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Avon Downs is a pastoral station on the
Avon Downs is a pastoral station on the Barkly Tableland
The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland in Australia. It runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory and covers , 21% of the Northern Terr ...
in the 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 ...
of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is located 260 kilometres northwest of Mount Isa.
Early history
Indigenous people have lived in the Barkly region for thousands of years. The first European to enter the area wasWilliam Landsborough
William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Early ...
in 1861. He reported the pastoral potential of the region describing it as the "finest pastoral country he had ever seen".
In 1866, John and James Ranken, two cousins from old pastoral families in New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, herded 4,000 sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
to the area from Queensland's Mackay district, escaping severe drought. They settled in the area now known as Avon Downs. Three watercourses are named after them, the Ranken River, James River and Lorne Creek. Other pastoralists moved to the area throughout the 1860s, but poor wool prices caused the Rankens and others to abandon the area.
In 1882 Thomas Guthrie purchased 1920 square km of the Barkly, expanding that later to more than 3600 square km, naming it Avon Downs after his merino stud 'Rich Avon' in Victoria. It took 12 months to transport the first sheep to the station. Within three decades he developed the property to have a carrying capacity of 70,000 merinos. The station was sold in 1921 to the Peel River Company.
Recent history
Avon Downs is now owned by the Australian Agricultural Company and is managed by Adam and Jordyn Ballantine.References
Pastoral leases in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub