The 44,000 ha (108,724 acres) pastoral holding was auctioned on December 17 as a mortgagee sale in Jupiter’s Casino, Townsville.

Property Agent Dick Larkin said there had been very strong inquiry for the property with 15 inspections and 10 parties registered to bid at Saturday’s auction.

The buyer was from the Atherton Tablelands, he said.

“Word has got around about the huge black soil springs throughout the property, providing abundant natural spring fed water through the centre of St Ronans for about 20km,” Mr Larkin said.

“Also buyers have been impressed with the open basalt country and it’s abundance of kangaroo, black spear and blue grass. Because the property has been lightly stocked for years, it is rare to see such large areas of pristine pasture.”

The property is estiametd to carry 4500 head. 600 cattle were included in the sale as well as machinery.

St Ronans is located at the three way junction of the Kennedy Highway and the Gulf Development Road between Mt Garnet and Mt Surprise. It has good road train access to markets on the Atherton Tablelands to the north, Karumba in the west, and Charters and Townsville south.

The property is described as comprising of about 55pc red and black fertile basalt soils, 15pc red and yellow lateritic remnant soils with the balance being open forest granite country.

“What makes St Ronans so unique and versatile is that 2500ha of the basalt country has now been cleared, with 1200ha developed into farming land,” Mr Larkin said.

“It has been suggested that this development would be ideal for improved pastures or leucaena, for the purpose of backgrounding and fattening cattle.

“In the past this farming land has been used for cropping, mainly grain sorghum and silage.”

St Ronans’ improvements include a homestead, quarters, machinery shed, two sets of steel yards, feedlot, silage pits, grain silos and an airstrip. The property is fenced into seven main paddocks and 8 smaller paddocks in and adjoining the cultivation.