Quobba Station, most commonly referred to as Quobba, 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

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 ...

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 ...

. It was originally owned by Charles Augustus Fane and Charles Eugene Fane, who named it Point Charles.

Description

The property is situated approximately north of Carnarvon and south of Coral Bay at the southern tip of the Ningaloo Reef Marine Park in the

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

region. It is bounded by

Boolathana Station Boolathana Station is a pastoral lease currently operating as a cattle station that once operated as a sheep station in Western Australia. Description The property is situated approximately north of Carnarvon and south of Coral Bay in the ...

and Lake Macleod to the east and the south,

Gnaraloo Gnaraloo is a working pastoral station and wilderness tourism business located in the Gnaraloo Bay in the Shire of Carnarvon, Western Australia. It is adjacent to the Ningaloo Marine Park and north of Carnarvon. It is famous for its coast ...

to the north, and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

to the west. The property is the most westerly station in Australia. The station has a boundary that runs north to south along the coast for a length of and has a width of between . The area is composed of coastal rangeland vegetated in

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

, karara and

buffalo grass Buffalo grass may refer to * Buffalo grass, sweet vernal grass or vanilla grass (''Anthoxanthum odoratum'') * Buffalo grass (''Bouteloua dactyloides'') * Buffalo grass (''Brachiaria mutica'') * Buffalo grass or sweet grass (''Hierochloe odorata'') ...

History

Quobba was established in 1898 by Charles Augustus Fane and currently occupies an area of . The station was previously known as Point Charles Station after Charles Augustus Fane, who transferred the ownership to Charles Eugene Fane and Dan Powell in 1909. French and Baston acquired the station and the sheep from Charles Eugene Fane in 1923. The property was owned by George Baston and Leonard French in 1923. In 1925, over 8,000 sheep were shorn at Quobba. In 1929 French died following a long illness. Baston died in 1940 and left the property to his son Keith. In 1941 following the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between the German auxiliary cruise ''Kormoran'' and the Australian cruiser , survivors from ''Kormoran'' came ashore in a 46-man cutter near 17-Mile Well and a 57-man lifeboat near Red Bluff. Staff at Quobba rounded up both groups that had made landfall, who did not resist capture. The Meecham family acquired the property in 1977 and switched from rearing

merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

sheep for wool to

damara sheep The Damara is a Namibian breed of fat-tailed hair sheep, also found in South Africa. The name derives from that of the Damara region of northern Namibia where it is principally found, particularly in the Kaokoveld Desert. Together with the Nam ...

for meat. the property has a flock of approximately 10,000 damaras. In 2015 the station owners had to renegotiate the lease agreement with the state government, including having the government excise sections of pastoral land along the world-heritage-listed

Ningaloo Coast The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site located in the north west coastal region of Western Australia. The heritage-listed area is located approximately north of Perth, along the East Indian Ocean. The distinctive Ningaloo Reef that fring ...

from the property, for conservation and tourism ventures.

Tourism

Blowholes, Quobba Point, Western Australia (6924534900)

Tourism and recreational activities, particularly fishing and surfing, have progressively increased since the 1970s. , tourism accounted for 20% of the station's income. Attractions around the property include

Ningaloo Reef The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site located in the north west coastal region of Western Australia. The heritage-listed area is located approximately north of Perth, along the East Indian Ocean. The distinctive Ningaloo Reef that fring ...

, blowholes, the wreck of the bulk carrier ''Korean Star'' and a memorial cairn to HMAS ''Sydney''. The station provides a variety of accommodation and a shop at Red Bluff.

Surfing

Red Bluff Point is a popular surfing spot with a left-hand break over the reef and waves of . In 2012, a surfer survived a shark attack there, and was rescued by other surfers.

References

{{Stations of the Gascoyne Western Australia Pastoral leases in Western Australia Stations (Australian agriculture) Shire of Carnarvon 1898 establishments in Australia Surfing locations in Western Australia

Description

History

Tourism

Surfing

See also

References