This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AUSTRALIA’S richest person, Gina Rinehart, has added to her expansive property portfolio, picking up a 500-hectare mixed farming property in Victoria’s Western District.
Valley River Holdings Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, has settled on the $8.6 million acquisition of Chrome Park in Branxholme, about 20 kilometres west of Hamilton.
On the sell side was the Tonissen family, which had held the property for 60 years and used it for which had been used for stud and commercial livestock, Australian stock horses, and crop and fodder production.
It had most recently been run by Jason Tonissen and his wife Kylie.
Rinehart has been a key figure in major agricultural transactions in recent times.
In 2023, Rinehart furthered her selldown of S. Kidman & Co cattle stations across the Northern Territory and Queensland, four stations selling for more than $200 million. The 2.4 million hectares of land divested include three Queensland stations Durrie, Naryilco and Glengyle, and the 457,000-hectare Brunchilly Station in the Northern Territory.
That was followed by the purchase of two wagyu cattle breeding properties from Canberran billionaire Terry Snow’s Packhorse Pastoral Company for $80 million.
In December, she bought the 1,918-hectare Split Rock Dairy in northern NSW that will be used to expand her Hancock Agriculture’s Wagyu cattle backgrounding capacity.
Also in 2023, Rinehart reportedly paid more than $20 million for 2,000ha of mixed farmland in south west Western Australia.
Late in 2022, the mining billionaire acquired three irrigated cropping farms spanning 6,856 hectares on the NSW north-western slopes in a deal reportedly worth about $150 million.
Rinehart has also been expanding her broader commercial real estate portfolio. In November, she splashed out $240 million on the 175 Eagle Street Brisbane office building owned by a Charter Hall fund, which followed her $100 million purchase earlier in 2023 of 70 Eagle Street from US funds group Pembroke.
