Yeelirrie is an East Murchison pastoral lease or

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 ...

on state Crown land, located approximately south west of Wiluna, 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 nearest population centre to Yeelirrie homestead is

Mount Keith Mine Mount Keith Mine is an open pit nickel mine in Western Australia. It is operated by BHP. The site's closest landmark is the town of Wiluna, to the north. Overview The mine is located on the north end of the long Norseman- Wiluna Greensto ...

village, to the east. The regional centre is Meekatharra, located to the west. The landform at Yeelirrie comprises a raised plateau that has eroded to form granitic breakaways and the alluvial plains of the surrounding valleys. Acacia woodlands (dominated by '' Acacia aneura'') and shrublands with spinifex grasslands ('' Triodia basedowii'') dominate the vegetation. The area is located toward the inland extreme of two separate weather systems. The main influence on the climate is the east-west belt of high pressure systems that lies over the southern portions of Australia throughout the year. During summer this belt of high pressure systems moves southward and the climate at Yeelirrie becomes influenced by the northern

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

al system. Rainfall in the area is variable and unpredictable. It occurs either with the passage of winter cold fronts or as a result of local thunderstorms during summer. Average rainfall is 208 mm annually, with a recorded range between 43 mm and 505 mm. Annual extreme temperatures range between 45 °C and −5 °C. Yeelirrie Station covers an area of . The station was originally established in 1924 by Val Finch. In 1950, 7179 sheep were shorn for 169

bales Bales is the surname of: * Alison Bales (born 1985), American basketball player * Barry Bales (born 1969), American musician * Billy Bales (born 1929), British former motorcycle speedway racer * Burt Bales (1917–1989), American jazz pianist ...

(approx. 25,000 kg). In 1957 the neighbouring Altona pastoral lease was incorporated into the station. Yeelirrie is now owned and operated by

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

. From 1974 to 1986 the station was largely destocked. A small number of sheep were run. These were recently removed due to increasing incidence of

wild dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...

and dingo attacks. Yeelirrie is the site of the Yeelirrie uranium deposit. The deposit was discovered in 1970 by

Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, and later bought by BHP. In August 2012, BHP sold the project to Canadian mining company

Cameco Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...

for US$430 million. An environmental impact survey of the station was conducted in 2011 for BHP Billiton; it discovered three new species, one of which is named ''Atriplex yeelirrie'', after the station. In the local Aboriginal language, the word ''Yeelirrie'' or ''Youlirrie'' means "place of death".BHP bosses grilled at AGM in Perth
perthnow.com.au, published: 16 November 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2011

References

{{Stations of the Mid West Western Australia Mid West (Western Australia) Homesteads in Western Australia Pastoral leases in Western Australia Stations (Australian agriculture) 1924 establishments in Australia

See also

References