Toobeah’s Welltown Station includes a grain-handling site. Photo: Nutrien Harcourts

THE COULTON family’s Morella Agriculture has added Goondiwindi’s historic Welltown Station to its existing portfolio of cropping and livestock assets in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

The 10,842ha holding is located 10km west of Toobeah and 68km west of Goondiwindi in southern Queensland.

The Boggabilla-based Coulton family is a major crop and cattle producer, considered a pioneer of the cotton industry in southern Queensland’s MacIntyre Valley.

Two years ago, it increased its local footprint by purchasing the 12,840ha Kalanga Aggregation near Toobeah, developed for irrigated and dryland cropping, for around $80 million.

Nutrien Harcourts agent Andrew Jakins, who handled the sale, was unable to confirm the buyer or disclose the price paid for Welltown but said the blue-ribbon listing attracted significant interest from both the corporate and private sector, with the price reflecting the quality of improvements.

The original Welltown holding, spanning 9540ha, was purchased for $31M in March 2020 by the Cameron family, owners of mixed-farming and grazing country in the region, as well as the large-scale Lundavra piggery.

A year later, the Camerons added the neighbouring 1302ha property, Eastwood.

During their three-year ownership, the Camerons undertook an extensive development program to convert both properties into to a blue-chip institutional-grade farming asset.

Welltown Station was taken up in 1856 and was once a well-known Merino stud, and its deep black floodplain soils are conducive to water retention and crop production.

Today, 8879ha is arable and has been developed for dryland farming.

A further 1963ha can be used for grazing and support, but this country would need to be fenced.

Recent developments include a new grain complex with all-weather access comprising five silos with a total capacity of 11,250t, 22,000t of bunker storage pads, 360t of fertiliser and 400t of seed in 10 silos.

There is new staff accommodation and a new piped bore water scheme with extensive water reticulation and strategically positioned spray points.

Improvements include a circa 1870s homestead, two new three-bedroom homes, a new machinery shed, a workshop, and a storage shed for hay.

Largo North sells

In the meantime, Mr Jakins has sold the 176ha Yelarbon irrigation holding Largo North, which was offered with the adjoining Sunnygirl in August last year.

Largo North is located near Glenarbon in the MacIntyre Brook Catchment, 10km east of Yelarbon and 50km east of Goondiwindi, close to Yelarbon grain silos.

It showcases flat to gently undulating country with light to dark brown alluvial clay loams and was purchased by the local Cranney family for expansion, for an undisclosed price that included crops.