According to The Australian Financial Review, the sale includes 100,000 branded cattle and is expected to be the biggest official public offering since AMP offered the Stanbroke portfolio in 2003.

The move comes after Great Southern, which has $105 million in debt due to be repaid by October, gained shareholder approval to issue new shares in return for its beef cattle projects.

The 660,800-hectare Moola Bulla at Halls Creek in Western Australia, is the largest holding offered, closely followed by the 596,430-hectare Wrotham Park at Chillagoe in Queensland. The third property is the 182,000-hectare Chudleigh Park at Hughenden, Queensland, which Great Southern bought from Starwell Pty Ltd in 1994.

Great Southern's chief executive Cameron Rhodes said the sale of the properties was part of the company's

strategic plan, as announced to the ASX on April 8.

"We have a very clear Five Point Plan in place to assist us in achieving our short term priorities," he said.

"Part of that plan is to sell the company's non-core assets, which includes these cattle properties."

According to Great Southern, the properties all have close proximity to sale yards, live export ports and therefore the south East Asia market.

Moola Bulla will go to auction in Darwin on Tuesday, 16 June, 2009. Chudleigh Park and Wrotham Park will go to auction in Townsville, Queensland, on Friday, 19 June, 2009.

They will be sold as three separate lots by real estate agents Ray White Rural Queensland and Elders Queensland.