Article by James Wagstaff and Tallis Miles, courtesy of The Weekly Times
17.07.2025
Some of the nation’s most recognisable pastoral companies, homegrown billionaires and foreign investors are making a strategic play for Northern Territory farmland, The Weekly Times’ 10th annual Who Owns Australia’s Farms investigation reveals.
Leading the charge are outback business partners Donny Costello and Viv Oldfield, Australia’s largest private landholders.
Through their Crown Point Pastoral Company, the pair control a vast footprint of 3.7 million hectares in the Territory alone, including the 1.05 million-hectare Andado Station near Alice Springs. Across Central Australia, their holdings exceed nine million hectares.
Ranking second is the ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company, which owns about 3.3 million hectares in the Territory as part of a 6.6 million-hectare national portfolio that carries about 382,000 cattle.
Established in 1824, AACo is Australia’s oldest continuously operating company. Its major NT assets include the 1.24 million-hectare Brunette Downs Station near Tennant Creek and the 934,900-hectare Anthony Lagoon and Eva Downs aggregation on the Barkly Tableland.
Rounding out the top three is North Australian Pastoral Company, majority-owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation. NAPCo controls 2.3 million hectares in the Territory, including the 1.6 million-hectare Alexandria Station near Camooweal.
Other major players include Brett Blundy Retail Capital (2.05 million hectares), the MacLachlan Pastoral Group (1.76 million hectares), the Bilby Group, Consolidated Pastoral Company and Heytesbury Pastoral (each about 1.7 million hectares), the Canadian PSP Investments-backed Hewitt (1.6 million hectares), Gina Rinehart’s S. Kidman & Co (1.4 million hectares), Cleveland Agriculture (1.26 million hectares), and the Langenhoven family’s Rallen Australia (1.22 million hectares).
Meet the families and institutions going head-to-head to secure the Northern Territory’s prime farming and pastoral land in this, the most comprehensive list of farm owner
AAM INVESTMENT GROUP
Has about $1 billion invested in beef, lamb and wool, cropping, poultry and timber supply chains across 32 sites in four states and territories. Sold the 14,074-hectare Sunshine Aggregation near Forbes NSW to TIAA-CREF/Nuveen Natural Capital in 2024.
Legune Station, Kununurra NT – 285,270 hectares
AMBURLA NOMINEES
Owned by Tony and Pam Davis. Sold the Narwietooma, Derwent and Glen Helen stations in Central Australia in 2020.
Amburla Station, Alice Springs NT – 202,000 hectares
Dnieper Station, Alice Springs NT – 100,000 hectares
Hamilton Downs Station, Alice Springs NT
AN VIEN PASTORAL HOLDING AND AGRICULTURE (VIETNAM)
Owned by prominent Vietnamese businessman Pham Nhat Vu, chairman of An Vien Group media company.
Vermelha Station, Larrimah NT – 200,000 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for $18 million.
ANGUS & KIMBERLEY McKAY
The McKay family have been beef farmers for more than 50 years with Angus’ grandfather, Leath McKay, starting out with a number of properties in South Australia.
Idracowra Station, Alice Springs NT – 462,800 hectares
Umbearra Station, Alice Springs NT – 360,000 hectares
AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY (ASX-LISTED)
Established in 1824, and the oldest continuously operating company in Australia, AACo owns and operates Australia’s largest cattle herds with about 382,000 head spread across 6.5 million hectares of Queensland and the Northern Territory. Assets valued at $1.4 billion. Celebrates 200 years of existence in 2024.
Anthony Lagoon and Eva Downs, Barkly Tablelands NT – 934,900 hectares
Brunette Downs Station, Barkly Tablelands NT – 1,235,100 hectares
Camfield Station, Victoria River NT – 279,000 hectares
Delamere Station, Victoria River NT – 300,300 hectares
La Belle, Bachelor NT – 61,000 hectares
Montejinni Station, Top Springs NT – 485,623 hectares
Pell and Tortilla, Darwin NT – 5443 hectares
BALDY BAY PASTORAL (STERLING BUNTINE)
Kimberley-based pastoralist with significant holdings in northern Australia. Was part of a consortium of buyers who launched a last-minute bid for the S Kidman and Co assets in 2016.
