One of Australia's biggest helicopter mustering companies has been bought by a Northern Territory family for an undisclosed sum.
Heli-Muster NT was established in 1976 and currently has a fleet of 20 helicopters — including 16 Robinson R22's — plus three fixed-wing aircraft.
Siblings Sam and Georgie Chisholm have taken over the company in a new era for the business.
Mr Chisholm, 34, grew up on Napperby Station in the NT and started flying for Heli-Muster in 2014.
He said the former owners Nick and Kathy Dyer had done a great job building up the business and the workforce.
"Heli-Muster is a great business that's been going for so long," he said.
The main hangar and base for the company is located at Victoria River Downs (VRD) — a 390,000-hectare cattle station near the Western Australian and NT border.
Mr Chisholm said demand for heli-mustering was on the rise and the business often had choppers working over a vast area of the north, including the East Kimberley (WA), Arnhem Land, and south towards Alice Springs.
"Going forward, we want to continue growing the mustering business, and then there's opportunities to take on more work in the oil and gas industry," he said.
Mustering underway early
The wet season in the Top End has been well below average this year, which meant a lot of stations had started mustering early.
"We're under the pump and have been under the pump for the last month," Mr Chisholm said.
"It's dry through the middle, so everyone has kicked off a bit earlier than anticipated."
Heytesbury Cattle Company's Russell Richter said some stock had already been mustered and sold from Birrindudu and Mount Sanford stations.
He said mustering was about to begin on VRD "two or three weeks earlier than normal".
"I think 29 millimetres might be our biggest single-fall during the wet season, so it just hasn't run any water to fill billabongs or waterholes."
As mustering ramps up and supply increases, live export prices have eased off their record high of $5.53 per kilogram (ex-Darwin), with feeder steers to Indonesia this month fetching around $5.20 per kilogram.
