Who owns Northern Territory’s farms: The biggest landholders revealed

The Northern Territory is riding an investment tidal wave as demand for Aussie farmland hits its straps. Search our interactive to see who owns farms in your region.

The Northern Territory has found itself at the centre of a changing of the guard in the Australian landholder stakes, as demand for farmland reaches fever pitch.

The Weekly Times’ annual investigation into who owns Australia’s farms shows significant investor movement over the past 12 months amid insatiable demand for rural property spurred by low interest rates, a dramatic turnaround in seasonal conditions and strong farmgate returns.

The investigation found that two mates from outback Northern Territory – Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello of Crown Point Pastoral Company – have snatched the coveted No. 1 landholder position from Ms Rinehart after purchasing 3.2 million hectares from her Hancock Agriculture and S Kidman and Co businesses in a landmark four-station deal.

It has taken Crown Point’s holdings to more than 7.2 million hectares across northern Australia – greater than the size of Ireland.

From a value perspective, Canada’s PSP Investments – the pension fund for the Canadian public service including the world-famous royal mounted police force – cemented its No. 1 ranking with a portfolio of land and water assets now estimated at $5 billion.

But it’s not just the top end of town making a major play for agriculture in the past 12 months. Here is a list of some the Northern Territory’s biggest landholders and the major properties they own.

AAM INVESTMENT GROUP

Managers and operators of the Regional Livestock Exchange. In 2019 raised $60 million-plus for a new agriculture fund. Has investments in poultry assets in South Australia.

• Keep Plains Agricultural Development, Kimberley NT – 67,500 hectares.

• Legune Station, Kununurra NT – 285,270 hectares.

Source: aamig.com.au

AMBURLA NOMINEES

Owned by Tony and Pam Davis. Sold the Narwietooma, Derwent and Glen Helen properties in 2020.

• Amburla Station, Alice Springs NT – 202,000 hectares.

• Dnieper Station, Alice Springs NT – 100,000 hectares.

• Hamilton Downs Station, Alice Springs NT.

AN AVIEN PASTORAL HOLDING AND AGRICULTURE

Owned by Vietnamese businessman Pham Nhat Vu.

• Vermelha Station, Katherine NT – 203,900 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for $18 million.

ANDERSON’S AND ROHAN PARTNERS

• Henbury Station, Alice Springs NT – 527,300 hectares.

ANGUS AND KIMBERLEY McKAY

• Idracowra Station, Alice Springs NT – 462,800 hectares.

• Umbearra Station, Alice Springs NT

AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY

Founded in 1824, Australian Agricultural Company or AACo runs about 400,000 cattle across 6.4 million hectares of land. It is listed on the ASX with UK billionaire businessman Joe Lewis the biggest investor with a more-than-45 per cent stake.

• Anthony Lagoon/Eva Downs, Tennant Creek NT – 934,900 hectares.

• Brunette Downs Station, Tennant Creek NT – 1,221,200 hectares.

• Camfield Station, Victoria River NT – 279,000 hectares.

• Delamere Station, Victoria River NT – 300,300 hectares.

• La Belle, Batchelor NT – 61,000 hectares.

• Montejinni Station, Victoria River NT – 485,623 hectares.

• Pell and Tortilla, Darwin NT – 5473 hectares.

Source: aaco.com.au

AUSTRALIAN GREEN PROPERTIES PTY LTD (PHILIPPINES)

Owned by Filipino banker and property developer Romeo Roxas.

• Murray Downs, Barkly Tablelands NT – 265,000 hectares. Purchased in 2015.

BALDY BAY PASTORAL

At one point, Sterling Buntine ran about 2.5 million hectares of cattle properties in northern Australia. Was part of a five-member syndicate that made a last-minute bid for S Kidman and Co in 2016.

• Alroy Downs Station, Tennant Creek NT — 400,000 hectares. Purchased in 2008 for $70 million.

• Dalmore Downs Station, Tennant Creek NT.

• Landsdowne Station, Kimberley NT.

BASS CATTLE COMPANY

Owned by David and Suzanne Bassingthwaite.

• Epenarra, Barkly Tablelands NT – 265,000 hectares. Purchased in 2019.

BILBA GROUP

Run by Adrian and Emma Brown

• Amungee Mungee Station, Daly Waters NT — 316,970 hectares.

• Bullwaddy Pastoral Company portfolio, Arnold NT — 1,400,000 hectares.

