Large Northern Territory cattle stations continue auction sales impasse

The large Northern Territory cattle station holding Killarney and Birrimba stations were passed in at auction last Friday.

The 5,414-square-kilometre landholding passed in on an auctioneer's vendor bid of $30 million.

The property was offered stocked with 41,000 brahman cattle, with the potential to stock 55,000 head.

Ray White Rural agent Russell Wolff had noted pre-auction interest in buying the properties. The local ABC Radio reported rumours in the territory suggesting buyers from the Philippines had taken a strong interest n the property, as well as interest from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Europe and New Zealand.

The titles are being sold by Wallco Pastoral Company, which paid $21 million for the property in 2001.

The property's failure to sell continues a trend for major station sales in the NT as three other properties in the Victoria River District have also passed in at auction in recent months – Inverway Station at $15 million, Riveren Station at $19 million and Bunda Station at $10 million.

All three leases that make up the original Inverway Station are on the market, which includes the Bunda and Riveren leases.

The three leases have been in the Underwood family since 1956, when Pat Underwood bought Inverway.

Wollf has previously rejected suggestions there was a lack of confidence in NT's top end cattle industry due to the restrictions in the number of export permits released by Indonesia.

Herron Todd White valuer Terry Roth recently noted the Indonesian government decided to issue 98,000 live cattle import permits for the second half of the 2012 calendar year - in stark contrast to the 193,000 head permits that were granted in the corresponding period of 2011.