Dalmore Downs Station, Tennant Creek NT
BASS LAND AND CATTLE
Operated by David and Suzanne Bassingthwaite and family, large-scale Santa Gertrudis breeders in central Queensland.
Epenarra Station, Barkly Tablelands NT – 265,000 hectares. Purchased in 2019.
BILBA GROUP
The largest rural development company in northern Australia operated by Adrian and Emma Brown.
Amungee Mungee Station, Daly Waters NT – 316,970 hectares
Bullwaddy Pastoral Company portfolio, Arnold NT – 1,400,000 hectares
BRETT BLUNDY RETAIL CAPITAL
Operated by billionaire Australian businessman and retail king Brett Blundy, who grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of Melbourne. Sold the 316,000-hectare Amungee Mungee Station in the Northern Territory to the Bilba Group’s Adrian and Emma Brown (see separate listing) in 2022. Both the Beetaloo Station aggregation and Walhallow and Creswell Downs have spent time of the market in recent years, but have not transacted.
Beetaloo Station and OT Downs, Elliot NT – 707,800 hectares
Mungabroom Station, Elliot NT – 346,900 hectares
Walhallow and Creswell Downs, Tennant Creek NT – 999,700 hectares
BRETT CATTLE COMPANY
Large-scale Northern Territory beef producers operating across more than 350,000 hectares in the Victoria River District.
Waterloo Station, Victoria River NT – 189,500 hectares
Willeroo Station, Victoria River NT – 171,000 hectares
BRIGODOON CATTLE COMPANY
Operated by Bill and Gretchen Speed with significant holdings of more than 720,000 hectares in western Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Tarlton Downs Station, Alice Springs NT – 303,514 hectares
BUNDERRA CATTLE COMPANY
Certified organic beef business owned and operated by the Pickersgill family across more than one million hectares. Paid about $30 million for Neutral Junction Station in the Northern Territory in 2022.
Murranji, Daly Waters NT – 447,500 hectares
Neutral Junction Station, Barrow Creek NT – 460,900 hectares
BURT FAMILY
Rich listers and mining royalty Alexandra and Julian Burt have invested in the agriculture space including:
Bullo River Station, Baines NT – 161,875 hectares
CALLUM MACLACHLAN (MACLACHLAN PASTORAL GROUP)
Assumed ownership of Killarney and Wave Hill Stations from his family’s Jumbuck Pastoral Company in 2023 as part of a succession plan.
Killarney, Katherine NT – 541,400 hectares
Wave Hill Station, Victoria River NT – 1,214,057 hectares
CK LIFE SCIENCES (HONG KONG)
The family of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing owns a large stake in parent company CK Hutchinson Holdings. Operations are spread across Victoria, South Australia, NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Australian ag assets estimated at more than $2 billion.
Roper River Farm (watermelons), Mataranka NT – 1901 hectares
CLEAN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM (VIETNAM)
Agricultural investment company linked to major Vietnamese dairy producer TH Group. Owns three cattle stations spanning 732,900 hectares in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Auvergne Station, Katherine NT – 414,200 hectares
Newry Station, Katherine NT – 246,700 hectares
CLEVELAND AGRICULTURE
Malcolm Harris has stamped his business on the Australian pastoral mapping, amassing about 2.5 million hectares of farming and pastoral land worth upwards of $1.2 billion.
Brunchilly Station, Tennant Creek NT – 513,600 hectares
Rockhampton Downs, Barkly Tablelands NT – 500,000 hectares
Ucharonidge Station, Elliott NT – 245,550 hectares
CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY
Founded in 1879, one of Australia’s largest pastoral players operating across 3.2 million hectares with assets valued at more than $1 billion. Major shareholder is UK-based private equity guru Guy Hands.