BINDAROO PASTURES

Run by Chris and Amanda Howie from the Northern Territory.

• Dixie Station, Katherine NT – 46,200 hectares. Purchased in 2021 for more than $6 million.

BRETT BLUNDY RETAIL CAPITAL (BAHAMAS)

The beef division of retail king Brett Blundy’s private investment company owns more than two million hectares across three cattle stations in the Northern Territory.

• Beetaloo Station and OT Downs, Elliot NT – 707,800 hectares.

• Mungabroom Station, Elliot NT – 346,900 hectares.

• Walhallow/Cresswell Downs, Tennant Creek NT – 999,700 hectares. Purchased in 2015 for $100 million.

BRETT CATTLE COMPANY

• Waterloo Station, Baines NT — 189,500 hectares.

• Willeroo Station, Katherine NT — 171,000 hectares.

BRIGODOON CATTLE COMPANY

Operated by Bill and Gretchen Speed and family. Feedlot and beef fattening enterprise with properties across Queensland and the Northern Territory. Cattle are bred near Alice Springs and Boulia, backgrounded at Jundah and Yaraka, and finished at Taroom.

• Tarlton Downs Station, Alice Springs NT – 303,514 hectares.

BUNDERRA CATTLE COMPANY

Owned by the Pickersgill family of Rockhampton in Queensland. Operates more than eight cattle stations in Queensland and the Northern Territory, including:

• Murrunji Station, Katherine NT – 447,500 hectares. Purchased in 2020 for $23 million.

CLEAN AGRICULTURE & INTERNATIONAL TOURISM (VIETNAM)

Controlled by Vietnamese agricultural company TH Group. Purchased almost 733,000 hectares of land from Consolidated Pastoral Company in 2019 as part of a deal worth $135 million.

• Auvergne Station, Katherine NT – 414,200 hectares.

• Newry Station, NT – 246,700 hectares.

CLEVELAND AGRICULTURE

Operated by Malcolm Harris and family. Was part of a five-member syndicate that made a last-minute bid for S Kidman and Co in 2016.

• Benmara Station, Elliott NT – 450,000 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for about $12 million.

• Rockhampton Downs Station, NT — 450,300 hectares.

• Ucharonidge Station, Elliott NT – 245,550 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $28.5 million.

CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY (UK)

British investor Guy Hands, and management, purchased the remainder of the Consolidated Pastoral Company assets in 2020 for $500 million. The deal included nine pastoral leases totalling 3.2 million hectares in the Northern Territory, 300,000 cattle and a 90 per cent stake in an Indonesian feedlot business.

• Bunda Station, Victoria River NT – 178,800 hectares. Purchased in 2015. Carrying capacity of more than 15,000 cattle and home to a Brahman stud herd.

• Dungowan Station, Katherine NT – 445.400 hectares. Carrying capacity of 17,600 cattle and brands up to 5000 calves a year.

• Kirkimbie Station, Victoria River NT – 230,400 hectares. Purchased in 1986. Breeding block carrying 11,000 cattle.

• Manbulloo Station, Katherine NT – 379,130 hectares. Carrying capacity of more than 18,000 cattle. Sold to Buratovich family for $23.4 million in 2019 in a sale and leaseback deal.

• Newcastle Waters Station, Newcastle Waters NT – 1,033,101 hectares. Carrying capacity of 65,700 cattle.

Source: pastoral.com

CROSS PACIFIC INVESTMENTS (ARGENTINA)

Operated by the Buratovich family.

• Manbulloo Station, Katherine NT – 379,130 hectares. Purchased from Consolidated Pastoral Company for $23.4 million in 2019 in a sale and leaseback deal.

• Scott Creek, Katherine NT – 101,850 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for about $12 million.

• Sturt Downs, Katherine NT – 67,840 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $6.8 million.

CROWN POINT PASTORAL COMPANY

Australia’s biggest landholders. Run by northern cattle producers Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello. Operation is spread over more than 7.2 million hectares.

• Andado Station, Horseshoe Bend and New Crown, Alice Springs NT – 1,085,000 hectares.

• Maryvale Station, Alice Springs NT. 324,000 hectares. Purchased in 2018.

• Phoenix Park Feedlot, Katherine NT — 3443 hectares.

• Ruby Plains and Sturt Creek Stations, Katherine NT — 800,000 hectares.

