Merriwa

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The former Commonwealth Bank chief David Murray has expanded his Upper Hunter farm holdings.
He has spent a further $8.7 million in the Merriwa district.
His wagyu cattle station acquisition was once part of Brindley Park, the vast farm owned by pioneering pastoralist James Brindley Bettington in the 1800s.
It was 2013 when Murray first bought a slice of the historic estate with his $2.95 million outlay on The Dales homestead (above).
The sale ended 178 years of ownership across five generations by the pioneering farming family.
The Hunters Hill-based Murray also spent $4.7 million on another chunk of grazing land.
Now four years on his latest purchases of $2,263,000 and $6,479,000 takes his aggregation of the former Brindley Park estate to over $15 million.
MacCallum Inglis agent Michael Burke sold the latest offering on behalf of the vendors, the beef and lamb producer Crown State.
Crown State is ultimately controlled by Sherwell Holdings, a company based in the British Virgin Islands. It's directed by the Los Angeles-born, Rose Bay resident, Jon Choi.
Murray was the inaugural chairman of the Australian Government Future Fund Board of Guardians and served for six years.
Before the Future Fund, Murray was the chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 13 years.
During his tenure CBA transformed from a partly privatised bank with a market capitalisation of $6 billion in 1992 to a $49 billion integrated financial services company.
This article first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph.
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David Murray buys more historic Merriwa farm holdings

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The Impulse Airlines founder Gerry McGowan and wife Sue have sold their cattle estate in Merriwa for $8.5 million.
The Upper Hunter Valley property has been bought by the Kibble family, more known for their car dealing.
Set 470 metres above sea level, it is also one of Australia's highest altitude vineyards, with up to 10 tonnes of high quality grapes.
The farm carried Angus cattle. 
An Anne Wilkes-designed parterre garden surrounds the pavilion style homestead. There's a century-old wool shed with self-contained quarters. 
The sale falls well short of the $14 million plus asking price that came with the 1300 hectare property when listed in 2015.
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
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Impulse Airlines founder Gerry McGowan sells Hunter Valley farm

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Brindley Park in Merriwa, one of the upper Hunter Valley's most impressive rural estates, has been sold by the pioneer discount share broker Greg Moore and wife Libby six years after it was listed.
Headed by Michael Wang, Australia Aulong Auniu WA, a subsidiary of the Dashang Group, paid $11 million plus. It takes their recent agricultural acquistions to $82 million. They will ship the farm produce back to their 300 stores in China.
It comes with a neo-Palladian eight bedroom main residence complete with sandstone columns, tessellated granite flooring, five-metre ceilings, slate roof, Teak panelled entry and hand-carved marble fireplaces.
The more humble heritage, farm cottages date back to the Bettington family including a 110-stand shearing shed, which in 1888, its peak year, had 58,000 sheep shorn.
AAAW also own the nearby 30,000ha Glenrock Station and the 3500 ha Wootton.
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph. 
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Brindley Park sells to Chinese supermarket chain

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One of the Upper Hunter’s landmark properties, Cullingral at Merriwa, has been listed with offers expected in a range from $3.5 million to $4 million.
The vendors, Brice and Bronwyn Stokes have it listed with MacCallum Inglis.
The 208 hectare holding on the Merriwa River dates back to a land grant in 1839 to Charles Blaxland, a grandson of the explorer/pastoralist Gregory Blaxland, of Blue Mountains crossing fame. 
It was Gregory Blaxland who built the origins of the present homestead in the same year, using local sandstone. 
The cattle enterprise also comes with a three-shed poultry facility for hatching and growing of quail, operated under a five-year lease arrangement (recently renewed) to Game Farms Australia, which generates annual lease income of $125,400. 
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Cullingral, Merriwa listed for sale

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David Murray, who headed the financial system inquiry, has spent $7.35 million on adjoining sheep and cattle farms in the Upper Hunter Valley.
His purchases included historic Dales homestead on 1110 hectares at Merriwa for $4.7 million, along with the adjoining 640 hectare Ersyldene property for $2.95 million.
Murray, the inaugural chairman of the Future Fund, and former Commonwealth Bank chief bought through Lyndcote Pty Ltd, which is the name of his longtime Hunters Hill trophy home.
<a href="https://www.maccalluminglis.com.au/properties.php?id=13787185" target="_blank">The bluestone 1930s Dales homestead </a>was originally part of Brindley Park.
The Dales sale ends 178 years of ownership by the pioneering Bettington family.
MacCallum Inglis agent Michael Burke negotiated the sale, Fairfax Media reported.
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David Murray buys bluestone Upper Hunter homestead farm from the Bettinghams

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The McGowan family have listed the 1892 Fitzroy Hotel premises in Merriwa with $450,000 hopes.
There have been renovations by the McGowans since they bought the historic upper Hunter Valley pub in 2007 for $430,000.
Having ceased trading in 2007, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-nsw-merriwa-111319883" target="_blank">to reopen the hotel</a> for business the interior will need to be fully renovated.
There are detailed architectural plans available illustrating the potential for two public bars on different levels, a restaurant with indoors and outdoors dining space, along with a function room, games area and beer garden.
The major external renovations were designed by Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayne Architecture, completed on the exterior of the building in 2011.
The property sale includes a current liquor license. It has been listed by Heidi Inder at Rockwall Livestock and Property. Merriwa is a country town nestled in the Upper Hunter with a population of 2,500. The town was established in 1839 initially servicing the agricultural industries in the area including sheep, cattle, grain and more recently olives, vineyards and herbs.   Over the last eight years Merriwa has also increasingly becoming a service centre for the many mining companies..
The sandstone hotel was built for James Ell, the then co-owner of The Royal Mail and Passenger coaches which departed from the hotel on a daily basis for Gungal, Muswellbrook and Denman. 
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