Argyle Downs is a pastoral lease and

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

located about south east of Kununurra in the Kimberley region near the border of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is operated by the

Consolidated Pastoral Company The Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) is a large, privately owned, Australian Agrifood business which operates 8 cattle stations covering over 3.6m hectares, managing more than 300,000 cattle, in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and ...

Description

The station occupies an area of and is a mix of black soil plains and red

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

country with the

Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

and

Lake Argyle Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake f ...

situated on the western boundary. Currently the property annually turns off 7,500 head of cattle for live export to the south East Asia market.

Stock horse A stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. The related cow pony or cow horse is a historic phrase, still used colloquially today, referring to a particularly small agile cattle-herdin ...

s are also bred and raised on the property for use on other stations.

History

The

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the area are the Malngin peoples. The area was settled in 1882 by

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

and his brother Michael Durack, who arrived in the area after trekking across the north of the continent from

Thylungra Thylungra Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in Queensland. Description The property is situated approximately north west of Quilpie and south east of Windorah. Neighbouring properties include the Milo and Budg ...

Station, their property on Coopers Creek in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where they left from in 1879 along with 7250 breeding cattle and 200 horses. The 3000 mile journey of cattle to stock Argyle Downs and

Ivanhoe Station Ivanhoe or Ivanhoe Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located just north of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Founded in 1893 by the Durack brothers, station is presently owned by the Consolidated Pastoral C ...

is the longest of its type ever recorded. The Duracks exported the cattle from the station through the port of Wyndham to markets as far as South Africa and North America. The homestead was constructed in 1895 by the Durack family and was renowned as one of the main social gathering places in the east Kimberley. Built from

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

blocks and mortar made from crushed

termite mound Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of . Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas. Termite mounds usually ...

s, the homestead had to be dismantled to make way for

in the 1970s. The homestead was reopened in 1979 and now acts as a museum in its present location along the shore of the lake. By 1901 the station along with

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

and

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

was carrying about 45,000 head of cattle. 2,606 cattle were taken from Argyle Downs and moved overland to

in 1911. During the journey many of the drovers suffered from fever including Thomas Stafford who died as a result of his illness. The

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, Lord Gowrie, was a guest of the Duracks at the station in 1939 during his farewell tour. A medical emergency at the station in 1944 resulted in a mercy flight being sent from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

plane crashed into the ocean killing all five members of the flight. In 1951 over 700 bullocks from the station were sold and transported to Wyndham for slaughter at the meatworks. A sizeable proportion of the lease was resumed by the Government in the 1950s for the

Ord River Irrigation Scheme The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

. Argyle Downs Airport is situated within the lease.

References

{{Stations of the Kimberley Western Australia Homesteads in Western Australia Pastoral leases in Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia) Stations (Australian agriculture) 1882 establishments in Australia

Description

History

See also

References