Dungowan, Katherine NT – 445,500 hectares
Kirkimbie, Katherine NT – 230,400 hectares
Langley Station, Middlemount QLD – 4882 hectares
Newcastle Waters Station, Newcastle Waters NT – 1,033,101 hectares
CROSS PACIFIC INVESTMENTS (ARGENTINA)
Operated by established Argentinian cropping farmers the Buratovich family. Operate across more than half a million hectares of beef country in the Northern Territory, purchased in 2019 for about $43 million.
Manbulloo, Katherine NT – 380,000 hectares
Scott Creek, Katherine NT – 101,000 hectares
Sturt Downs, Katherine NT – 68,000 hectares
CROWN POINT PASTORAL
Australia’s largest private landholders and a partnership between north Australian pastoralists Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello. Outback business partners, they hold a vast nine-million-hectare footprint across Central Australia, including multiple South Australian stations under their Crown Point Pastoral Company banner. Their largest property is Clifton Hills Station (1.7 million hectares) on the Birdsville Track, followed by Innamincka Station (1.36 million hectares) and Macumba Station (1.1 million hectares).
Andado Station, Alice Springs NT – 1,050,000 hectares
Horseshoe Bend, Alice Springs NT – 603,000 hectares
Lilla Creek Station, Alice Springs NT – 296,000 hectares
Maryvale Station, Alice Springs NT – 324,000 hectares
Middle Creek Station, Katherine NT – 60,200 hectares
Mount Doreen Station, Alice Springs NT – 733,700 hectares
New Crown Station, Alice Springs NT – 615,800 hectares
Phoenix Park Feedlot, Katherine NT – 3443 hectares
DAN AND SALLEY MUENSTER
Yambah Station, Alice Springs, NT — 231,000 hectares
DI GIORGIO FAMILY
Aroona Station, Katherine, NT — 147,500 hectares
DUNKELD PASTORAL COMPANY
Owned by renowned Melbourne KC Allan Myers. Operates across more than 12,700 hectares around Dunkeld in Victoria’s Western District. Also has several interests in northern Australia.
Litchfield, Katherine NT – 133,859 hectares (Tipperary Group)
Tipperary East and West, Katherine NT – 209,842 hectares (Tipperary Group)
DUXTON FARMS LIMITED (ASX-LISTED)
Australian listed entity with a diversified portfolio of high – quality Australian farms. Significant cropping interests in central – west NSW. Sold the 8000-hectare Timberscombe Aggregation to Canadian PSP Investments-backed Altora Ag (see separate listing) in 2024 for $70 million.
Mountain Valley Station (leased), NT – 141,000 hectares
NT Portion 8554, Mt Bundley, NT — 2386 hectares
GIBSON GRAZING
Operated by Mick Gibson and family across a reported two million hectares of cattle country in Queensland.
Manners Creek Station, Manners Creek NT – 687,900 hectares
HALE RIVER PASTORAL COMPANY
Owned by Tim Edmunds. Sold Narwietooma, The Derwent and Glen Helen stations in 2022 to PSP Investments – Hewitt Cattle Company for about $100 million.
Henbury Station, Alice Springs NT – 527,300 hectares
HARTREE PARTNERS
In 2023 Hartree and collapsed agricultural investment platform Wealthcheck, led by Sam Mitchell, purchased Benmara for $40m bare in an off-market deal from the Harris family’s Cleveland Agriculture.
Hartree, a US-based energy and commodities trader that also manages a portfolio of carbon offsets and energy assets, took control of Benmara last year after Wealthcheck fell into financial trouble.
A carbon project has been registered with the Clean Energy Regulator, targeting the human-induced regeneration method. No credits have been issued.
