This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
HERMITAGE, an iconic rural property in Tasmania, is up for sale for the first time in more than three decades, offering buyers an extensive farming operation.
The estate at 530 Waddamana Road in Hermitage, in Tasmania’s Central Highlands region, spans 4,353sqm and includes a farming operation that has been under the same management it last changed hands in 1991.
Rob Dixon and Mark Ranicar from Knight Frank Tasmania have been exclusively appointed to manage the expressions of interest campaign on behalf of the vendor, John Rose.
“The Hermitage is of such a size that it was gazetted as a locality of its own in 1966,” said Ranicar.
Hermitage is located close to the township of Waddamana, which was a former Hydro town, where Tasmania’s first ever hydro-electric power plant opened in 1916.
“While it is currently run as a mixed grazing operation, the existing infrastructure on the property means it could transition to other sectors including some limited cropping due to seasonal patterns.”
“The Hermitage is a property that boasts so much history, with historic buildings, yet it so well positioned to benefit from future commercial opportunities,” said Dixon.
The listing comes after the July sale of 784-hectare blue-ribbon Tasmanian farm Rockthorpe Estate, south of Launceston, transacted for around $30 million.
The property has a total river frontage of 38km to the Shannon River and River Ouse and includes a double a circa. 1822 five-bedroom double-storey colonial sandstone homestead and an additional three-bedroom manager’s dwelling and one-bedroom cottage.
With improvements including a shearing shed and associated sheep facilities, multiple barns, implement sheds, machinery sheds, an abattoir, garages, stables and cattle yards.
Including the current owner, the property has been held by just three families over the past 50 years.
The property has a mix of arable grazing areas running cattle and sheep, timber and bush patches, the property is equipped with irrigation, centre pivots and flood irrigation tapping into the 17km of the Shannon River.
“It offers an extraordinary opportunity to acquire an impressive land holding in Tasmania’s Central Highlands region, where many farms are tapping into the growing renewable energy sector,” added Dixon.
“This particular property is located in close proximity to the Cattle Hill Wind Farm, providing the potential to explore renewable energy options such as solar and wind.”
Demand is growing for agricultural land, due in part to the emerging natural capital asset class offering new revenue streams.
Hermitage also has an all-weather surface airstrip for access, with the historical township of Bothwell only 17km away, as the main township servicing the region.
