A sheep station is a large property (

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

, the equivalent of a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

) in

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, whose main activity is the raising of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

for their

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and/or

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. These properties may be thousands of square kilometres in size and run low stocking rates to be able to sustainably provide enough feed and water for the stock. In Australia, the owner of a sheep station may be called a

pastoralist Pastoralist may refer to: * Pastoralism, raising livestock on natural pastures * Pastoral farming, settled farmers who grow crops to feed their livestock * People who keep or raise sheep, sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the r ...

grazier Grazier may refer to: *A person engaged in pastoral farming People *Margaret Hayes Grazier (1916–1999), an American librarian and educator *Colin Grazier (1920–1942), a Royal Navy sailor * John Grazier (born 1945), an American painter * Kevin ...

; or formerly, a

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

(as in "Waltzing Matilda"), when their sheep grazing land was referred to as a sheep run.

History

Sheep stations and sheep husbandry began in Australia when the British colonisation of Australia, British colonisers started raising sheep in 1788 at Sydney Cove.

Improvements and facilities

In the Australian and New Zealand context, shearing involves an annual Muster (livestock), muster of sheep to be shorn, and the shearing shed and shearers' quarters are an important part of the station. A station usually also includes a homestead (buildings), homestead, adjacent sheds, windmills, dams, silos and in many cases a landing strip available for use by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and other light aircraft. Historically, an Station (Australian agriculture), outstation was a subsidiary homestead or other dwelling on Australian sheep or cattle stations that was more than a day’s return travel from the main homestead. Although the term later came to be more commonly used to describe a specific type of Aboriginal settlement, also known as a Outstation movement, homeland community, it is still used on large cattle and sheep stations today, for example Rawlinna Station, Rawlinna sheep station.

Management and operation

Where the climate and vegetation allow, especially north of the dog fence, cattle stations are similar but run beef cattle rather than sheep. Some properties are not exclusively sheep or cattle stations but may have a mix of cattle, sheep, cropping and even goats which makes the owner less vulnerable to changes in wool or beef prices. Management practices vary according to the location of the station and the season being experienced. For instance, drought necessitates decisions concerning the sale of stock or provision of supplementary feeding. Routine procedures include supervising crutching, mating, Sheep shearing, shearing, treating for ticks, lice and maggots (if necessary), lambing and lamb marking. Lambs are weaned at about five months of age. Deworming, Drenching for internal parasitism, parasites is an important routine on a sheep station. Other activities include ram buying and classing the sheep in order to determine the inferior types that are to be culled. Crops and pastures are often also grown to provide additional feed for the sheep, especially those that will be raised and sold as prime lambs. Fences require regular inspections to locate and repair any damage that has been found. Sheep breeders may also need to undertake predatory animal control if crows, dingos or foxes are likely to be a problem.

Terminology

The term "sheep run" was commonly used during the early settlement period to describe sheep stations operated by squatters. For administrative purposes, many stations exist on pastoral leases, but in state government jurisdictions they are increasingly known as stations. The term "playing for sheep stations" is used to denote a large or serious game.

Examples

Rawlinna Station in Western Australia is the largest sheep station in Australia. Walter Peak is a notable old sheep station that was founded in 1860 on the south shore of Lake Wakatipu, South Island, New Zealand. It is across Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, New Zealand, Queenstown, 40 minutes steaming time on the historic TSS Earnslaw steamship.

In literature

Two well-known nineteenth-century authors have written about life on a sheep station: *Mary Anne Barker, Lady Barker ''Station Life in New Zealand'' and ''Station Amusements in New Zealand''. *Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler ''A First Year in the Canterbury Settlement'' and his novel ''Erewhon''.

References

* {{refend

External links

Tobruk Sheep Station
— includes photo of stockman mustering sheep
Sheep-dipping on the Orari Gorge Station (photo c1899)
Australian English Livestock in Australia Stations (Australian agriculture), Sheep Sheep Sheep farming in New Zealand Australian sheep industry