Polo champion's Cowra homestead sold off in three parcels
After 77 years of Ashton family ownership, Millamolong East, the 1930s Mandurama property in NSW's central west, has been sold off in three parcels.
It was listed by Susan Ashton and her four children following the death last year of Susan's husband, polo champion James.
The total sale price has not been disclosed, but is understood to be less than its$9.6 million asking price.
The parcels totalling about 3,400 hectares were sold through Ian Roberston at Elders Cowra. It sold at about $900 an acre, or about $2,250 per hectare.
Situated 50 kilometres from Cowra, the property, with Belubula River frontage, was settled in 1836 and remains one of Australia's oldest working stations.
The offering came with the 28-hectare wine estate but not its renowned polo facilities or homestead, with the family retaining about 84 hectares.
Steeped in history, Millamolong was bought in 1934 by James Hay Ashton, one of the four brothers who took the British and American polo establishment by storm in the 1930s.
The eight-bedroom homestead, with seven fireplaces and an Aga slow-combustion stove, was designed by Orange architect S.C. van Breda and built in 1936.
Its rooms hold trophies and memorabilia from the family's three generations of polo playing and equine breeding.
The grounds come with a floodlit tennis court, pool and separate accommodation for guests.
Millamolong remains a hive of activity, from polo-pony breeding to sheep and cattle grazing and farm-stay accommodation.
Its award-winning vineyard has the varieties of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, riesling and shiraz, planted in 2000 and producing between 200 and 300 tonnes with forward contracts until 2013.
It has won gold medals for cabernet and shiraz at both Orange and Cowra wine shows.
Millamolong East also has two acres of truffles.
