This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
EXCLUSIVE: HISTORIC merino wool enterprise Emu Creek at Walcha will continue to run as a grazing operation after changing hands for the first time in 156 years of family ownership – spanning six generations.
Sources told Australian Property Journal the sale price was in line with campaign expectations of $30 million-plus.
Located 13 kilometres from Emu Creek in the high-rainfall Walcha grazing district, the 3,026-hectare holding has the capacity to maintain 25,000 DSE and was offered to the market early last year conservatively stocked, with a mixture of late spring calving cows, replacement heifers and Dorper ewes lambing on a nine-month cycle.
LAWD agents Col Medway and Tim Corcoran managed the sale together with McCulloch Agencies on behalf of Mark and Angie Berry, who were selling as part of their future business plans.
Emu Creek comprises multiple parcels. Emu Creek Homestead includes the circa-1908 homestead plus accommodation options for both owners and staff, with a wool shed and cattle yards, as well as multiple sheds, and an carrying capacity of 900 cows in a spring calving weaner production system. Emu Creek East includes a wool shed, sheep yards and cattle yards. It has an estimated carrying capacity of 600 cows in a spring calving weaner production system.
The Berrys announced in August last year they were selling the 1,815-hectare Spring Hills portion of the holding through LAWD and McCulloch Agencies. Both Emu Creek and Spring Hills have sold.
Topography across the property from gently sloping alluvial creek flats to undulating low grazing hills and timbered ridgelines. Soils vary across the property to include fertile red and black basalt soils through to New England Trap soils.
More than 700 hectares of perennial grass and clover pastures have been improved, while 1,369 hectares are made up of open native grass and clover pastureland.
The property has strong water supply through a number of sources, in part made up by a total 24 kilometres of frontage to a number of creeks including Dog Trap Creek, Emu Creek and Brookmount Creek. Stock water is provided by a series of 28 dams, while six bores and a solar pump from Brookmount Creek deliver water to head tanks which gravity feed 37 concrete troughs.
Emu Creek was initially purchased by George Robert Gill for one pound per acre at Maitland Town Hall in 1868 – the minimum price for rural land at the time.
The property was gradually transformed into a superfine wool growing enterprise, at one time spanning 40,498 hectares (or 100,000 acres). In 1874, Gill became the first to import Vermont Merino sheep from San Francisco to Australia to establish his flock.
Gill went on to form a Merino stud on stock from the renowned Havilah Station in Mudgee, and rams were also introduced from Trefussis, Valleyfield, and Winton stud from Tasmania, as well as the Merriville stud of Yass.
The homestead in 1908 came with electricity and a telephone – advances technology at the time – and the family was among the first in the area to embrace the automobile.
George Reginald Gill in the 1950s embraced new technology including aerial application of superphosphate and clover seed, trucks, tractors, 240-volt electricity, modern telephone, refrigerators, electric heating, hot and cold running water and new shearing machines.
Emu Creek’s wool gained international acclaim, and became prized by British, Italian and French mills. Under George Robert Black Gill’s management Emu Creek was recognised internationally as producing some of the finest superfine Merino wool in the world. The family continually achieved record prices and were repeat winners of the prestigious English Lumb’s Golden Bale Award and two-time winners of the Italian Ermenegildo Zegna Award.
