Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community buys West Kimberley irrigation farm
West Kimberley freehold irrigation farm Shamrock Gardens, south of Broome, has been purchased by the nearby Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc, which has long-term plans to scale-up horticultural production to supply southern markets.
LAWD offered the freehold 301-hectare farm in a two-stage expression of interest process on behalf of vendor Galwey Horticultural, which has extensively developed the property with 172ha of drip line and centre pivot irrigation to primarily produce seedless watermelons sent to Perth for distribution.
LAWD Director, Simon Wilkinson, said stage one attracted 30 enquiries that resulted in four EOIs being received. The four parties undertook inspections and completed due diligence through stage two of the process, with Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc (BACLG) chosen as the winning bidder from the selling party.
“Purchased on a walk-in walk-out basis for approximately $6.5 million, the sale of Shamrock Gardens shows there is still strong demand for quality assets throughout Western Australia, particularly those with water licences,” Mr Wilkinson said.
Located within the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s La Grange irrigation area, Shamrock Gardens holds a secure entitlement of 2,500 megalitres of Canning-Broome water allocation.
This provides a long-season production window for crops including watermelon, rockmelon, pumpkin and sweet potato, as well as maize, sorghum silage and hay.
The farm is well equipped with a nursery, workshop and packing shed, water infrastructure, sheds, and a 54-kilowatt multiple battery inverter solar system supported by diesel generators. It also has multiple accommodation options.
The well-governed Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community has a long history with Shamrock Gardens through its initial owner, Danny Fyffe, who worked to build a market garden in the Bidyadanga community before moving to establish the irrigation farm, which he then sold to Angus Galwey of Galwey Horticultural in 2009.
BACLG’s Chief Executive Officer, Tania Baxter, said Mr Galwey approached community members to provide a workforce for the farm when the COVID-19 pandemic restricted backpacker labour in 2021, and as a result, the two businesses launched a partnership called Pijarta Produce in 2022.
Under the brand Bidyadanga Fresh Food, Pijarta trained local workers and produced watermelon and pumpkin to supply direct to the Perth market.
“That’s when the idea of the BACLG acquiring Shamrock Gardens came about,” Ms Baxter said.
“There were many qualities about Shamrock Gardens that appealed to the BACLG council – the farm is close by so people can work and return home each day, and it offers not only employment opportunities, but also career pathways for our members, enabling them to remain in the community and with family.
“Through this acquisition, we are able to build upon our previous training programs and enhance the skill base within the community.”
Ms Baxter said their long-term plans are to scale up the farm to take advantage of the Kimberley region’s extended growing period and to pursue market opportunities with commercial partners.
“The BACLG council is quite progressive and stable, and is open to working with capability partners to realise commercial opportunities that will create growth and development for our members,” she said.
“One of our first priorities will be investing in cool rooms and machinery upgrades to meet market demand.
“Given the high quality of produce that has been grown on Shamrock Gardens to date, we expect market demand to grow. The return on this investment will see all profits return to the Bidyadanga community to support our members in ways we have not been able to deliver yet.
“Once the farm is fully productive, the career opportunities for our community members in an enterprise they have an interest in will also be life changing.”