Ellerston takes The Land behind the fences for a first-hand look | Photos

It is the brain child of the late media giant Kerry Packer, one of the country's most innovative figures.

The 30,000 hectare property is Ellerston and it is home to some of the world's best polo facilities, a golf course, a go-kart track and let's not forget, prime agricultural land.

When travelling from Scone, just under an hour away, Ellerston manager Robert Teague will tell you to "drive about 75km along the Gundy Road and you'll see it".

No truer words have ever been spoken as the picturesque polo fields first grab your attention followed by the overwhelming grandeur of the front gate.

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From there, a friendly smile of a security guard awaits to welcome invited guests into one of Australian agriculture's crown jewels.

Normally, the inquisitive eyes of journalists aren't allowed behind the black fences of Ellerston.

However, Mr Teague allowed The Land the rare opportunity to take a first-hand look at some of the industry-leading practices on the property, such as the Ellerston Onassis Polo facility and the livestock program consisting of mixed breeds of cattle and sheep.

"It is such a diverse property, from the two different types of farming climate, a polo-playing establishment, a polo-breeding establishment, a polo-training establishment and a golf course, which is rated the sixth best in Australia and in the best 30 in the world," Mr Teague said.

"Ellerston itself is 500m above sea level with 28-inch rainfall, where we do a lot of our growing and breeding of our livestock.

"Our high country, Tomalla, is 1250m above sea level and [gets] 45-inches of rainfall a year, it is adjoining, only 25 minutes away, but they are two completely separate land types on the one property.

"We breed around 4000 cows a year in a normal time, drought has been pretty tough but that is a standard year."

To ensure the stock are given the best chance to thrive, the team at Ellerston pulls out all the stops to promote pasture growth, from rotating cattle herds into different paddocks every five to seven days and "road rolling" the paddocks to ensure they are smooth.

"We have the water and the pastures, which we invest heavily in at Ellerston and if you've got the pastures you can do a lot with your cattle. It gives you options," Mr Teague said.

"A huge thing at Ellerston is pastures because if you have nothing to put down their throat, then you've got nothing.

"Everything is regenerative, long-term, self sustaining and everything is about trapping in the water.

"It may sound a bit greedy, but only by trapping the water can you maximise the potential from your pastures."

Such is the efficiency of Ellerston's pasture program, the property's dams have yet to completely refill, despite the region receiving plenty of rain throughout the year.

"During the drought, we cleaned out 200 dams and despite it being such a good year, only half to three quarters of them are half full or less, while the rest are way less than that," Mr Teague said.

"That's because of ground cover, what we're doing with our pastures, moving cattle constantly and in our opinion, we have got such good grass cover now we are actually stopping the water from reaching the dam.

"There will be a big rain event at some stage, we know it's coming and it will fill our dams but because we have so much grass it will fill our dams with filtered water."

As well as a cattle breeding program, Ellerston has looked to diversify by including sheep in its 2020 livestock rotation.

"This year in our trading regime, we have bought 1850 Merino wethers out of Cunnamulla and Louth," Mr Teague said.

"We brought them in as lambs in the wool, shore them the same week the wool market was at its lowest in about five years, but we have retained the wool.

"At this stage, we will look at shearing them again just before we sell them, or sell as them as fat wethers.

"It's a trade, but which way that trade is going to go we just don't know.

"To me, it is just about us not having all of our eggs in one basket."

To ensure things run smoothly, most of Ellerston's 120 staff members and their families live on the property.

"All of the staff take a lot of pride in their work and treat it as their own home, which I think makes all the difference," Mr Teague said.

"We've got a pretty large staff of around 120 including contractors, so we actually have our own tradesman plus butcher.

"He bakes the pies, sausage rolls, bread and we slaughter some of our own animals as well.

"Our own cattle, sheep and pigs, which we get from an off-site contractor, are slaughtered here for our staff's rations."

However, the staff benefits extend well beyond the paddock to plate meals.

"Everyone works together and 80 to 90 per cent live on the property," Mr Teague said.

"Having all of those employees here means we have a store, a fine-dining restaurant, pools, a gold-class cinema and a go-kart track, which is also rated as one of the best in the country.

"Basically, it means that the younger guys don't need to leave the big black fence because they have everything they need right here."

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Mr Teague, a 30-year employee of the Packer family and into his 13^th year as manager of Ellerston, said while the livestock and staff amenities were second to none, it was the polo programs, which feature more than 400 ponies and a breeding facility, that stole the show.

"There are six polo fields and they are rated the best there is with the Home Field being rated the best in the Southern Hemisphere," he said

"We have two polo events a year in March and October.

"The public is welcome everyday of the polo tournaments and in my mind there is no better event in Australia than finals day on the Home Field.

"I'll tell anyone who will listen that if they're going to come to the polo, come on finals day because it is just the best day ever."

Such is the pride still taken in Ellerston by the Packer family, it is the final resting place of Kerry Packer.

"There is still a very strong connection with the Packer family after it was established and built by Mr Kerry Packer in the 1980s," Mr Teague said.

"It his final resting place, but I would have to kill you if I told you where it was."

Driving back out the iconic rustic gates and through the rolling hills you could understand why.

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