Benmara Station, Barkly Tablelands NT – 450,000 hectares (formerly Wealthcheck)
HEYTESBURY PASTORAL
Founded by Australia’s first billionaire, Robert Holmes a Court, Heytsbury Pastoral runs six cattle stations across more than 2.5 million hectares of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Carbeen Park, Katherine, NT — 7390 hectares
Birrindudu, Katherine NT – 673,200 hectares
Moolooloo, Victoria River NT – 203,600 hectares
Mt Sandford, Victoria River NT – 249,700 hectares
Pigeon Hole, Victoria River NT – 181,100 hectares
Victoria River Downs, Victoria River NT – 390,400 hectares
HUGHES PASTORAL GROUP/GEORGINA PASTORAL COMPANY
Peter and Jane Hughes run the mammoth Hughes and Georgina pastoral companies across 3.9 million hectares of Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory. Paid Gina Rinehart $100 million for Riveren and Inverway stations in the Northern Territory in 2022, a year after shelling out $215 million for Miranda Downs Station at Normanton in Queensland.
Inverway and Riveren, Victoria River NT – 555,400 hectares
KIANA STATION PTY LTD
Owned and operated by the Darcy family. Purchased Kiana Station, which neighbours Mallapunya, in 2021 for $12 million, bare of stock and plant.
Kiana Station, Larrimah NT – 331,800 hectares
Mallapunya Springs, Larrimah NT
McMILLAN PASTORAL COMPANY
The McMillan clan of Cloncurry has amassed a two million – hectare portfolio that includes seven stations in Queensland and one in the Northern Territory. It paid about $53 million for the 705,000-hectare Wollogorang and Wentworth stations in Queensland in 2020.
Calvert Hills Station, Borroloola NT – 481,000 hectares
MT SKINNER PASTORAL COMPANY
Mt Skinner Station, Alice Springs, NT — 303,605 hectares
NAPIER PASTORAL COMPANY
Family owned and operated business, made up of properties in Central Australia and South Australia’s South East.
Delmore Downs, Alice Springs NT
Delny, Alice Springs NT
Pine Hill Station, Alice Springs NT – 270,000 hectares
NORTH AUSTRALIAN PASTORAL COMPANY
One of Australia’s oldest and largest cattle companies, backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation and covering more than six million hectares.
Alexandria, Camooweal NT – 1,641,416 hectares
Mittiebah, Camooweal NT – 695,500 hectares
NORTH STAR PASTORAL COMPANY
Founded with the purchase of Venture Downs in 2004, North Star now has operations spread across the Northern Territory and Queensland, supplying export cattle to Asia. Sold the Maryfield and Limbunya stations in 2022 to Wealthcheck (see separate listing).
Hodgson River Station, Katherine NT – 111,000 hectares
NORTHERN LIVESTOCK AND AGRICULTURE
Providence Station, Katherine NT
Ruby Downs Station, Douglas Daly NT
PANIRI AGRICULTURAL COMPANY (CORPORATE CARBON)
Natural asset manager dedicated to delivering 100 per cent sustainable agricultural production. Part of the Corporate Carbon Group with 1.3 million hectares under management.
Ban Ban Springs Station, Adelaide River NT – 187,300 hectares
PASPALEY PASTORAL
Owned by the famous Paspaley pearling family with a portfolio of farms spread across NSW and the Northern Territory. Holdings include the 65,000-hectare Dry River Station in the NT.
Dry River Station, Katherine NT – 65,000 hectares
Melaleuca Station, Katherine NT – 45,000 hectares
PEREGRINE CORPORATION
Owned by rich lister Charlie Shahin. Purchased Aileron Station from the Caason Group in 2024.
Aileron Station, Alice Springs NT – 408,000 hectares
PSP INVESTMENTS (CANADA)
Pension fund for the Canadian public service, including the world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is the biggest investor in Australian agriculture. Has about $7.5 billion in farmland and water assets across multiple states through various joint ventures.
Hewitt Cattle Australia
Operates huge pastoral interests across NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Portfolio includes several former Webster Limited properties.
