Selling the farm
THE bare expanse of Anna Creek cattle station (as Australians call ranches) belies its strategic attraction to investors. Straddling the river plains of the state of South Australia, and reputed to be the world’s biggest cattle ranch by area, Anna Creek belongs to an empire of ten stations that Sidney Kidman, the “cattle king”, started in 1899 (see map). Now, 116 years later, his descendants have put their inheritance on the market. The sale of S. Kidman & Co, due by the end of the year, has touched raw nerves over foreign investment, as Chinese and other overseas contenders circle a company that many Australians associate with their frontier heritage.
The interest of would-be buyers is understandable. The Kidman herd of almost 200,000 cattle sprawls across a swathe of the outback about three-quarters the size of England, making it Australia’s biggest private landholding. Australia is the world’s biggest beef...Continue reading
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