ONLY three families have held “Fairfield” at Bigga in the past century, but unusually, none of them has made it their home property.
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Instead, it has always been managed as an outstation to bigger things elsewhere.
The chances are that when this prized Upper Lachlan grazing property hits the market later this month, it will again be snapped up by an established operator drawn by its strategic location and its track record.
Its situation at Blanket Flat near Bigga, about 55 kilometres north-west of Crookwell, means it enjoys a tablelands climate and rainfall, but also proximity to the adjacent Central Western Slopes, and Lachlan Valley.
This makes it an ideal base for breeding Merino or crossbred sheep, or cattle, or indeed running wethers for high-yielding wool, in conjunction with a farming or fattening property in another location.
It was with precisely this in mind that the present owners, the Crawford family, bought “Fairfield” and adjoining “Numby” in 1999 as outstations to their main “Windouran” property at Moulamein in the Riverina.
Before the millennium drought intervened, the Crawfords were bringing their old ewes and young wethers from “Windouran” to Bigga – to breed crossbred lambs and grow wool – and sending weaner cattle bred on the Bigga properties back to Moulamein.
In recent years the properties have been switched to an all-cattle operation, with an Angus breeding base, but now to accommodate succession planning objectives the Crawfords are selling “Fairfield”.
They will retain the substantially larger “Numby”, now home to David Crawford, but “Fairfield” has been listed for sale by Ray Croker of Elders Goulburn, and will go to auction on September 26.
At 1610 hectares (3978ac), “Fairfield” ranks as one of the larger holdings in the Crookwell district, with a vendor-estimated carrying capacity of 12,000 DSE and a long history of both sheep and cattle production.
Its appeal to serious investor buyers will be enhanced by the fact it comes with excellent working improvements and a well maintained manager’s residence but no lavish homestead to inflate the value.
Before being bought by the Crawfords, “Fairfield” was owned by Leonie Lawson, as part of the Oberon-based Bradleys Flats Pastoral Company chain of properties established by her late father, Tom Lawson.
But for the best part of a century before that, it was held by the family of A.J. (Archie) McInnes, who ran “Fairfield” as an outstation of their main “Rosslyn” property on prime basalt country near Crookwell.
Upon his death in 1944, both properties passed to his nephew, (Dr) Alec Branch, who with his son Murray continued to operate them as Rosslyn Pastoral Company, until “Fairfield” was sold in the late 1970s.
Under Rosslyn’s ownership the property carried up to 8000 Merino sheep and 200-plus head of cattle, complementing the company’s main prime lamb and cattle operation at Crookwell.
Comprising mostly undulating, well-grassed pasture country of quick-responding red granite to grey loam soils, “Fairfield” has some hilly areas and granite outcrops, but much of it consists of sheltered valleys.
This is due to the fact that the property is crossed by three permanent creeks, providing excellent stock water which is augmented by a bore and spring-fed dams. Average rainfall is 710 millimetres.
A good scattering of shade and shelter trees remain from the original tree cover of white and yellow box, gum, stringybark and kurrajong, and the property is subdivided into 18 main paddocks.
About 440ha of country has been sown down to phalaris, cocksfoot and clovers in recent years, the balance of the property being a mix of native and introduced pastures with a topdressing history.
Working improvements are in keeping with the property’s substantial scale of production and mostly date from the relatively recent Lawson ownership era (which also included extensive fencing and pasture work).
They include an elevated steel woolshed of six electric stands with attached steel sheep yards (partly under cover), three outlying sets of sheep yards and steel cattle yards with crush.
Other structures include a three-bedroom home of weatherboard and cladding now serving as the manager’s residence, a worker’s cottage, workshop, hayshed and silos.
Mr Croker said comparable improved grazing country had been selling in the district for prices equivalent to about $300/DSE plus structural improvements, giving prospective buyers some basis for calculations.
Contact Elders Goulburn, (02) 4824 4466.
Peter Austin
Former editor and long time columnist and property writer for The Land.
Former editor and long time columnist and property writer for The Land.
