Esmeralda Station is a pastoral lease that currently 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 ...

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 ...

. It is located approximately south east of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and south west of Georgetown. The property is mostly composed of level country fronting the Yappar,

Clara River The Clara River is a river located in the Gulf Country of northwest Queensland, Australia. The river rises in the Gregory Range near Bellfield and flows in a westerly direction, traversing tropical savanna plains and eventually discharging in ...

s and Esmeralda Creek and their

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

. Established at some time prior to 1884, the property was owned by De Mestre and Rowe who were trading in cattle at the time. By 1887 the property was on the market and stocked with 5,000 head of cattle and an area of with two fully enclosed paddocks. In 1899 the property was owned by the Trust and Agency Company of Australasia Limited. Placed on the market for private sale in late 1902 the station occupied an area of leasehold with leasehold occupation licence and was stocked with 8,000 cattle and 150 horses. In 1905 the property was sold with no stock to John Hendry. By 1913 the property was owned by Frank Duncombe when he sold it for close to £12,000 to Bourke and Co. from

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

. In 1934 the Esmeralda Pastoral Company placed the property up for auction. At the time the station occupied an area of and stocked with 7,000 cattle. The entire Gulf Country was ravaged by

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

in 2013. The homestead at Esmeralda, constructed in the 1880s, was burnt to the ground during the fires during which thousands of hectares of feed was also lost. The Sheahan family owned the property worth approximately 40 million at the time.

References

{{Reflist Stations in Queensland North West Queensland

See also

References