been listed for sale, asking more than $4.4 million. It was originally part of a bigger farm, split between siblings.

Rose Park at Willatook is a grazing property.

A GRAZING farm in the Western District has been listed for sale with an asking price of more than $4.4 million.

The 407ha property, Rose Park at Willatook, will be sold via expressions of interest.

Owner Blair O’Toole has put the property up for sale, and says it is the original portion of a large land area that was split between five sons.

Mr O’Toole was attracted to the land rather than the grandeur of the homestead which was built in the early 1900s.

“As a passionate sheep producer, I saw what we could do with the land, but I knew the homestead was still something special,” he said.

“She (the house) has great bones and would not take much to bring it back to all her glory and even be opened as a bed and breakfast or even a wedding venue.

“And while the house is special, so is the land.

“It is ideal for lambing down ewes as there are plenty of sheltered areas and we have had some pretty handy lambing percentages here.”

The priority for Mr O’Toole was improving the livestock credentials of Rose Park.

He’s replaced about 80 per cent of the fences improving both internal and boundary fencing and established a laneway system to service most of the paddocks.

When he took possession of the farm, there were just two large paddocks but there are now 19 which improve pasture utilisation as well as livestock management for his flock of composite sheep.

Mr O’Toole also replaced the old wooden yards near the wool shed and it was one of the first tasks he tackled to build large steel yards which have the capacity to hold about 5000 sheep.

Then he installed a water system, with new water lines and troughs to most of the paddocks. There is a bore with a submersible pump and holding tanks with water reticulated from the these to the troughs.

Rose Park is being sold by Southern Grampians Livestock and Real Estate and expressions of interest will close on May 14.

It comes farms in the Western District have sold for record prices.

Recently, a farm near Hamilton has smashed price expectations selling for a new district record.

The 152ha grazing property, Tarrellar Park at Strathkellar, made $3.41 million – equating to $22,341 per hectare or $9045 an acre.

It had an asking price of $2.7 million – $3 million.

The property had been owned by Ian and Kay O’Connell for 15 years and was snapped up by Cavendish farmer Tony Astbury.

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