Balla Balla Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located approximately north of Karratha just off the

North West Coastal Highway North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region 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 ...

. The station is also used for tourism purposes, with camping permitted, and renowned as being a good fishing location. There was once a townsite on the coastal side of the station; the town of Balla Balla, was an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in the area. The waters could be treacherous with the first recorded

drown Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

ing occurring in 1898. Following the expansion of the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mines at

Whim Creek Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mines at Elgin Creek in 1897 the town requested that an area of surrounding the townsite be set aside as a public reserve. The area included Balla Balla Pool, a permanent pool of freshwater, which could be used by stock. At this time 20 teams of workmen were employed in carting goods from the mines using in excess of 70

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s. A cyclone struck the town in 1898 destroying most of the buildings in the town. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, Chicago Hotel and

woolshed Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities. In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...

were completely destroyed. The Balla Balla Hotel was partly deroofed and boats were sunk. Two people died from flying debris. In 1902 a storm swept across the town, dumping a large amount of rain, and the sea level rose to be almost level with the town. Neighbouring

Sherlock Station Sherlock Station is a pastoral lease and sheep station located approximately East of Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Covering an area of pasture, the lease provides good grazing land. In 2015 it was purchased by Bettini ...

received about in the deluge. The port area was severely damaged with the sand ridges being washed away leaving the rails exposed. A marine survey was conducted around the harbour area 1907 by Captain Airey, the master of the steamer ''Penguin''. Besides the survey an estimate of the cost of building a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

between the mainland at Balla Balla and

Depuch Island Depuch Island (or Warmalana) is a volcanic island located off the north-west coast of Western Australia's Pilbara region, near Port Hedland. Aboriginal significance The island is of cultural importance to the Ngaluma Aboriginal people, who kno ...

was also to be prepared. A

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

in 1912 caused havoc in the port, sinking many vessels and drowning several men. ''Crown of England'', ''Enterprise'' and ''Clyo'' were all sunk. The pearling fleet sought refuge in Balla Balla Creek and were unscathed. , which was sailing through the area, was also listed as missing. The area is rich in minerals, particularly

, and several mines operated in the vicinity. The leases pegged by a Mr Breen prior to 1926 were described by the prospector as "the best he had seen in the Nor' West". The Balla Balla Syndicate, an

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

base group of investors, sent Breen back to the area in 1926 with the equipment to build a 10-head

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

to develop the mine.

References

{{Coord, 20, 47, 52, S, 117, 48, 15, E, type:landmark_region:AU-WA, display=title Pastoral leases in Western Australia Pilbara Stations (Australian agriculture)

See also

References