KING Junction consists of 76,081 hectares (187,920 acres) and is about 228km north-west of Chillagoe, on a pastoral lease in process of renewal.
The property is for sale by private treaty and the price is available on application.
The property is typical Cape York breeding country with mainly open forest of bloodwood, ironbark, gum and tea-tree, opening out to significant areas of softer boxwood flats along the frontage country.
There are areas of sandy soils and good loams along the river flats, some red volcanic soils in the top north-east corner of the property and a good-sized area of black soil in the south-west corner.
Grasses include kangaroo, spear and edible herbages, and there are good establishments of urochloa and seca which were flown on some years ago. There is some Indian couch in the river systems.
King Junction is very well watered with 45km frontage to the Palmer River and also to the King River, which drops back to intermittent water holes in the dry. This is supported by a number of permanent and semi-permanent dams, springs and swamps.
The property could possibly do with a watering point or two in the north-west corner to maximise stock spread in the dry season; however, overall there is excellent water availability. There is a reliable 1125mm (45in) of summer rain. Water for the homestead is pumped from the Palmer into a header tank and a 20,000-litre rainwater tank.
Improvements include a 12-year-old, four-bedroom, two-bathroom homestead fully powered by a solar system.
Fencing is of varying condition from very good to adequate to needing some work.
Boundaries are fenced. Internal roads are fair to good, and some input from a grader after each wet would serve their purpose quite well. Yards are at the homestead and are of timber, steel and steel panel construction.
Based on 1:40ac, the carrying capacity would be 4700 breeders, or on 1:50ac, 3800 breeders. Weaners are moved straight off to southern areas.
This property is a cut above most Cape York breeding operations. It gets worked reasonably hard, but with its balance of different country and soil types, its significant frontages and good water, it appears to be coping.
Access in the dry is quite good, being about 90km in off the main road; however, as with most properties in this area, wet season access would be intermittent, depending on prevailing conditions.
As with most breeding units in this region, King Junction would work best with a Southern Downs block to grow and fatten the weaners produced here.
Tourism activities have potential, with its impressive Palmer River frontage and where there is still a 400-tonne gold-dredging plant on the river from the early days.
There is one tourist operator bringing hunting and fishing tourists in for an outback experience. This is done on a fairly casual basis and is apparently very well received by the clients. The airstrip helps with this aspect.
* Contact: Queensland Rural, Peter MacPherson, 0447 941 110.
