Water, soils and the sheer beauty of the rolling New England hills first attracted Kerry Brett to what was Rimbanda Station and still is a majestic 1460-hectare property dotted with ancient box, stringy and apple gums sheltering glossy black Angus cows.
At Kentucky, about halfway between Armidale and Tamworth, Rimbanda was originally settled in 1832.
Legend has it that the original shearing shed, which still stands next to its seven-stand modern replacement, was convict built and a timber cottage by the homestead was once the district's post office.
The property has plenty to offer the most hard-nosed purchaser, too. Historically a sheep grazing operation, Mr Brett and wife Anne have transformed Rimbanda into a productive cattle enterprise.
In normal seasons, the Bretts would run 600 Angus cows and calves.
"I'd early wean and I was turning off 320-plus-kilogram steers into the feedlots aged 10 to 12 months, which is a pretty good result around here," Mr Brett said.
All Rimbanda's neighbours run sheep, he said, and the district's climate with its 812-955 millimetre average annual rainfall, suited both sheep and British cattle breeds.
Not even the toughest of droughts managed to dry up Rimbanda's water supply, Mr Brett said.
Four creeks run through the property, which has 40 dams that harvest gullies and natural springs. The dams are well-positioned to allow for rotational grazing and Mr Brett said the family had invested in mixed-species pastures.
Fescue, clover, rye grass and cocksfoot provided year-round productivity across approximately half the farm, while the balance consisted of natural pastures.
Mostly gently undulating, Rimbanda rises from creek flats into hill country. The diversity of the terrain and soils were a real asset to the farming operation, Mr Brett said.
The front of the property has good granite soils and, at the back, basalt country with a range of trap rock and loams in between.
Rock picking is not necessary, Mr Brett said, and 85 per cent of Rimbanda is arable.
"I grow out the weaners on the annual ryegrass which has been in the front country on the lighter soils and run the cows on the heavy country at the moment," he said.
"If you took weaners on to the heavier weights, there's certainly an option to grow them out on the good pastures and heavier soil at the back."
It can all be surveyed from the four-bedroom, 50-square double-storey homestead, which offers spectacular views of the surrounding valley and is set among leafy gardens featuring century-old oaks.
There's more accommodation in a currently-tenanted three-bedroom cottage.
Another income stream may well be in the offing, too. While contracts had not yet been signed, Mr Brett said wind farm developers were keen to negotiate an arrangement with Rimbanda.
From a management perspective, the property is already well established.
Shedding includes a four-bay machinery shed with workshop, a three-bay 7.5m x 16m shed, 15m x 15m workshop and seven-stand electric woolshed.
Laneways leading to steel cattle yards with an undercover crush, circular force, curved race, and five-way draft capable of handling 250 cows and calves make stock handling simple.
Rimbanda will be auctioned on April 5. Davidson Cameron & Co agent Simon Burke said he was "quite confident" the likely sale price would be $8-10 million.
Contact Mr Burke on 0427 634 341.
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Marian Macdonald
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
