MacLachlans breaks up farming empire bigger than Netherlands

Wave Hill Station was purchased by Jumbuck in partnership with the wealthy Wilson family for $104 million in 2021.

The family’s remaining properties including Blina Station in WA, Bulgunnia Station and Commonwealth Hill in SA and Gunbar Station in NSW will be retained by their father Hugh, the chairman of Jumbuck Pastoral, and their sisters, Airlie MacLachlan, Islay McKenzie and Brooke Yates.

In April, Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group acquired Jumbuck’s 1 million hectare Rawlinna Station in WA – the country’s largest sheep property.

“Planning for family succession, most regrettably, sees my sons Jock and Callum departing the Jumbuck family in September,” Hugh MacLachlan said.

“As joint managing directors they have served Jumbuck for a very long period of time, with distinction. It is their enterprise and financial expertise, and theirs alone, that expanded Jumbuck interests into the Victoria River district of the Northern Territory,” he added. “In the meantime, Jumbuck will carry on as before with my daughters Airlie, Islay and Brooke as directors taking more active roles where they can.”

Before splitting up their empire, Jumbuck Pastoral ranked as the nation’s third-biggest landowner behind Crown Point Pastoral Company – owned by graziers Donny and Colleen Costello and their partner, former horse-racing trainer Viv Oldfield – and ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company.

Crown Point extended its vast cattle station empire to more than 9.2 million hectares in September last year after acquiring Mount Doreen Station in the Northern Territory for about $70 million.

AACo owns 6.6 million hectares of cattle stations.

Hancock Prospecting billionaire Gina Rinehart had been the nation’s biggest landowners until she began downsizing her portfolio by selling over $500 million of cattle stations to focus on higher value Wagyu beef farming.