The Land Report

Spring 2017

The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.

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84 The LandReport | S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 LANDREPORT.COM L ike King and Hearst, Kidman was denied a formal education. Instead, he spent decades in the bush learning the livestock business as a drover, a bullock driver, a stockman, and a livestock trader. The gold rush that swept Australia lined his pockets, thanks in large measure to miners' willingness to pay a fortune for everyday goods. In his twenties, Kidman began trading mining interests. In his thirties, he and one of his brothers bought their first cattle station. His ever-expanding holdings soon reached from South Australia to New South Wales and from Queensland to Western Australia. Rivers and waterways not only connected his far-flung stations; they drought-proofed them. Simultaneously, they created a serpentine series of routes to market. S. Kidman and Co was built to last. Although some partitioning took place following Kidman's passing, it endured for five generations. But in 2010, Kidman's great-grandson Will Abel Smith was passed over as chairman of the board. In his stead, a non-family member, John Crosby, was chosen. A long-simmering rift among key shareholders had finally come to light. Smith controlled 27 percent of Kidman. Not long afterward, the sale of the family- owned operation became imminent. In 2014, news of the decision to sell S. Kidman & Co hit the Lucky Country with gale force. Like the Ashes and the Melbourne Cup, the cattle kingdom is a vital element of Australia's patrimony. It literally predates the founding of modern Australia in 1901. The Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the world's largest iron ore deposits. They formed the basis for the Hancock family fortune. SHUTTERSTOCK In 2014, news of the decision to sell S. Kidman & Co hit the Lucky Country with gale force. Like the Ashes and the Melbourne Cup, the cattle kingdom is a vital element of Australia's patrimony. It literally predates the founding of modern Australia in 1901.

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