Coolawanyah Station, also spelt as Coolawaya Station, is a pastoral lease and

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

located approximately north of Tom Price, south east of Karratha and south west of

Port Hedland 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

Shire of Ashburton The Shire of Ashburton is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, covering an area of . It is named after the Ashburton River. The shire's administration centre is in the town of Tom Price. It had a ...

, part of 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 property shares a boundary with

Millstream Chichester National Park Millstream Chichester National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, located north of the state capital, Perth. The park is made up of the old Millstream Station, which is on the Millstream Creek, just befor ...

to the west. The property was acquired by Roy Parsons and his partners in 1922 after he served in the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Parsons bought out his partners during the next few years, eventually owning the leasehold outright. In 1949 Parsons and Ted LeFroy formed the Coolawanyah Pastoral Company and acquired Tambrey and Hooley Stations, which they merged with Coolawanyah with a total size of . Later they also leased Millstream Station from the

Department of Water The Department of Water is a defunct department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for management of Western Australia's water resources. It was replaced by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (Western A ...

, creating a total leaseholding of . During the 1950s the property switched from sheep to cattle after suffering from

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

attacks. In 1956 Roy's youngest son, Les, took over management of the property. The Parsons family are also related to the

Withnell Withnell is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it had a population of 3,631, reducing to 3,498 at the census of 2011. Withnell is about north-east of Chorley itself and ...

family and still ran the property in 2008 with Kim and Cindy Parsons managing the with a herd of 4,000 head of cattle.

Transportation

The locality is served by the

Coolawanyah Station Airport Coolawanyah Station Airport is an airport located west of Coolawanyah Station, in the Shire of Ashburton, part of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. See also * List of airports in Western Australia * Transport in Australia#Aviation, Av ...

References

{{Stations of the Pilbara Western Australia Stations in the Pilbara Shire of Ashburton