Wollogorang Cattle station sold

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Originally Posted by Bundalene

We also have spent many happy months at Seven Emus. We would sit with old Willie Shadforth -the owner- and he would tell us all sorts of stories (some may have been a bit stretched!!) but he was a wonderfully entertaining person. Willie passed on in 2000 and last time we were there his son, Frank was running the place. You are right when you say it is magnificent country up in that area.

The track that Brian mentioned in the previous comment, which would take you from Seven Emus to the Calvert and beyond, was unfortunately closed about 12 years ago. That would have been the last time we were in that part of the Gulf.

There was a show on TV many years ago "Northern Safari" which showed a lot of area around the Robinson River...and the massive crocodiles that lived there!

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You can still get the book and video of that. Google it.
I wish i had been there to drive that closed track-badly. The gulf coast is very inaccessible by land thses days. You were fortunate to do that.
I was at 7 emu in 2006 ( just a few yrs too late) and 2010. Have met Frank and his son. Hired their tinny and went for agood look up the robinson river. Still plenty of very big crocs there. Apparently one of his kids was taken near the crossing at the house many yrs ago? He is developing it up a bit for tourists now with camping sites with shelters etc. so not the same anymore. Thats life.

Thanks for that info. Edddo...Frank mentioned last time we were there he was going for the tourism/fishing/bird watching.

The Robinson is a massive and beautiful river (as are most of the Gulf rivers). We have camped near where the fresh and salt water meet, not too far from the crossing. Also camped at the shed a few kilometers from the end of the track towards the beach. We would go out to Shark Creek and catch heaps of Mangrove Jacks and barra. Got some nice mud crabs there as well...and lost a couple of crab pots after a croc decided he needed a feed more than we did.

We have the Northern Safari book and a video. Keith Adams passed away a couple of years ago I believe. That would have been a real adventure in those days.

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Originally Posted by Bearman

Old Willie was a bit of a character all right - he was half aboriginal and half chinese and a real nice bloke. I remember him telling me how he got enough money to purchase the lease on 7 emus. During WW2 he signed up to be a "coast watcher" with the army, and he had to go to Burketown to enlist. During his medical he had to strip naked and the Doctor asked him to bend over. The Doctor was checking his rear end for hernias and asked Willie to cough - Well, Willie thought he said "off" and took off out of there in a hurry thinking he about to be 2 stone lighter! much to the amusement of the blokes lined up outside:lol2:

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That's a good one ...Willie told us he had won the money on a horse race many years ago.

Foreign owners of Australian agricultural land,
Let's start a historical list,
Macquarie
Vestey
swire

And....

I don't agree with foreign "ownership" but let's not get confused here.
These places are not Freehold but "Pastoral Leases" so there is no outright ownership of the land by the Leaseholder.
Now, buying up houses, development sites etc. should definitely not be allowed!
Steve

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Originally Posted by Saitch

I don't agree with foreign "ownership" but let's not get confused here.
These places are not Freehold but "Pastoral Leases" so there is no outright ownership of the land by the Leaseholder.
Now, buying up houses, development sites etc. should definitely not be allowed!
Steve

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I hope you are right!

China is not just buying up in AUS, many places in Africa too. There they are swapping road building and infra structure for farm land and food.

It happened in the late 60's 70's by USSR. They 'gave' to Madagascar an airforce, equipment trianing etc in return for minerals fishing and other stuff.

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Originally Posted by Hay Ewe

I hope you are right!

China is not just buying up in AUS, many places in Africa too. There they are swapping road building and infra structure for farm land and food.

It happened in the late 60's 70's by USSR. They 'gave' to Madagascar an airforce, equipment trianing etc in return for minerals fishing and other stuff.

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Not to go off topic , China have huge investments in Iran's gas and Oil fields . There not going away ,there there for the long term . One Chinese general even said , If the West go to war with Iran , we will defend our interests , even if It means World War 3 . Statements like these , leads me to think that once there here , there here for the very long term . I get the feeling we will never get It back !!.. Jim

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Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

I guess no-one in Australia wanted to buy it.

I was there in 1976 when they put a new floor in the kitchen.

They went out and knocked down a number of anthills crushed them up and tamped it down as the new floor.

Things may have changed since then but I was stunned to see how archaic things were being done.

The price the chinese paid may be cheap .....they may have to invest heavily.

I may be out of touch with how it is out there now , maybe someone on the forum has been there recently and can inform me.

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I wouldn't say no one in Australia wanted to buy it, I gladly would have bought it if I was that rich I'd buy the others as well. I'd keep it in Aussies hands and hire Aussies to work there.

This was actually on 'Sunday Night' a couple weeks back. There's a lot of problems our banks are kicking the farmers off the land and selling it to over seas and in turn the Australian government are making it easier for Asians to work here. The Chinese are buying a wharf too. That way they can buy the land and livestock, farm it by working visa Chinese, transport it to the Chinese wharf by Chinese and ship it out on Chinese ships. What do we see out of all of the as a country?! A measly amount of what they purchase the property for.

Seriously all our politicians are so short sighted and don't really have Australia at heart.

Just my two bob.

Nathan.

Tis not just the Chinese in my young days I spent many years in the territory and Gulf country

And now I am in my dotage (now 76) I could cry to see whats happening to our lovely country

But Maybe I was just spoilt for choice and selfish I did not wanna share it with the Hordes