One of Australia's richest men, Tim Fairfax, has emerged as the $15 million buyer of the large-scale grazing properties Orana Park and Shenandoah in central Queensland.
According to The Australian Financial Review, Mr Fairfax, whose wealth and that of his brother John was estimated at $618 million in the latest BRW Rich List, already has a significant pastoral empire, including the Minnie Downs property which he purchased from Stanbroke Pastoral in 2004.
The Fairfax brothers own about 10 per cent of Fairfax Media following the merger of Rural Press and Fairfax Media in 2007. They bought Rural Press from their cousin Warwick Fairfax in 1987.
The purchase of the 5869 hectare Orana and Shenandoah aggregation outside Biloela from Bride Creek Pastoral was negotiated before a much anticipated auction which, after a lacklustre summer selling season, was to give some direction as to where values were headed.
The $15 million price tag for Orana Park and Shenandoah confirms that the values of quality grazing properties are still stable.