Ex-QIC boss Damien Frawley sells organic cattle farm for $25.5m
Former Queensland Investment Corporation boss Damien Frawley and his fellow investors have walked away – on paper at least– with a healthy capital gain after selling a large organic-certified cattle station in Central Queensland for $25.5 million.
Mr Frawley, a former Wallaby, who sits on the boards of Mirvac, Elders and industry superfund Hostplus, is the largest shareholder in Blue Sky Beef, which put the 18,077 hectare Gowan Station, 70 kilometres south of Blackall, on the market in May.
The price paid this month by western Queensland graziers is more than three times the $7.2 million paid for Gowan Station by Blue Sky Beef in 2016, when it snapped it up from Consolidated Pastoral Company, one of the country’s largest cattle and cropping operators. Mr Frawley declined to comment on the divestment.
Comprising seven freehold titles, Gowan is certified organic and has a carrying capacity of 3000 livestock.
Selling agents Bruce Douglas and Andrew Turner from Ray White Rural said the buyer of Gowan Station was a grazier from western Queensland.
A title search lists Chinchilla-based cattle breeders Shane and Helen Hutton as the trustees of Gowan Station.
Mr Hutton confirmed he and his wife were the new owners of Gowan Station, but declined to comment further. The Huttons breed Santa Gertrudis beef cattle, which were first introduced to Australia from the US in 1952.
Mr Frawley controls about 37 per cent of Blue Sky Beef through his Stonehouse Pastoral Company. The other major investors in the Arcadia Valley beef producer are the McGuinness family and experienced cattle station operators Stewart and Emma Taylor.
Before the sale of Gowan Station, Blue Sky Beef operated across more than 50,000 hectares of cattle country in the Blackall region. The company has spent more than $30 million on properties since 2010, a search of property records shows.
Mr Frawley was the chief executive of QIC from 2012 until 2022. The state-owned investor has been in the news of late following the departure of two of its senior executives, head of funds management David Asplin and managing director of real estate Michael O’Brien.
Meanwhile, at the mouth of the River Murray on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, the Grundy family is selling 1907 hectare Mundoo Island Station after more than 100 years of ownership.
The station is made up of three islands – Mundoo Island, Ewe Island, and Long Island – within the Coorong, Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetlands area, UNESCO-designated “Ramsar site” due to its biodiversity and conservation importance.
At 1197 hectares, Mundoo Island is the largest of three islands and includes 885 hectares of freehold land and 312 hectares of perpetual leasehold land. Ewe and Long Islands total about 710 hectares and are both held under perpetual lease.
Mundoo Island Station was first established in 1843 and has operated as a sheep and cattle property since then.
The Grundy family acquired a half-share in Mundoo Island Station in 1922 and then became sole owners in 1932.
Recently, they have operated Mundoo Island station as a cattle and sheep farm, while also offering farm stays, camping and tours.
Current owner Sally Grundy declined to comment on the decision to sell and referred all questions to selling agents Tim Altschwager and Jesse Manuel from Colliers.
Mr Altschwager said the Grundys were retiring.
Asked about price expectations, Mr Altschwager said these had not yet been discussed with the Grundys.
Another cattle station island of similar size – 1950 hectare Quail Island on the Great Barrier Reef – is expected to sell for about $20 million.
“We’re delighted to offer this unique landholding for sale. Mundoo Island, Ewe Island, and Long Island represent unparalleled opportunities for ecotourism, natural capital investment, and responsible development,” Mr Altschwager said.
Mr Manuel said he expected Mundoo Island Station to appeal to a diverse range of buyers, including “established farming groups seeking to incorporate eco-conscious practices, environmental organisations focused on conservation, investors interested in natural capital ventures, and government agencies dedicated to protecting vulnerable ecological areas”.
