Windidda Station, often referred to as Windidda, is a pastoral lease that 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 ...

. It is located about east of Wiluna and north east 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

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

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 property occupies an area of . Windidda shares a boundary with Carnegie and

Prenti Downs Prenti Downs Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is situated approximately to the east of Wiluna and north of Laverton. Neighbouring properties include Carnegie and Windi ...

Stations.

History

The property was established in about 1900 by the

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

, James Bett Willis, who had sunk the first

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

to produce drinkable water in the area. Willis had a partnership with Tommy Mellor in stocking and improving the other otherwise virgin country. In 1948 the property was still owned by Willis, who also owned Clover Downs Station. J. Bell owned the property in 1950 and sold it to Spencer Doman. At this stage the property occupied an area of . Doman also owned Wongawol, Carnegie, Yelma and Bonython stations, which had a combined area of . In the 1970s the Linke family, run by the three Linke brothers, acquired Windidda, Carnegie and Prenti Downs Stations, which they ran as a single entity. In 1992 the leaseholding was broken up into three smaller leases and Windidda was acquired by the Ngangganawili Community Incorporated. The

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

were called to investigate the property in 2002.

2005 cattle inspection

In 2005 approximately 500 cattle were found dead on the property, which appeared to have been abandoned. RSPCA inspectors were called to the property to provide assistance to the remaining 2,500 cattle. Only two of the station's 13 watering points were found be in working order and the livestock were so neglected that a further 30 head of stock had to be put down. The Aboriginal corporation that held the lease to the property, Ngangganawili Community Incorporated, were thought to have left the property for law business but had left no provision for the livestock. The RSPCA described it as the worst case of

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

seen in Western Australia. Later the same year the property was effectively destocked with 1,818 cattle being mustered and sold. The remaining 300 were likely to sold to with proceeds going back to the Wandidda Aboriginal Community, who had replaced Ngangganawili Community Incorporated after it was dissolved. The Wandidda Aboriginal Corporation forfeited the pastoral lease and the property was passed under management of the Pastoral Lands Board. The community were later fined 10,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide adequate water for over 1,500 head of cattle at Windidda.

References

{{Stations of the Mid West Western Australia Mid West (Western Australia) Pastoral leases in Western Australia Stations (Australian agriculture)

History

2005 cattle inspection

See also

References