Woolnorth dairy country in Tasmania sells to Roberts-Thomson family

After almost 200 years of foreign ownership, the Tassie farm — which has been at the centre of controversy — will transfer to Aussie hands.

One of Tasmania’s best-known farms will today transfer to Australian ownership for the first time since settlement, as part of a deal worth more than $120 million.

The Weekly Times can reveal that a 6000-hectare slice of the historic Woolnorth aggregation near Smithton, in northwest Tasmania, has been sold by the controversial Chinese-owned Van Dairy Limited to TRT Pastoral Group, owned by the Melbourne-based Roberts-Thomson family.

The deal is believed to be one of the richest in Tasmania’s history and one of the single biggest farmland sales to domestic family interests ever in Australia.

In its almost 200-year history, Woolnorth has only ever been owned by offshore parties, from the UK, New Zealand and China. It is understood that VDL owner Xianfeng Lu will retain a 10,000-hectare portion of the aggregation.

VDL has attracted significant controversy since it purchased the Woolnorth country for $280 million in 2016. Most recently the company was at the centre of scrutiny over animal-welfare concerns and effluent breaches on the farms.

TRT Pastoral is operated by Tasmanian-born Tim Roberts-Thomson — once a part owner of telecommunications business Hutchison Australia, which is a major shareholder in Vodafone Australia — and his children Madeleine and James. It runs what is understood to be one of the largest privately held Angus cattle herd in Australia across multiple holdings in Victoria and on Tasmania’s King Island.

Tim Roberts-Thomson said he was delighted at being able to secure the Woolnorth “inside the gate” country which he described as some of the most productive farmland in Australia.

“This is incredible country,” Mr Roberts-Thomson said. “To get this type of scale in northwest Tasmania is just unheard of. It’s a real coup.”

A 6000-hectare slice of the Woolnorth property in northwest Tasmania has been purchased by Tim Roberts-Thomson and his children Madeleine and James.

Circular Head Council mayor Daryl Quilliam welcomed the sale, saying it was pleasing that part of the famous property had been snapped up by locals.

“There’s always been a bit of concern that it hasn’t been owned by local people, and I think it is much better if it is,” Cr Quilliam said.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the sale was a reflection of buoyancy of the nation’s agriculture sector, with a combination of low interest rates, strong farm commodity returns and improved seasonal conditions propelling prices for rural property into uncharted territory.

“Our land continues to go up in value and it’s good to see Australians having a go,” Mr Littleproud said.

Major deals this year have mostly involved offshore corporates. In May, Canada’s PSP Investments paid $600 million for the NSW Auscott Limited cotton farming and processing business while in September fellow Canadian company Alberta Investment Management Corporation forked out similar money for the 105,000-hectare Lawson Grains portfolio in NSW and Western Australia.

Nutrien Harcourts Tasmania agent Michael Warren said the rural property market in the island state was running hot. “Demand is surely outstripping supply,” Mr Warren said. “People are chasing this type of country across the board.”

VDL owner Xianfeng Lu will retain about 10,000 hectares of land.

purchase of Woolnorth increases the size of the TRT portfolio to 17,500 hectares running about 280,000 dry sheep equivalents. Its operations include the seven-property, 2200-hectare Howquadale Station at Mansfield in Victoria as well as the eight-farm aggregation of more than 9300 hectares on King Island. The King Island country includes 6785 hectares TRT purchased from the Sustainable Agriculture Fund for $45 million in 2017.

TRT has been a long-time investor in Australian agriculture. In 2019, it sold the 33,000-hectare Juanbung and Boyong stations near Oxley in the NSW Riverina for $60 million.

Mr Roberts-Thomson said the purchase of the Woolnorth land would see TRT increase breeding cow numbers to 17,000 head.

VDL attracted more negative headlines in February this year, when the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority visited all its farms to assess whether there had been compliance with an effluent code of practice. In a report to Mr Lu, TDIA manager Carolyn Harris said 83 per cent of the farms audited failed to meet the requirements of the code.

In June, the company sold 11 of its farms to Melbourne investment company Prime Value for about $62 million. At the time businessman Dick Smith called for the remaining part of VDL to be purchased by Australian interests. In August, it was reported that a chunk of the remaining VDL assets was on the market.