Under normal circumstances a Central West property with an impressive history of production would not be hitting the market just now, looking brown and droughty like the country all around.
But when fate intervenes, as it has in the case of the Dubbo district property “Balgowan”, whose owner Jack Meaney died late last year, circumstances can change.
His estate is now to be finalised, and as a result both “Balgowan”, at Eumungerie, and the same owner’s other property, “Ashmore”, at Collie, are listed for auction on successive days later this month.
“Balgowan” is being marketed in conjunction by Ray White Rural Dubbo, Landmark Wilson Russ at Warren and Joe Donelan Land and Livestock at Narromine.
It will go to auction in Dubbo on June 27.
The offering is expected to attract strong local interest, owing to the property’s substantial scale, its quality soils, abundant water and high standard of working improvements.
Jack Meaney started out at Neilrex and farmed at Collarenebri before heading back towards Dubbo about nine years ago, when he bought “Balgowan” – where he took up residence - and “Ashmore”.
Before that, “Balgowan” had been held for some 45 years by the Purvis family, who established a local reputation as top-rank prime lamb producers, along with a 400 hectare cropping program.
Since then “Balgowan” has been managed conservatively as a mixed farming operation combining about 400-480ha of winter cereal cropping, 1000 Merino and crossbred ewes and up to 70 cows.
Fronting the Newell Highway 32 kilometres north of Dubbo, near Eumungerie, “Balgowan” is a property of gently undulating, open farming country with soft, heavy chocolate and red loam soils.
About 90 per cent of the property is described as arable, and a successful buyer will have immediate access to plant crop (200 hectares already prepared) as well as depasture livestock.
Average rainfall is around 575mm and the property is exceptionally well watered, with 25 dams plus four bores reticulating to tanks and 30 troughs.
Fencing is described as sound to excellent and the property is subdivided into 30 paddocks with laneways.
The main homestead, built of pise in about 1910, has four bedrooms, three of which have high ceilings of pressed metal, formal lounge/dining room, wood heating and ducted air conditioning.
It is supplemented by a second four-bedroom home of fibro construction, with air conditioning and covered barbecue area.
The substantial working improvements include a bulk grain shed, semi-enclosed machinery shed, workshop, hayshed, two-stand shearing shed and 20 cone-bottom silos (totalling 1300 tonnes).
New steel cattle yards with round drafting yard were erected in 2009 and the older mesh sheepyards at the woolshed are complemented by McDougall transportable yards with double race and two-way draft.
The day after “Balgowan” goes to auction in Dubbo, the late Jack Meaney’s Collie property, “Ashmore”, will be auctioned in Warren by Landmark Wilson Russ (on June 28).
Situated 9km south of Collie, “Ashmore” is an ideal “add-on” block, comprising 358ha (886ac) of wall-to-wall farming country of mostly chocolate loam soils, divided into just two paddocks.
Unencumbered by price-inflating improvements, it comes with simply a large machinery shed (with skillions) and three 73-tonne Ahrens cone bottom silos.