Ambalindum, Alice Springs NT – 331,800 hectares
Narwietooma Aggregation, Plenty NT – 1,108,200 hectares
Numery, Alice Springs NT – 202,200 hectares
RALLEN AUSTRALIA
Operated by the Sydney-based South African rich lister Langenhoven family. Paid $58 million for Kalala Station in 2018 and $70 million for Tanumbirini and Forrest Hill in 2020.
Big River Station, Roper Valley NT – 70,800 hectares
Forrest Hill Station, NT – 54,000 hectares
Kalala Station, Daly Waters NT – 376,000 hectares
Larrizona Station, Katherine NT – 70,200 hectares
Mt McMin Station, Roper Valley NT – 81,000 hectares
Tanumbirini Station, NT – 500,000 hectares
Woolner Station, Mary River, NT — 64,700 hectares
S KIDMAN AND CO (AUSTRALIA-CHINA)
Founded in 1899 by Sir Sidney Kidman, S Kidman and Co is now operated by an Australian-Chinese consortium headed by billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart. A joint venture company headed and owned 67 per cent by Hancock Prospecting and 33 per cent by Shanghai CRED. Has significantly reduced its footprint to just two million hectares in recent years.
Durham Downs, Eromanga NT – 891,000 hectares
Helen Springs, Tennant Creek NT – 520,000 hectares
SANDOVER PASTORAL COMPANY
Ammaroo Station, Sandover, NT
Derry Downs Station, Sandover, NT
Dneiper Station, Sandover, NT
Old MacDonald Station, Sandover, NT
SARAWALK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (MALAYSIA)
Carmor Plains, Point Stuart, NT — 41,500 hectares
SCHAFER FAMILY
Private northern cattle producers the Schafer family acquired the 67,500ha Dorisvale Station, adding it to their existing NT landholdings.
Dorisvale Station, Pine Creek NT — 65,700 hectares
SCOTT CATTLE COMPANY
Operated by George Scott, who previously managed Georgina Pastoral Company’s Lake Nash Station.
MacDonald Downs, NT – 270,000 hectares
SEVERIN FAMILY
Peter, Ashley and Lyndee Severin operate the Curtin Springs Station in the shadows of Uluru in Central Australia.
Curtin Springs Station, Alice Springs NT – 416,400 hectares
TONY AND JULIE HARROWER
Well-known Northern Territory pastoralists. Purchased Old Mount Bundey Station in 2016 for an undisclosed price.
Old Mount Bundey Station, Adelaide River NT – 380,000 hectares
VIRIDIOS CAPITAL
In October 2023, Viridios Capital partnered with Sam Mitchell from Sydney-based Wealthcheck, and paid about $20m (WIWO including 4700 head of cattle) for the 139,200ha Conways Station, near Katherine. Last year Mr Mitchell declared bankruptcy with Viridios Capital securing a deal to buy Conways outright.
Conways Station, Katherine NT — 139,200 hectares
WEALTHCHECK
Investment management company headed up by Sam Mitchell that oversaw more than one million hectares of land. Paid $100 million for North Star Pastoral’s Limbunya and Maryfield Station properties in 2022. Purchased Benmara Station in the Northern Territory from Cleveland Agriculture in 2023. Listed Limbunya and Maryfield for sale in February 2024.
Limbunya, Katherine NT – 520,000 hectares
Maryfield Station, Katherine NT – 140,000 hectares
WENTWORTH CATTLE CO
Headed up by Clermont’s Richard and Dyan Hughes, Wentworth Cattle Co purchased Murray Downs last year, acquiring the property from Filipino businessman and property developer, Romeo Roxas, via his entity Australian Green Properties.
Wentworth Cattle Co are based at the 40,500-hectare Wentworth Station, where they have previously carried 10,000-head, and are supported by a breeding herd on their Strathalbyn property in Queensland’s Burdekin region.
Murray Downs, Barkly Tablelands, NT – 559,500 hectares
