Argadargada Station is a
pastoral lease that operates as a
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 stat ...
in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
of
Australia.
Location
It is situated about south of
Alpurrurulam and north east of
Alice Springs. The property shares a boundary with Annitowa and Ooratippra to the west,
Lucy Creek and
Manners Creek Station to the south,
Lake Nash
Alpurrurulam, from the original Aboriginal name ''Ilperrelhelame'', also known as Lake Nash, is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the territory's east about south-east of the territory capital of Darwin and about ea ...
and
Georgina Downs
Georgina Downs is a British journalist who is a campaigner on health effects of pesticides. After experiencing chronic illness throughout her childhood and adolescence, she launched a campaign against the use of pesticides in industrial agricultu ...
to the east and the Atnetye Aboriginal Land Trust to the south.
The property is bisected by the
Sandover Highway
The Sandover Highway is an outback unsealed track in the Northern Territory between the Plenty Highway north of Alice Springs and the Northern Territory/Queensland border.
Description
The highway's name is derived from the Sandover River becau ...
.
[
]
Description
The property has a mix of terrain including open flat plains of Mitchell grass
''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass aft ...
, buffel
The Buffel (English: ''Buffalo'') is an infantry mobility vehicle used by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role. It replaced ...
and Flinders grass over massive portions, and a mix of slightly undulating country with other sections of break-away country to the southern parts of the leasehold. Vegetation found within the boundaries includes mulga, bloodwood, gidyea, coolabah, ghost gum with an area of soft spinifex. The Sandover River
The Sandover River is an ephemeral river in the Northern Territory of Australia located in northeast Central Australia. It is the only major tributary of the Georgina River that does not rise in western Queensland. Instead it flows from the e ...
passes through the property, providing flood-out country. In 2010 Argadargada was stocked with around 6,000 head cattle, mostly Charbray, Charolais and Bos Indicus breeds.
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 right ...
of the area are the Yaroinga people, who inhabited around of country straddling both the Northern Territory and 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
, establishe ...
, including Argadargada toward the western edge of their range.
Bores were sunk in the area in 1918 a few miles west of the Argadargada waterhole.
The station was established in 1951 by Damian Miller
Damian Donald Miller (born October 13, 1969) is a former professional baseball catcher. He won the 2001 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, beating the New York Yankees.
High school years
Miller attended West Salem High School in West S ...
and Milton Willick, who had a difficult time with the property, losing 1,300 head of cattle in 1953–54 to gidgee poisoning. In 1954 Calder joined the partnership and became the manager before they sold the station in 1964. The property occupied an area of when it was first taken up, and construction of the homestead began in or after 1952. Milton and Phyllis Willick lived in tents until all materials arrived.
The lessee of the station in 1998 was Dick Rogers when the property was in size and the land resources were mapped and surveyed with 35 land units identified and described.
The Broad family bought the property in 2003 for 3 million.[
The Rushton family moved to Argadargada in 2017 to manage the property for the Georgina Pastoral Company.]
See also
*List of ranches and stations
This is a list of ranches and sheep and cattle stations, organized by continent. Most of these are notable either for the large geographic area which they cover, or for their historical or cultural importance.
West Africa
* Obudu Cattle Ranch
* S ...
References
{{Reflist
Stations (Australian agriculture)
Pastoral leases in the Northern Territory