The Pilbara region of Western Australia is a vast, rugged expanse of iron-red earth shaped by minerals billions of years old. Its dusty, arid landscape is hardly the place you’d expect to find a 72-year-old Singaporean who spent much of his career navigating the air-conditioned corridors of the duty-free trade. But 13 years ago, as Bruce Cheung began thinking about retirement, it became clear that becoming a landlord and spending his autumn years on the golf course was not his idea of a fulfilling third act. What he craved was reinvention. “So I said to myself, ‘Why don’t I try to do something more meaningful and see how I can survive in a new industry,” he said over video call with CNA Luxury.
At around the same time, the Singapore government began unveiling its 30-by-30 goal, a strategy to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs locally by 2030 (the goal has since been revised with new targets for 2035). That seemed to Cheung like a challenge he could get behind. “So I thought, why don’t I try something totally different?” he recalled. “One of the main food groups that Singapore doesn’t have is an ample supply of beef… And that’s when the ideas started coming.”
In 2014, Cheung bought a used SUV and drove 2,500km north from Sydney to Cairns in search of a farm. When that journey yielded nothing, he continued west towards Darwin, where one property sharpened his admittedly “fuzzy” criteria.
“I found a freehold project that was A$80 (US$58; S$74) an acre. I couldn’t believe it. It was so attractive,” he said. The owner offered him the land, the house, and 300 cattle. “I knew this was too good to be true.”
The catch, he found after some digging, was the lack of a reliable water supply for irrigation. Australia’s water rights laws prevented him from using the water beneath it. “And from that point on, I changed my direction. I began looking for water because water can transform the numbers and determine if the project would work or not,” he said.
Aerial view of pivot irrigators at Pardoo station. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
Cheung headed south until he reached Eighty Mile Beach in the Pilbara, where he spotted a black swan floating on the saline surf. “The swan is a freshwater bird, so why was it in the sea?” he asked himself. “I did some research when I got back to my room and realised that the area I was in is called Wallal, which in the indigenous language means ‘sweet water’. Sailors used to come in at certain times, put buckets down and drink from there, which means there must be some fresh water coming in.”
What Cheung had stumbled upon was the Wallal aquifer, a massive, naturally occurring underground tank of fresh water trapped within the rock layers of the West Canning Basin. “I realised then that I’d found my water source, but first, I would have to convince the Western Australian government to allow me to use it. This has never been allowed before. How could I convince them to allow me to recycle this water out of the ocean and into agriculture?”
At Pardoo Wagyu, Bruce Cheung uses a data-driven approach to monitor his cattle, track pedigree and manage breeding decisions. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
It must have helped that Cheung’s proposition to the government included investing his own capital, which grew from an initial A$15 million to over A$100 million today. Two hours into what was meant to be a 10-minute meeting, he had his water.
Wagyu Karubi Toast. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
To make up for his lack of an agricultural background, Cheung leaned into his Singaporean strengths of data, discipline and powers of persuasion. He sought out the late “master of wagyu” Shogo Takeda and, over five and a half hours, pleaded with him for his mentorship and to share the foundation bloodlines from his original Japanese wagyu library.
In northern Australia, cattle are traditionally left to roam for years, giving farmers little control over which animals mate or the quality of the next generation. Cheung takes a more controlled, data-driven approach, monitoring his cattle and corralling them in specific areas. This allows the farm to track each animal’s pedigree and ensure that the best traits are passed down.
Bruce Cheung with the late “master of wagyu” Shogo Takeda. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
Working with Takeda also provided him access to elite Japanese cattle genetics that contribute to the generation of a specific lower fat-melting point in his wagyu, which boasts a deep umami flavour influenced by the Pilbara’s mineral-rich soils.
Ten years after he first established Pardoo Wagyu Corporation, its Australian Wagyu Cross won the World’s Best Grain-Fed Sirloin at the 2025 World Steak Challenge.
Few expected Cheung to succeed in this business, least of all his mentor Takeda, who, years later, told the Western Australian Premier that he only agreed to help because “he wanted this crazy old man to leave his house”. Only after Cheung actually built the irrigation pivots, grew the tropical grass and processed high-quality beef to sell back to Japan did the master finally concede: “Maybe this old man is not so crazy after all,” Bruce recounted with obvious pride.
Although Pardoo Wagyu has been available in other parts of Asia since 2017 and in Europe and North America since 2025, Cheung only introduced his beef in Singapore in March 2026 through an exclusive partnership with Bidfood Singapore. When asked why he had waited this long to bring it home, he struggled to find the words. “I think it’s called pai seh, right?” asked Cheung, who was born in Hong Kong and became a Singapore citizen in 1998. “Deep inside, there’s a shy side of me that’s afraid to be ridiculed by my classmates or close friends. So (it has taken) till now for me to feel like my (product) is getting more consistent. My marbling score is now 8.2 and I’m beginning to feel like I have something to offer my friends. So that’s when I felt it’s probably time to come home.”