Viv Oldfield is co-owner of Crown Point Pastoral Company — Australia’s biggest landholder.

DI GIORGIO FAMILY

• Aroona Station, Katherine NT — 147,500 hectares.

DUNKELD PASTORAL COMPANY

Owned by prominent Melbourne barrister Allan Myers QC. Operates more than 12,000 hectares of land in Victoria’s Western District and almost one million hectares in northern Australia.

• Doongan/Theda Stations, Kimberley WA – 610,000 hectares. Operations are focused on carbon abatement and sustainable land management. Also hosts a number of research projects from the universities of Sydney, Melbourne, Western Australia and Queensland.

• Tipperary Group: Tipperary Station, Litchfield and Douglas West (in partnership with Booloomani Pty Ltd) NT – 386,001 hectares. Focused on large-scale cattle backgrounding and breeding, cattle agistment, live export quarantine, fodder production, tourism and evens and conservation. In recent years has trialled growing cotton.

Source: dunkeldpastoral.com.au and tipperarygroup.com.au

FRITH FAMILY

• Neutral Junction Station, Alice Springs NT — 469,900 hectares.

GIBSON GRAZING

Owned by cattle producers and lot feeders Mick and Declan Gibson from Dalby in Queensland. Reportedly run 73,000 cattle across more than two million hectares in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

• Manners Creek Station, Alice Springs NT. 687,900 hectares. Purchased in 2016.

GOREY FAMILY

• Yambah Station, Alice Springs NT – 231,000 hectares. Offered for sale in 2019 but later withdrawn. Held by the Goreys since the 1940s.

HEYTESBURY CATTLE COMPANY

Owned by the Holmes a Court family, the Heytesbury Cattle Company holds 2.53 million hectares across the Northern Territory and the eastern Kimberley in Western Australia. Its portfolio includes the iconic Victoria River Downs Station.

• Birrindudu Station, Katherine NT – 673,200 hectares.

• Moolooloo, Victoria River NT – 203,600 hectares.

• Mt Sanford NT – 249,700 hectares.

• Pigeon Hole, Victoria River NT – 181,100 hectares.

• Victoria River Downs and Humbert River Stations, Victoria River NT – 390,400 hectares.

Source: heytesburycattleco.com.au

HUGHES PASTORAL GROUP-GEORGINA PASTORAL COMPANY

Hughes Pastoral Group and its sister Georgina Pastoral Company operate more than 3.9 million hectares across stations in Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory.

• Inverway and Riveren Stations, Victoria River NT — 555,400 hectares. Purchased in 2022 for $100 million.

• Lake Nash, Georgina and Argadargada Stations, Barkly Tableland NT – 1,600,000 hectares.

Source: hughespastoral.com.au

JUMBUCK PASTORAL COMPANY

Founded by the MacLachlan family in 1888, it is now one of Australia’s biggest sheep and cattle producers with 12 stations spanning 6.2 million hectares.

• Killarney Station, Katherine NT – 541,400 hectares. Purchased in 2014.

• Wave Hill Station, Victoria River NT – 1,200,000 hectares. Purchased in 2021 in partnership from Western Grazing for $104 million including cattle.

KIANA STATION PTY LTD

• Kiana Station, Larrimah NT – 331,800 hectares. Purchased in 2021 for $12 million bare.

• Mallapunya Springs, Larrimah NT

McMILLAN PASTORAL COMPANY

Well-known north Australian cattle producers.

• Calvert Hills, Borroloola NT – 481,000 hectares. Purchased in 2013 for $15 million.

MT SKINNER PASTORAL COMPANY

• Mt Skinner Pastoral Company, Alice Springs NT — 303,605 hectares.

NAPIER PASTORAL COMPANY

Owned by Greg and Sharon Vickers from Keith in South Australia.

• Delmore Downs, Alice Springs NT.

• Delny, Alice Springs NT.

• Pine Hill Station, Alice Springs NT – 270,000 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for about $12 million.

NORTH AUSTRALIAN PASTORAL COMPANY

The purchase of the 135,000-hectare Mantuan Downs Station in central Queensland last year has taken the North Australian Pastoral Company’s investments in farmland to more than six million hectares.

• Alexandria Station, Camooweal NT – 1,641,416 hectares.

• Mittiebah Station, Camooweal NT – 695,500 hectares.

NORTH STAR PASTORAL

Privately owned company operating over almost 750,000 hectares.

