Bill and Imelda Roche list Jeogla Station

The iconic NSW Northern Tablelands property Jeogla Station, purchased by Roche Group in 1998, and nearby Wallamumbi which was acquired in 2001, have been listed for sale with offers due April 4.

In 2008 the two properties, together with a few smaller landholdings acquired over a number of years, were amalgamated covering a 13,340 hectare total with a carrying capacity of 16,000 head of cattle.

The cattle on Jeogla and Wallamumbi Station is primarily Shorthorn Beefmaker with some cattle cross-bred with Angus and Charolais.

The purchases by Bill and Imelda Roche came after the 1997 sale of the skin care company Nutri-Metics International to the United States food and consumer products giant Sara Lee.

The rural New England cattle breeding properties had been previously owned by members of the Wright family.

Wallamumbi was for many years the childhood home of the poet and environmentalist, Judith Wright.

The Wright family pastoral dynasties date back to around 1827 with the family among the first to import hereford cattle into Australia. The Jeogla and Wallamumbi herd has developed from a Hereford stud established in the 1830s.

The historic V1V brand of Jeogla and the V2V brand of Wallamumbi, one of the oldest brands in Australia, are still in use.

Bi-annual production sales established on both properties by the Wrights are still conducted, the first for 2013 scheduled for March 13 when 2500 head of EU-accredited steers and heifers  go under the hammer.

It was Charlotte and Albert Wright who moved into the Armidale area establishing the family homestead at Wallamumbi, about 45 kilometres east of the town. After the death of her husband, Charlotte ran the property alone and purchased the rich adjacent grazing property Jeogla.

Jeogla is an Aboriginal word meaning "warm crossing".

Wallamumbi is an Aboriginal word meaning "big waterfall".

Elders have the listing in conjunction with Philip Jarvis and Associates of Armidale.