For just over a century, three generations of the Henley family have been breeding prize-winning and market-topping lambs on the Cowra district property now for sale as “Jandera”.
It was Herbert Sydney Henley who established the family dynasty, on a property north of Cowra called “Bassett Downs”, at its peak a holding of some 2000 hectares.
H.S. Henley was a leading light of his day, at various times the president of the Farmers and Settlers Association, a member of the Legislative Council and a pioneering stud breeder of British breed sheep.
“Bassett Downs” was in due course divided between Henley and his two sons, Tom and Les, with Tom taking a portion that became “Jandera”, now owned (and subsequently enlarged) by his son David.
David, who in an earlier life was well known as a livestock product development officer with the NSW Department of Agriculture, is now retirement-bound and as part of that process, “Jandera” will be sold.
Situated in “dress circle” mixed farming country 14 kilometres north of Cowra and about four hours’ drive from Sydney, “Jandera” is a holding of 593 hectares (1466ac) held under four separate titles.
Holman Tolmie of Cootamundra is marketing “Jandera” by expressions of interest (closing November 30), with offers invited either as a whole, or as individual portions.
Described as 95 per cent arable, the property comprises open, rolling to undulating country of red loam and heavy chocolate loam soils with a long history of rotational cropping and pasture improvement.
Between 120ha and 160ha is generally cropped to winter cereals, canola or lupins, in rotation with an improved pasture mix of lucerne, phalaris, clovers and perennial ryegrass, topdressed biannually.
This year the property has 144ha under wheat and canola, still showing good harvest prospects despite the drought.
The cropping program complements the property’s “main game”, which is prime lamb production from 2000 first-cross ewes yielding an annual turn-off of some 3000 lambs.
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Carrying capacity is estimated at 12 to 17DSE/ha (5 to 7 DSE/ac) and although long geared to prime lamb production, the property could equally support a beef breeding or trading operation.
The property is fenced into 44 paddocks. Average rainfall is 634 millimetres and the property is abundantly watered by 14 dams, a town supply connection, an equipped bore and a long frontage to the permanent Binni Creek.
The main homestead is a grand, old-style country residence of brick construction dating from around the 1920s, with three bedrooms, formal dining-room and verandahs on three sides.
Set in established gardens with mature trees, tennis court and orchard, it is complemented by the later-vintage three-bedroom brick home on another part of the property, and a two-bedroom cottage.
Working structures include two shearing sheds, each of two stands with sheepyards, two machinery sheds, six haysheds, eight silos and five silage pits.
