INTENSE local interest surrounds the recent listing of the well-known and historic Cootamundra property “Ferndale”, the sale of which will mark the first time it has changed hands since the property was first selected.
It was John Elliott who, in 1876, ventured inland with his wife Isabella and their three children from Gerringong on the South Coast to take up land under the free selection provisions of the day, from the 1840s squatting run of pioneer settler, John Hurley.
Elliott was one of a number of selectors moving into the area at that time, attracted by the ongoing construction of the main southern railway line, which pushed past Cootamundra in 1877.
Elliott’s modest original selection was progressively augmented by further annexations, and today the property he named “Ferndale” is a substantial spread of 2037 hectares (5031ac), held in three near-neighbouring parcels.
It is owned by Elliott’s fourth-generation descendant Leigh Merrin and his wife Sally, who are selling now to retire to Cootamundra, as their son David is fully occupied with his own farming interests in Victoria.
They have listed the property with Miller and James Real Estate, Temora, and it is being offered for sale by tender under six separate contracts, enabling prospective buyers to lodge bids for one, several or all six portions of the property.
Most of the 1008ha homestead portion and all but two of the remaining blocks are currently under a five-year lease to a well-known farming family. The leases, which generate annual earnings of close to $200,000, will expire in February 2021.
Prior to entering the lease agreements, “Ferndale” was operated flexibly as a mixed farm, cropping from 400 to 1200 hectares and running a Merino breeding flock of up to 4000 ewes, plus wethers, or up to 1000 cows or dry cattle equivalent.
The property was at one time home to the Merrindale Shorthorn stud, and in earlier years was used to breed racehorses.
The property consists of mostly undulating country, rising from fertile creek flats to gentle slopes of basalt loam and higher granite ridges, with about 1080ha considered arable.
Of this, about 640ha is expected to be sown to winter crops this year.
Average rainfall is about 600mm and the property is amply watered by 37 dams backed up by three equipped bores.
The “Ferndale” homestead is a district showpiece, a two-storey double-brick structure built in 1892 for John Elliott and superbly maintained. It underwent a major renovation about 50 years ago and another by the present owners in 2000.
Recent district sales indicate a price range for arable land of $5000-$6250/ha ($2000-$2500/ac) and $3750-$4250/ha ($1500-$1700/ac) for improved grazing country, while other factors will come into play to determine the final price for “Ferndale”.
