Ban Ban Springs Station is a
pastoral lease
A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands.
Australia
Pastoral lease ...
that operates as a
cattle station in 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 ...
.
Location
It is situated about south east of
Adelaide River and south east of
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
. The property shares a boundary with other pastoral leases including Mount Ringwood and McKinlay River to the north, Bridge Creek to the west, Douglas to the south and Mary River to the East.
The
Stuart Highway is found from the homestead
[ and cuts through the eastern side of the property. Several watercourses flow through the property including Hayes Creek, McCallum Creek and the McKinlay river.][ The Margaret River also cuts through the property and the Mary River forms the eastern boundary.]
Description
Currently occupying an area of with a carrying capacity of approximately 12,000 head of cattle,[
The land systems are a mixture of plains interspersed with creek beds bordered by flood out country and boulder strewn ridges. The plains vary from sediment rich soils to gravelly areas with the ridges mostly being gently undulating with areas of steep ]shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
and dolerite. Areas of black soil can be found around the extensive floodplains for the Margaret, Mary and Mackinley rivers and the springs
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
and other low-lying areas. The soils tend to be nutrient poor.[ The plains are typically open savanna woodlands which contain the usual overstorey of trees and shrubs over kangaroo grass, but with annual and perennial ]sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
s.
History
The station was first registered in the 1880s.Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
for an operation on her broken hip. She survived and returned home soon after where she continued riding until she and Robert retired in about 1942 and turned the property over to their son, Harry.
In 1948 Norman and Winifred Whatley and their three sons arrived at the station from England. They soon took over a neighbouring property, Hayes Creek Station (now Douglas Station), and established a store and inn along the Stuart Highway. The family remained in the area until 1959.
Tom Starr managed the property from 1984 to 1998.[
In 1998 Ban Ban springs was owned by Gunter Gschwenter, the Tyrolian born entrepreneur who owned the Britz rental business.
The property was placed on the market in 2010, and in 2014 the property was still on the market along with at least 15 others.]
See also
* List of ranches and stations
* List of reduplicated Australian place names
References
{{Reflist
Stations (Australian agriculture)
Pastoral leases in the Northern Territory