One of Victoria's high country pioneer families want people to know the sale of their East Gippsland farm doesn't mean they're planning to leave.
"I have my feet planted in this country like a tree," laughs Phil Neven.
The Nevens have been a fixture of this isolated valley bordered by national parks in the Bonang/Tubbut area since stock were brought up to graze there.
They are selling their Cloverlea farm at Bonang across 272 hectares (673 acres) on the Victoria/NSW border.
High country grazing blocks like this are considered precious by local farm families, hence the neighbours wondered what the Nevens were up to?
Rarely do the pioneers ever let the land go.
But Phil and his family want to better concentrate at their extensive home properties at Tubbut, about 20km to the north-west.
Their love of this land is typified by Phil's father, Alan, who is still working his beehives and helping with the stock even though he turns 90 next month.
Alan's own parents, Jim and Ma (Catherine) selected one of the first farms up there in 1930.
Cattle and sheep are grazed here on the slopes of Mount Little Bill (elevation 775 metres) nestled between the Snowy River National Park and the border.
Water security and cleared country is much prized and Cloverlea is fertile enough to cut hay on as well.
Stock water is supplied from dams in all paddocks and the block's frontage to the Deddick River, Good Hope and Waterhole creeks as part of the Snowy River catchment.
The block is currently being worked for cattle and sheep.
No price has been suggested for the sale, as there are too few sales of similar-sized land for comparison.
"Some of the small blocks might change hands," Phil said.
"But not many of the larger farms change hands up here."
Phil says he has been spreading himself too thin to do justice to Cloverlea, working the land at Tubbut and also a block at Bairnsdale.
Grandfather Jim first travelled the wilds of the mountain country during the Great Depression and worked on farms and trapped rabbits to make a bob.
As luck would have it, he even trapped rabbits on Cloverlea before his name down when land came up for selection.
The family of Phil's mother, Helen (Minchin) also came to Bonang in the 1930s and it was her brother, David, who bought the Cloverlea block in 1961, which Phil in turn bought off him in 1998.
The former shearer says the farm is gently undulating with timber shelter belts for stock shelter, even though it only snows lightly a couple of times each year
The paddocks are mostly cleared with all fencing in good repair.
Elders agents say this property is largely arable, has been managed well and efforts have been made to improve pastures and protect stock with wild dog fencing.
Years of frustration over the loss of stock to wild dogs was solved when Phil added Maremma sheepdogs to his farm team.
Cloverlea is suitable as either a stand-alone block or as an add-on to existing land.
Improvements include two-stand shearing shed with yards, shedding, steel and timber cattle yards, and lockable chemical shed.
The machinery shed has a lunch room and toilet.
Electricity is provided and access is assured from a well maintained gravel road.
Cloverlea is being offered for sale as a whole or in two lots.
Lot One is 238ha (588 acres) and Lot Two is and 34ha (85 acres).
The expressions of interest campaign is being run by Elders Real Estate.
Contact Melinda Coster from Elders on 0408 725495 for more information.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
