David and Elizabeth Nock often entertain friends and relatives at their 195-hectare farm high on the Tablelands beneath the peaks of Mount Canoblas.
It's not hard to see why the place, just 18 kilometres south of the bustling city of Orange, is so popular.
The house and gardens are every bit as beautiful as the endlessly deep basalt soils are productive.
Mr Nock, a former high-flying lawyer, nonetheless always loved farming and Ms Nock, is a horticulturalist who has created gracious gardens complete with stone walls and crab apple avenues befitting the property's heritage.
Goonawarra, which is being sold with the adjoining Bellpage, dates a long way back. The architecturally-designed homestead is built around an original worker's cottage built in the 1860s.
While it retains elements of the original character, there's nothing outdated about the amenity of the double-brick, four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence.
The enormous kitchen and living areas are clearly laid out for accomplished hosts. And then, not too far away but not too close either, there's the bunkhouse.
"We all decided that we wouldn't say too much about the bunkhouse really, just say it was there and let people come and have a look at it," Mr Nock said.
As far as bunkhouses go, this is a showstopper. The round timber framework of the original potato shed has been clad in insulated corrugated iron for a rustic look but it's all luxury, with highly-polished concrete floors, wood heater and ping pong table.
But, at the end of the day, Goonawarra is a thoroughly commercial farm focused on fat lamb production that runs about 2800 dry sheep equivalents.
Mr Nock runs it all himself with part-time help. Aged 83 and encouraged by wife Elizabeth, he's decided it's time to move but is clearly going to miss farming and Goonawarra.
The land is exceptionally fertile and well watered, thanks to the ancient volcanic activity of Mount Canoblas.
The basalt soils, which Mr Nock estimates are "30 to 40 feet deep", once grew potatoes.
Ray White agent Peter Crampton said he thought Goonawarra's soils and 873 millimetre rainfall would be suitable for a variety of intensive agricultural pursuits, such as wine grapes, sweet corn or leafy salad vegetables.
It even has a bore and a large dam with a 40-megalitre water access licence for irrigation.
"Goonawarra has some of the most fertile basalt soils found in NSW," Mr Crampton said.
The dominant species now is white clover and sub clovers, though, for balance, Mr Nock has sown phalaris, new Mediterranean fescue varieties, cocksfoot and ryegrass.
Judicious use of herbicides and careful, consistent fertiliser application has allowed for resilient pastures and excellent weed control.
He's long used rotational grazing to develop a thick sward and the farm, which has 11 titles, is fenced into 38 paddocks serviced by a reticulated water system to 28 troughs and four dams.
The area receives some snow in most years and the peaks of Mount Canoblas provide a beautiful vista from the informal living room at these times.
Goonawarra's infrastructure is well set up with two more residences as well as the main homestead, the superb bunkhouse, two sets of cattle yards, sheep yards, two-stand shearing shed, sundry machinery and hay sheds and grain storage.
Mr Crampton said the quality of the infrastructure made it difficult to assess Goonawarra's likely selling price but bare land in the area had sold for $10,000 an acre.
He expected bidding at the May 6 auction to start at more than $5 million.
Contact Ray White agents Peter Crampton on 0409 132 269 or Kurt Adams on 0428 747 050.
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