THE Jarrett family's historic 495 hectare (1223 acre) NSW Riverina property Barooga Station has hit the market through CBRE with an expected price tag of about $10 million.
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Located on Bullanginya Lagoon, an anabranch of the Murray River across the border from Cobram, almost 80 per cent of the conservatively managed property is considered arable.
Barooga is currently used to run livestock and to grow winter cereals and oilseeds.
The fertile, alluvial sandy soils and an irrigation water entitlement are also said to make Barooga suitable for horticulture.
The average annual rainfall is considered to be 469mm (18 inches).
"Barooga Station is an untouched cropping and grazing property that is suitable for development into a highly productive horticultural or irrigated cropping enterprise," Mr McIntyre said.
"The Jarrett family has been conservative in their approach with an inclination to preserve the property and its strong district connections."
The property is divided into 15 paddocks has an estimated carrying capacity of 4500 dry sheep equivalents.
Barooga features an historic seven-bedroom, five-bathroom homestead, with 15-foot ceilings, wide verandahs, ornate open fireplaces and a formal dining and 'ballroom'.
Other structural improvements include a one-bedroom worker's cottage, machinery shed, hay shed, and cattle yards.
Barooga Station was initially taken up by George Hilas in 1847. It consisted of about 44,515ha (110,000 acres), stretching to about 25km north of the Murray River.
In 1864, the property was sold to Patrick McFarland when the country was extensively cleared and wheat introduced to the area. In 1895 the MacFarlands set up a pump to irrigate the land and built a shearing shed for 44 blade shearers. The shed was reduced to 20 stands when overhead gear was installed.
The property changed hands several times in the following years as many large holding in NSW were broken up.
Mrs McPherson, Mr Boyd, Mr Keech and Dr Catchlove were all owners at some stage. In 1982, John Jarrett purchased the property and his family still own it to this present day.
During World War II, the property was used as a hospital site for Australian and US army and air force personnel. The since demolished 43 building hospital housed some 34 doctors and nurses throughout the war.
"The Southern Riverina Region is known for cropping, livestock breeding and grazing due to its climate and soil types," Mr Childs said.
"We expect Barooga Station to have wide appeal because of this, underpinned by its prime position on the banks of the Bullanginya Lagoon, immediate access to irrigation water via its 6km of water frontage, and the rich heritage of its classical revival-style homestead."
Barooga Station is being sold through a two stage expressions of interest process. Round one closes with CBRE on March 2.
Contact Shane McIntyre, 0429 557 070, or Matt Childs, 0418 512 494, CBRE.
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