ONE of the earliest settled holdings in rural Australia and the Tamworth district's most historical and iconic properties, Goonoo Goonoo Station, has been sold.
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The transaction, which was announced at the weekend, has made history in another regard as it is the first time the property has been owned by a family rather than a pastoral company.
Goonoo Goonoo was originally the head quarters for the Australian Agricultural Company (A A Company). It is part of the original land grant by King George IV through the British Parliament to the A A Company in 1833.
Goonoo Goonoo has been purchased by Greg and Anna Goodman from Sydney.
It was purchased from the Colonial Pastoral Company, which was recently acquired by Georgina Pastoral Company headed by well known Queensland cattle identities Peter Hughes, Bill Scott and families.
Described as "a fabulous holding" by the Goodman family's agent representative Chris Meares, of Meares and Associates, Goonoo Goonoo comprises about 5,416 hectares (13,400 acres) and is located 25 kilometres south of Tamworth on the New England Highway.
The holding includes the magnificent historic Goonoo Goonoo homestead and village.
Once the home of an outstanding santa gertrudis stud during the A A Company era, today is run as a commercial cattle enterprise having been both the flagship for the Prudential and then Colonial Pastoral companies, and also an outstanding breeding and fattening
property. Based on five main creek systems, the property includes large areas of alluvial flats, together with well sheltered low hill pasture country.
Chris Meares, who spoke on behalf of the Goodman family said it was the family's intention to retain the identity of Goonoo Goonoo both as a major cattle breeding and fattening property and as an historic pastoral holding.
Anna Goodman (nee Ferris) has strong connections with the rural sector, being born and bred in the Carroll/Gunnedah district on a property known as Long Acres.
"They also strongly believe in the preservation of the historical aspects of pastoral Australia, and as such will continue to operate Goonoo Goonoo as an agricultural 'factory' as a whole," Mr Meares said.
"They realise that Goonoo Goonoo has a wonderful situation close to Tamworth, and therefore, could be regarded by many as an ideal subdivision proposal, however, they see it more important to preserve the property as a leading agricultural producer, at this stage, focusing on the beef cattle industry," Mr Mears said.
Rod Douglas of Rod Douglas Property Sales, Brisbane, who represented the Georgina Pastoral Company, said while Peter Hughes and his partners had an extremely high regard for Goonoo Goonoo as a beef cattle property, their focus had been on the beef industry in Queensland and Northern Territory.
"As such they felt that the property generally fell outside their large-scale pastoral type beef holdings."