Warrawagine or Warrawagine Station is a pastoral lease and

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 ...

located between

Marble Bar Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

and Broome in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

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 ...

Description

The property is in size and is approximately north east of Marble Bar bordering the

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

. The

Oakover River The Oakover River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise north of the Wadara Range and west of the Saltbush range near Junction Well then flows in a northerly direction. The river continues nort ...

borders the property, and the Carawine Gorge lies within the property boundary.

History

Warrawagine was established in 1896 and was initially managed by Frank Thompson and his wife Ceclia. The

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

was built in 1901 along with the store, workshop shed and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop. In 1916 the property was acquired by the Rubin family and contributed to the wool production for uniforms in both world wars. The property was acquired by Mills in 1992 and was stocked with 460 cattle at the time. Wallal Downs was acquired in 2013 when the property market for cattle stations was at its lowest point. In 2015 the property was owned by Robin Mills and Rob Jowett and run along with

Wallal Wallal is the location of a bore in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The bore is located from the Great Northern Highway between Port Hedland and Broome and has an elevation of . The nearest town is Marble Bar, south of the bor ...

Station; Warragine is stocked with approximately 23,000 head of

droughtmaster The Droughtmaster is an Australian breed of beef cattle. It was developed from about 1915 in North Queensland by crossing zebuine cattle with cattle of British origin, principally the Beef Shorthorn. It was the first Australian taurindicine h ...

cattle. The pair have diversified and planted 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 ...

, which is being grown using a centre-pivot irrigation system. The 2015 season was dry with the station also being hit hard 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 ...

. The station also commenced earthworks to hold annual rainwater runoff for longer to help rehydrate the rangelands in the

De Grey River The De Grey River is a river located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 16 August 1861 by the explorer and surveyor Francis Gregory after Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, who was at the time the president of the Royal ...

catchment area. Surrounding properties including Limestone, De Grey and Yarrie Stations are also involved in the project.

References

{{Stations of the Pilbara Western Australia Stations in the Pilbara 1896 establishments in Australia Blacksmith shops

Description

History

See also

References