Gogo or Gogo Station and sometimes referred to as Margaret Downs is a pastoral lease that has operated 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 stati ...

. It is located about south of

Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

and north east of Yungngora in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

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 area was first explored by

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveying, surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many ...

in 1879, who gave enthusiastic reports of the well grassed and watered country that would be suitable for grazing lands. Among those to take up leases were the Durack and the Emanuel families who together claimed over one million acres along the Fitzroy River in the West Kimberley and a similar amount along the

Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

in the East Kimberley. After an expedition to the area the Duracks decided to take up the lands along the Ord and the Emanuels took the area along the Fitzroy. The station was established in 1885, and in 1902 occupied and area of . The country is on the flood-plain of the Fitzroy River and is well covered in

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

and Flinders grass with large areas of spinifex. A large number of cattle was lost on Gogo and on

Fossil Downs Station Fossil Downs Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located about north east of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. History The first Europeans to visit the area were part of Alexander Forrest's party who pa ...

in 1906 following an extended dry spell. Other neighbouring stations lost several hundred cattle each. By 1910 the station had an estimated herd of 35,000 cattle and the station manager was being paid an annual salary of £600 a year. In 1911 the station was being managed by George Piper and was owned by the Emanuel Bros., who also owned

Noonkanbah Station Noonkanbah Station (or just Noonkanbah) is a pastoral lease, both a cattle and sheep station, on the Fitzroy River between Camballin and Fitzroy Crossing in the south central Kimberley region of Western Australia. The station was pegged out ...

located further to the south east. Following the advent of the revision of the Land Act limiting holdings up to one million acres, several of the properties of the Emanuels had to be disposed of. Gogo was dissolved into three separate properties; Margaret Downs (also known as Gogo),

Cherrabun Cherrabun or Cherrabun Station is a pastoral lease that once operated as a sheep station but presently operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated about south of the Bayulu Community and about west of Halls Creek in t ...

and Christmas Creek, and these together with Meda Station are still held by the descendants of the original partners.

Moola Bulla Moola Bulla Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Halls Creek and south of Warmun, and occupies an area of . It bisects the watershed of the F ...

Station bought 50 bulls from Gogo to improve their herd in June 1912. A stockman died at the station in 1913 when he was thrown from his horse. The man, Frank Odman, did not regain consciousness after the accident and died the following day. By 1917 the station had a herd of 50,000

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and was regarded as one of the "best run stations in the Kimberley". The current homestead was built in 1918 of

concrete block A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Tho ...

s on a concrete floor, it is situated adjacent to several nearby caves that were had carved in the 1940s. Cattle

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

reached the property in 1918–19, probably transferred from

Louisa Downs Station Louisa Downs, also commonly just referred to as "Louisa", is a large cattle station midway between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region in Western Australia. Description Originally of a ...

where the stock had been infected in 1916–17. It affected the herd so severely that branding at Gogo was reduced from 12,000 the previous year to 4,800 in 1918. Put up for auction in 1920 the station along with its neighbour,

. Gogo was advertised as having an area of on one compact block equipped with of fencing. The property is described as being abundantly watered by the Fitzroy River,

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. The ...

, Christmas Creek and various other creeks, but still having several bores with

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s and troughing. The total stock on the property was 60,000

shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...

cattle along with 400

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s, 50

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

s and 44

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

s. The average rainfall at the station since 1894 is advertised as per annum. The station was not sold as the Emanuels still owned the station in 1923. A new station manager, Ted Millard, arrived in 1921. By this stage the frontage pastures along the river and waterholes had become degraded as a result of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

for the last 30 years. Over the entire property the only fenced areas were two horse paddocks and some branding yards, stock were left to graze on the open range. During the 1920s Millard had ten

wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

sunk and equipped in the back country so stock could make use of the feed in the area and give relief to the over grazed areas. Millard also started fencing paddocks to control stock movement with over of fences being installed in seven years.

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...

bulls were slowly introduced into the herd to breed out white skinned beasts that were unsuitable to the tropical climate. Millard remained on the property for 30 years eventually managing all of the Emanuels properties; Gogo, Cherrabun,

Meda Meda may refer to: Places * Meda de Mouros, a parish in Tábua Municipality, Portugal * Medas, a parish in Gondomar Municipality, Portugal * Meda-Ela, Sri Lanka * Međa (Leskovac), village in the municipality of Leskovac, Serbia * Meda, Lombardy ...

and Christmas Creek. He was also noted for taking good care of his Aboriginal workers. The herd size was estimated at 90,000 in 1928 and Gogo was the biggest station in Western Australia. The station delivered 394 cattle and 39 bales of wool in 1929 to the port of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

to be loaded aboard ''Minderoo'' and steamed to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. In 1930,

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

was struck in a water-bore that was drilled at the station. The Freney Oil company held concessions for the area. The well had sunk to a depth of and the presence of gas was confirmed by the station manager, Mr Millard. Over 500 cattle were shipped from the station in 1932 aboard ''Centaur'' from the port in Derby. A further 883 bullocks were shipped on ''Minderoo'' to

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 1935 then another 454 were shipped in 1936 also aboard ''Centaur'' and bound for Carnarvon. A shipment of 526 cattle were shipped from Gogo in 1937 aboard ''Centaur'', with another 422 sent in 1938 aboard ''Charon'' and 450 sent from Derby aboard ''Gordon'' bound for Fremantle. During an

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

epidemic in the Kimberleys in 1934, 12 Aborigines died from the disease on Gogo out of the 129 fatalities overall. In 1947 Gogo shipped 2,580 cattle from Derby out of 6,760 that were sent from all the stations in the surrounding area, in 1948 450 bullocks were shipped aboard ''Gorgon''. During the wet season in 1949, six Aborigines were struck by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

during a tropical storm. They were all severely burnt and one as still unconscious the next day when they were taken to

hospital. In a report made to the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

in 1950 by the Department of Agriculture it was found that in a survey performed by a Mr. Poggendorff that of Gogo would be suitable for

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

cultivation, despite the fact that previous experimental plots had failed in the Kimberley in 1948. The Emanuels continued to improve the herd by purchasing poll shorthorn bulls from the Melara stud including Melara Formidable (6) and Melara Royal Rebel (4) in 1950. The area was struck by

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

between 1951 and 1953 with the number of cattle being reduced by half. This was the first drought suffered by pastoralists in 70 years with many hurriedly sinking bores and buying feed to keep their stock alive. Other nearby properties that were affected in Noonkanbah,

Liveringa Liveringa or Liveringa Station, often referred to as Upper Liveringa Station, is a pastoral lease in Western Australia that once operated as a sheep station but presently operates as a cattle station. Description Situated about south east of ...

, Quandan,

, Glenroy, Fossil Downs, Luiluigui, Christmas Creek and Bohemia Downs Station. In 1954 at Gogo Station, Preston Walker of UAM Mission Fitzroy Crossing married their head stockman Jock Shandley and his bride Rita. In 1985 an area of was excised from the property to form the Aboriginal community of Yakanarra which is home to about 150

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

s. In 2010 the station was owned by the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

based Harris family. A trial for wet season cropping on a large scale was conducted in 2010 with of

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 ...

being planted. The crop in turn will be used to fatten the cattle prior to export. Thousands of

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s at Gogo were burnt out in 2011 when a fire was deliberately lit at the Muludja Community near

. A local man started the fire after an argument and was affected by

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, he was later arrested and charged with

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

following a tip-off from the public.

References

{{Stations of the Kimberley Western Australia Homesteads in Western Australia Pastoral leases in Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia) Stations (Australian agriculture) State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley 1885 establishments in Australia

See also

References