• Hodgson River Station, Katherine NT — 111,000 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for more than $6.5 million.

• Limbunya, Katherine NT – 520,000 hectares.

• Maryfield Station, Katherine NT – 140,000 hectares. Purchased in 2013.

• Venture/Kui Downs, Gordonstone QLD – 3440 hectares.

Source: northstarpastoral.com.au

NORTHERN LIVESTOCK AND AGRICULTURE

• Providence Station, Katherine NT.

• Ruby Downs Station, Douglas Daly NT.

PASPALEY PASTORAL

Pearling company Paspaley’s rural arm. Run prime lambs, cattle, Merinos and run one of the oldest Poll Hereford studs in Australia.

• Dry River Station, Katherine NT – 65,000 hectares.

• Melaleuca Station, Darwin NT – 45,000 hectares.

Source: paspaleygroup.com

PASSCHENDAELE CATTLE COMPANY

Run by Matthew Braitling, established by William and Doreen Braitling in 1932.

• Mount Doreen Station, Papunya NT – 733,700 hectares. Offered for sale in 2012 but later withdrawn from market.

PETER SHERWIN

Once one of Australia’s largest private landholders. Former owner of Victoria River Downs, Alroy Downs and Walhallow stations.

• Broadmere, Borroloola NT – 259,000 hectares. Purchased in 2017 for $7 million.

PSP INVESTMENTS (CANADA)

Manages the superannuation funds of the Canadian public sector and armed forces in addition to the 30,000 member-strong Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The biggest investor in Australian agriculture with about $5 billion in assets through direct investment and joint ventures.

• Ambalindum, Alice Springs NT – 331,800 hectares (Hewitt Cattle Australia).

• Narwietooma, Glen Helen, Derwent and Napperby Stations, Alice Springs NT — 1,100,000 hectares (Hewitt Cattle Australia).

• Numery, Alice Springs NT – 202,200 hectares (Hewitt Cattle Australia).

RALLEN AUSTRALIA (SOUTH AFRICA)

Run by the Sydney-based South African Langenhoven family with a growing pastoral presence in northern Australia.

• Big River Station, Roper Valley NT – 70,800 hectares. Purchased in 2018 for $5.5 million.

• Forrest Hill Station, NT – 54,000 hectares. Purchased with Tanumbirini in 2020 for about $70 million.

• Kalala Station, Daly Waters NT – 376,000 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $58 million.

• Larrizona Station, Katherine NT – 70,200 hectares. Purchased in 2021 for about $19 million walk-in, walk-out.

• Mt McMinn Station, Roper Valley NT – 81,000 hectares. Purchased in 2018 for $7.5 million.

• Tanumbirini Station, NT – 500,000 hectares. Purchased with Forrest Hill in 2020 for about $70 million.

S KIDMAN AND CO (CHINA)

Gina Rinehart is the majority owner of the iconic S Kidman and Co business. Properties offloaded in the past 12 months include the 1.36 million-hectare Innamincka Station at Leigh Creek and the 1.1 million-hectare Macumba Station at Oodnadatta in South Australia and the 480,000-hectare Ruby Plains at Halls Creek in Western Australia.

• Brunchilly Station, Tennant Creek NT – 513,600 hectares.

• Helen Springs Station, Tennant Creek NT – 506,200 hectares.

SANDOVER PASTORAL COMPANY

Operated by Stewart and Anna Weir running 25,000 cattle on 1.2 million hectares.

• Ammaroo Station, Sandover NT.

• Derry Downs Station, Sandover NT.

• Dnieper Station, Sandover NT. Purchased in 2016.

• Old MacDonald Station, Sandover NT.

SARAWALK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (MALAYSIA)

• Carmor Plains, Point Stuart NT – 41,500 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $20 million-plus.

SCOTT CATTLE COMPANY

Run by former Meat and Livestock Australia director George Scott. Owns several properties.

• McDonald Downs NT – 207,000 hectares. Purchased for $8.6 million.

SEVERIN FAMILY

• Curtin Springs Station, Alice Springs NT. 416,400 hectares. Purchased in 1956.

TONY & JULIE HARROWER

Large-scale Northern Territory cattle producers.

• Dorisvale Station NT.

• Old Mt Bundey, Darwin NT – 380,000 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for $4.5 million.

• This list was compiled from industry sources, websites and media reports. The Weekly Times, publisher of AgJournal, accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of this list. For more information, email [e-mail]