Two falls of rain totalling about 150mm since April have turned the season around at “Passchendaele”, Neilrex, where a 40 hectare fodder crop of Moby barley is now out of the ground and winter feed is secured.
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The 497 hectare (1229ac) Central West mixed farming property has been listed for June 29 auction by Brian McAneney and Frank Power of Ray White Rural Dubbo, to allow for the retirement of owners Barbara and Bob Abrahams.
As its name suggests, “Passchendaele” started life as a soldier settler block at the end of the First World War, its first owner having taken part in the so-called Third Battle of Ypres that came to a bloody end amid the mud and rubble where the Belgian village of Passchendaele had once stood. Fast-forward to the present, and it’s noteworthy that the Neilrex property bearing the “Passchendaele” name as a monument to war’s inhumanity and futility has had only two owners in more than 50 years – a testament to its productivity.
Its easily manageable size and central location are expected to attract buyers seeking additional country as well as young couples seeking an affordable, no-frills “starter” property with a sound track record and all necessary infrastructure.
The present owners, who bought the property in 2001 from Ken and Kath Rivett, are well known in meat-sheep stud circles for their acclaimed Castlereagh White Dorper stud and more recently the Castlereagh Australian White stud.
The Castlereagh White Dorper stud was sold in its entirety in April 2009 to the Red Rock stud at Keith in South Australia.
Situated three kilometres from Neilrex, roughly equidistant from Coolah, Dunedoo and Binnaway and about one hour’s drive north-east of Dubbo, “Passchendaele” comprises mostly gently undulating country of soft brown and red loam soils.
Timbered originally with box, pine, kurrajong and ironbark, the property is cleared except for shade and shelter trees (predominantly box), and a fenced-off 70ha belt of native timber rising to a rocky ridge.
The present owners have consistently carried 600 stud ewes and their progeny, supplementing the native pastures with 80 to 100 hectares of oats or barley grown for winter grazing and fodder.
About 250ha of the total area is considered arable, and the owners estimate that with further pasture work the property should comfortably support 1000 breeding ewes.
Average rainfall is about 650mm and the property is well watered by 23 dams. Further water is available potentially from a bore (not currently equipped) piping to 16 watering points.
The homestead is a comfortable four-bedroom residence with a modern kitchen and a wide, north-facing verandah commanding views of the Warrumbungle mountains.
Working improvements complement the existing operation and include two machinery sheds, a two-stand shearing shed, steel sheep yards with bugle race and five-way draft, steel cattle yards to handle 30 head, a 40t silo and a 16-pen piggery.
Bidding for “Passchendaele” is expected to start around $650/ac ($1625/ha).
