A UNIQUE chunk of fertile and highly improved country has hit the market in the rain-favoured and scenically spectacular Paling Yards area of the Abercrombie Valley, midway between Oberon and Goulburn.
It's the aggregation of two adjoining grazing properties, "Mingary Park" of 730 hectares and "Middle Station" of 580ha - a total area of 1310ha (3238ac) making it a substantial holding in this closely-settled Tablelands region.
The property is a well-known landmark to travellers on the sealed road linking Oberon and Goulburn, an oasis of fertile, pasture-rich country that shares a discrete basalt plateau with the respected "Paling Yards" station of Richard Bell.
"Mingary Park" and "Middle Station" are owned by Michael Johnston and his son Matthew, who have other property in the Cowra district and are selling up at Oberon to consolidate their interests further west.
They have listed the aggregation for sale as a whole with First National Bowyer and Livermore of Oberon and P.R. Masters Stephens and Company of Bathurst, at an asking price of $6.995 million, which equates to $5340/ha or $2160/ac.
It was Michael's father, Hugh Johnston, who established the family in the area when he bought "Mingary Park" in about 1950 from the McColl family, who had held it since the mid-1800s.
"Middle Station", also formerly owned by the McColls, was added in the 1970s, and under Hugh Johnston's management the property was progressively improved, carrying in turn Merino sheep, crossbred ewes for prime lamb production, and cattle.
In recent years under Michael Johnston's management the property has been operated as an all-cattle Angus breeding enterprise, carrying up to 800 cows with calves typically turned off as prime vealers at 9-10 months of age.
Situated 60 kilometres south of Oberon and 25km from Taralga, "Mingary Park"/"Middle Station" is a property of mostly undulating country of highly productive red basalt soils, with some steeper sections.
About three-quarters of the total area is arable and sown to introduced pastures comprising phalaris, cocksfoot, ryegrass and clovers. A further 160ha is lightly timbered natural grazing country, leaving about 120ha of residual timber.
The property has a long history of regular topdressing, with super applied to the whole area each year at the rate of 125kg/ha to sustain a maximum stocking rate estimated at about 12.5 DSE/ha.
Average rainfall is a reliable 800-850mm and the property is well watered by 42 dams (many spring fed) and a bore piping to paddock troughs.
The main homestead, which was home to Hugh and his wife Moira until they retired to Oberon 18 months ago, is of clad construction with three bedrooms and a mature garden setting.
It is complemented by a three-bedroom brick cottage on "Middle Station" that now serves as a manager's residence.
Working improvements include a six-stand shearing shed with timber sheep yards, steel cattle yards to handle 250 cows and calves, with curved race and round drafting yard, and six-bay machinery shed/workshop.
The property is subdivided into 20 main paddocks, most connected to an internal laneway system, and much of the fencing has been renewed in recent years.
Surrounded by visually spectacular timbered gorge country, "Mingary"/"Middle Station" has lifestyle and tourism features on top of its proven production history, and is accessible in less than three hours from Sydney, or two hours from Canberra.