Cheung is being modest. Pardoo Wagyu has been named a Project of State Significance by the Western Australian government, and his vision, he reiterated, remains firmly tied to Singapore. By 2035, when he foresees that global demand for high-quality protein will be under “immense pressure”, Pardoo Wagyu will be able to supply a significant portion of Singapore’s beef security target if and when it is needed. If nothing else, Cheung’s journey proves that with enough grit, data and a bit of romance, “sweet water” can be found in the desert.
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At around the same time, the Singapore government began unveiling its 30-by-30 goal, a strategy to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs locally by 2030 (the goal has since been revised with new targets for 2035). That seemed to Cheung like a challenge he could get behind. “So I thought, why don’t I try something totally different?” he recalled. “One of the main food groups that Singapore doesn’t have is an ample supply of beef… And that’s when the ideas started coming.”
TIME TO HIT THE ROAD
In 2014, Cheung bought a used SUV and drove 2,500km north from Sydney to Cairns in search of a farm. When that journey yielded nothing, he continued west towards Darwin, where one property sharpened his admittedly “fuzzy” criteria.
“I found a freehold project that was A$80 (US$58; S$74) an acre. I couldn’t believe it. It was so attractive,” he said. The owner offered him the land, the house, and 300 cattle. “I knew this was too good to be true.”
The catch, he found after some digging, was the lack of a reliable water supply for irrigation. Australia’s water rights laws prevented him from using the water beneath it. “And from that point on, I changed my direction. I began looking for water because water can transform the numbers and determine if the project would work or not,” he said.
Aerial view of pivot irrigators at Pardoo station. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
Cheung headed south until he reached Eighty Mile Beach in the Pilbara, where he spotted a black swan floating on the saline surf. “The swan is a freshwater bird, so why was it in the sea?” he asked himself. “I did some research when I got back to my room and realised that the area I was in is called Wallal, which in the indigenous language means ‘sweet water’. Sailors used to come in at certain times, put buckets down and drink from there, which means there must be some fresh water coming in.”
What Cheung had stumbled upon was the Wallal aquifer, a massive, naturally occurring underground tank of fresh water trapped within the rock layers of the West Canning Basin. “I realised then that I’d found my water source, but first, I would have to convince the Western Australian government to allow me to use it. This has never been allowed before. How could I convince them to allow me to recycle this water out of the ocean and into agriculture?”
At Pardoo Wagyu, Bruce Cheung uses a data-driven approach to monitor his cattle, track pedigree and manage breeding decisions. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
It must have helped that Cheung’s proposition to the government included investing his own capital, which grew from an initial A$15 million to over A$100 million today. Two hours into what was meant to be a 10-minute meeting, he had his water.
WHEN IN DOUBT, USE DATA
Wagyu Karubi Toast. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
To make up for his lack of an agricultural background, Cheung leaned into his Singaporean strengths of data, discipline and powers of persuasion. He sought out the late “master of wagyu” Shogo Takeda and, over five and a half hours, pleaded with him for his mentorship and to share the foundation bloodlines from his original Japanese wagyu library.
In northern Australia, cattle are traditionally left to roam for years, giving farmers little control over which animals mate or the quality of the next generation. Cheung takes a more controlled, data-driven approach, monitoring his cattle and corralling them in specific areas. This allows the farm to track each animal’s pedigree and ensure that the best traits are passed down.
Bruce Cheung with the late “master of wagyu” Shogo Takeda. (Photo: Bruce Cheung)
Working with Takeda also provided him access to elite Japanese cattle genetics that contribute to the generation of a specific lower fat-melting point in his wagyu, which boasts a deep umami flavour influenced by the Pilbara’s mineral-rich soils.
Ten years after he first established Pardoo Wagyu Corporation, its Australian Wagyu Cross won the World’s Best Grain-Fed Sirloin at the 2025 World Steak Challenge.
TIME TO COME HOME
Few expected Cheung to succeed in this business, least of all his mentor Takeda, who, years later, told the Western Australian Premier that he only agreed to help because “he wanted this crazy old man to leave his house”. Only after Cheung actually built the irrigation pivots, grew the tropical grass and processed high-quality beef to sell back to Japan did the master finally concede: “Maybe this old man is not so crazy after all,” Bruce recounted with obvious pride.
Although Pardoo Wagyu has been available in other parts of Asia since 2017 and in Europe and North America since 2025, Cheung only introduced his beef in Singapore in March 2026 through an exclusive partnership with Bidfood Singapore. When asked why he had waited this long to bring it home, he struggled to find the words. “I think it’s called pai seh, right?” asked Cheung, who was born in Hong Kong and became a Singapore citizen in 1998. “Deep inside, there’s a shy side of me that’s afraid to be ridiculed by my classmates or close friends. So (it has taken) till now for me to feel like my (product) is getting more consistent. My marbling score is now 8.2 and I’m beginning to feel like I have something to offer my friends. So that’s when I felt it’s probably time to come home.”
Cheung is being modest. Pardoo Wagyu has been named a Project of State Significance by the Western Australian government, and his vision, he reiterated, remains firmly tied to Singapore. By 2035, when he foresees that global demand for high-quality protein will be under “immense pressure”, Pardoo Wagyu will be able to supply a significant portion of Singapore’s beef security target if and when it is needed. If nothing else, Cheung’s journey proves that with enough grit, data and a bit of romance, “sweet water” can be found in the desert.
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