Sturt Meadows, or Sturt Meadows Station, is a pastoral lease that once operated 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 ...
but now 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 stati ...
in
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 ...
.
Description
The property is located about north west of
Leonora and south of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
in the
Goldfields
Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to:
Places
* Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States
* Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States
* Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...
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 station takes its name form the
Sturt's desert pea that grows in the area. The property is open country with
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. ...
and cotton grass studded with
white gum White gum is a common name of a great many ''Eucalyptus'' species, all of which have smooth white bark.
Species that have "White gum" as a common name include:
* ''Corymbia aparrerinja'' (also known as ghost gum, desert white gum and Dallachy's Gu ...
s and large areas of
mulga scrub. Several waterholes are found around the property.
[ The eastern boundary of Sturt Meadows adjoins Tarmoola Station.
]
History
It was originally acquired by Henry Manuel in 1895.[ Manuel originally purchased about in the area from Norton and Co. then another from Gardiner and Stewart and later another until the property encompassed over .][ In 1899 Sturt Meadows was stocked with 1,100 sheep, 200 cattle and 50 horses and was thought to be able to carry about 12,000 head of stock. In the same year Mr Barrett-Lennard entered into a partnership with Manuel and took over the management of the property. The stocking rate later the same year had increased to 5,000 sheep and 300 head of cattle.
By 1902 Samuel Phillips had bought into the station in partnership with Manuel.]Emanuel
Emanuel may refer to:
* Emanuel (name), a given name and surname (see there for a list of people with this name)
* Emanuel School, Australia, Sydney, Australia
* Emanuel School, Battersea, London, England
* Emanuel (band), a five-piece rock band fr ...
and Company and was running 1,000 head of cattle and a flock of about 6,000 sheep.
Sturt Meadows was later acquired by Messrs Kennedy, Brougham and Cropper it was acquired in 1925 by Mr Hawker.[
The station occupied an area of over in 1925.]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 and 158 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. After suffering problems with feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
dog attacks on the sheep that reduced the size of the flock to 600, the Axfords switched to cattle. By 2011 the property was running about 1,700 head of cattle, and was sold to a tuna farmer.
The Axfords were still running the station in 2013.
See also
*List of ranches and stations
This is a list of ranches and sheep and cattle stations, organized by continent. Most of these are notable either for the large geographic area which they cover, or for their historical or cultural importance.
West Africa
*Obudu Cattle Ranch
* SO ...
References
{{Stations of the Goldfields-Esperance Western Australia
Pastoral leases in Western Australia
Goldfields-Esperance
Stations (Australian agriculture)
1895 establishments in Australia