Barragunda Hughenden QLD 4821

Location: The Barragunda homestead is located approximately 67km south of Hughenden (approx. 50% unsealed road) and is 20km east of the Muttaburra / Hughenden Road. Muttaburra is approximately 190km to the south with the majority being unsealed road. Barragunda is very well positioned as a breeding, backgrounding or fattening property and has good access to the live export cattle markets through Townsville or Cloncurry, as well as the meatworks, feedlots and the store cattle markets to the south. Barragunda is in a tick free area.

Facilities/Services: Barragunda has rural power, Wi-Fi mobile phone at the homestead, as well as internet and a landline telephone service. Hughenden has the usual rural shopping, schools, government agency, hospital, cattle yards with weighing facilities and rail trucking facilities. There is a State Primary School located 15km away which is on the neighbouring property “Cameron Downs”. The city of Townsville is located approximately 450km or a half day travel from Barragunda.

Rainfall: The last 38 years of the Barragunda rainfall records show an average of 439mm or 17.56 inches. Barragunda is enjoying an excellent start to the season with very good rainfall so far; January and February has seen 245.5mm fall at the house. The lowest rain gauge recording on the property this season has been 119mm and the highest is 282.5mm.

Area & Tenure:

Lot 8 Crown Plan UD65 – GHPL – 9,269.712 Ha. or approx. 22,905.92 acres

Rates: $3,619.45 Half Yearly Rent: $4,293.98 Quarterly

Local Authority: Shire of Flinders

Country: Barragunda has a great mix of very good quality chocolate and red pebbly fertile soil and is best described as undulating Mitchell, Flinders and Buffel grass downs with areas of Gidgee/Boree country that has been selectively cleared. There are numerous creek systems and shelterbelts that have been left untouched. Approximately 840 Ha (2,075 acres) has been pulled and sown with Buffel grass with approximately 335 Ha (827 acres) blade ploughed.

The approximate breakup of the country type from Google earth is as follows:

5,871 Ha (14,500 acres) of tight self-mulching open downs
1,084 Ha (2,678 acres) of channels and creek systems with flood-out and claypan country
840 Ha (2,075 acres) pulled Gidgee/Boree country
797 Ha (1,968 acres) of soft stoney timbered country
566 Ha (1,400 acres) semi-open Boree, Gidgee, Vinetree, Whitewood and False Sandalwood country
111 Ha (275 acres) of hard jump-up escarpment country
The open downs country is heavy carrying, tight soil with an increase of Buffel grass establishment throughout. The channels and creek systems have a very strong presence of Buffel grass, as well as the sweet summer herbages and native grasses. The soft, stoney, timbered country has a mix of Gidgee, Pink Gidgee, Boree, Leopardwood, False Sandalwood and Bauhinia trees and a good mix of Buffel grass, native grasses and summer herbages. The semi-open timbered country is sweet, fattening country with a good mix of mostly Mitchell and Flinders grass and summer herbages such as pigweed, button grass and salt bush.

Barragunda is considered to be free of Prickly Acacia with the germination of the odd small seedling that is sprayed when spotted. There is a minor infestation along the creek systems of Parkinsonia that the vendors are controlling and a small outbreak of Coral Cactus that is completely under control and continually monitored by the vendors.

Waters: Barragunda is well watered with one sub-artesian bore, 6 dams, 28km poly pipe, 13 tanks and 25 troughs. The bore which is located at the house, is 385 metres deep, connected to rural power and is pumping at 1,500 gallons per hour with a Grundfos SQ5-70N submersible pump. This pump was put down about 8 years ago and is pumping from 51 metres. The standing water level is at 20 metres and the water temperature is 40.5 degrees Celsius. The bore hole was blown/cleaned out and relined with heavy duty PVC pipe approximately 10 years ago. The bore water quality was tested in 2012 by Simmonds & Bristow and the report stated ‘a good source of raw drinking water suitable for human consumption and livestock’. The clean water used throughout the house and on the garden comes via the 130,000L Pioneer steel storage tank.

The shared dam with Strathroy is registered and is equipped with solar panels and pump. Four of the other five dams are also equipped with solar panels and pumps – new panels and a pump are ordered for Yantee and Alex dam. Following a good wet season there will be numerous short term water holes along the Yantee and Gum creek systems. These two creeks combine on Barragunda to form Merse Creek which flows into the Landsborough Creek channel system.

Fencing: Most of the boundary is best described as a mixture of fair to new fencing with a couple of old sections that will need to be replaced in the near future. The exclusion fence is 20km in length with a section of it running along the Cameron Downs boundary. The balance of the boundary fence is a mixture of 5 plain & 1 barb or 3 barb. The internal fencing is a mixture of netting with a barb or three barbs with steel pickets. It is mostly in a well-maintained stock proof condition.

There are 12 larger paddocks and 5 holding paddocks with approximately 8.5 km of laneway running back to the yards. There is 2,557 Ha (6,320 Ac) inside the exclusion fence.

Yards: The large steel and portable panel cattle yards are permanent and have a concrete base loading ramp and 6 way draft with crows-nest. There is an 8m x 9m shed over the Warwick vet cattle crush working area and a 6m x 6m shed over the calf branding cradle. Water with a sprinkler system is connected to the yards and there are weigh scales mounted under the cattle crush. The old 7m x 11m woolshed has had an 8m x 13m extension added to it and it is now used as a storage or feed shed.

The goat and sheep yards made from steel panel and mesh are complete with weigh & draft meat sheep handling facility and a loading ramp with weigh scales mounted under the meat sheep handling unit.

Homestead: The fully air-conditioned 5 bedroom homestead has been well maintained and is set in an attractive garden area with lawn, shrubs and trees. There is a recently reconditioned cold-room in the undercover downstairs patio area as well as an above ground pool situated beside the veranda located on the eastern side of the house. There is an additional one bedroom, air-conditioned standalone building that can be used as another bedroom, craft or storage room. Most of the lawn has automatic pop up sprinklers. One small section of the lawn and the garden beds are connected to timers and hose.

There is a very well maintained 11m x 14m fully self-contained cottage which has one bedroom, one bathroom, lounge / kitchen area and a large deck on two sides. Beside this cottage is a 12m x 6m, 3 bay car shed with one fully enclosed bay.

Buildings: There are numerous small storage and feed sheds situated on Barragunda, as well as a chook and pig run which are all in a well-maintained condition. There is an 11m x 14m steel frame, 3-bay vehicle shed/workshop with a 6m x 8m open skillion roof machinery shed attached to the side. 38 solar panels supporting a 10kva solar inverter system are mounted on the shed roof. 2 overhead fuel tanks will be included in the sale.

Carrying Capacity: Vendors estimate that Barragunda will comfortably carry 1,100 breeders plus progeny in an average season.

Livestock & Plant: Barragunda will be offered for sale bare of livestock, plant, equipment and materials. Any items that remain on the property at settlement, will become the property of the purchaser.

Agent Remarks: This is a great opportunity to purchase a very good quality property that would be ideal for either breeding, backgrounding or fattening in a tick free, 475mm rainfall area.

There is an excellent body of Mitchell, Flinders and Buffel grass, as well as other native grasses and sweet fattening summer herbages growing on the pebbly chocolate/red fertile soils.

The infrastructure improvements on Barragunda are in good to very good condition with respectable working condition fencing, cattle/sheep/goat yards, waters, buildings and homestead. The vendors are presenting for sale, a functional easy care property that will produce high weight gains for a low cost.