Mount Gipps Station most commonly known as Mount Gipps is a pastoral lease that operates 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 ...

in north west

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is situated about north of Broken Hill and north east of Mannahill in the outback of New South Wales. Currently occupying an area of the property is still operating as a sheep station but also as a farmstay for tourists. The area is arid and most water is pumped from bores, though Stephens Creek runs through the property and has semi-permanent water-holes. The property is composed of

gibber plain A desert pavement, also called reg (in the western Sahara), serir (eastern Sahara), gibber (in Australia), or saï (central Asia) is a desert surface covered with closely packed, interlocking angular or rounded rock fragments of pebble and cob ...

s, large areas of

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 mulga and sandy creek beds surrounded by coolibah trees. The old station homestead is now the site of the Broken Hill

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...

. The station was established around 1863 by the ''Barrier Ranges Company'' which included George Urquhart who owned neighbouring Kinchega Station. The property takes its name from Mount Gibbs that was named by

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and la ...

during his expedition of 1844. Mount Gipps was the first established station in the Barrier Range area and one of the first west of the

Darling River The Darling River (Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka'') is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its conflu ence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its long ...

. The run was taken up in 1866 by McCredie and Cunningham who occupied an area of including an outstation at Stephens Creek; the pair later sold it to

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

and Robert Sellar. James McCulloch's cousin,

George McCulloch George McCulloch (February 22, 1792 – April 6, 1861) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. George McCulloch was born in Maysville, Kentucky. Upon the death of his ...

, later became manager and was given a 2/16 share in the Mount Gipps Pastoral and Mineral Company; amongst his employees was a young

Sidney Kidman Sir Sidney Kidman (9 May 18572 September 1935), known as Sid Kidman and popularly named "the Cattle King", was an Australian pastoralist and entrepreneur who owned or co-owned large areas of land in Australia in his lifetime. Early life Sidne ...

who was employed at Mount Gipps as a roustabout and bullock driver. By 1877 the property encompassed about and supported a flock of 71,000 sheep. In 1883 a

boundary rider Boundary rider is a long-established (1864) Australasian term for a cattle or sheep station employee whose duties entail a regular tour (by horse, camel or motor vehicle) of the outer perimeter (boundary) of the property, checking condition of f ...

from Mount Gipps named

Charles Rasp Charles Rasp, born Hieronymous Salvator Lopez von Pereira, Local Factbook > Charles Rasp">Broken Hill Visitor Information Centre > About Broken Hill > Local Factbook > Charles RaspAccessed 22 May 2014. (7 October 1846 – 22 May 1907) is known a ...

discovered outcrops of mineralization on the property at Broken Hill in the Barrier Range, and with two fellow workers, pegged a claim, then at McCulloch's instigation formed the Syndicate of Seven to peg out a further six claims Bowen is dismissive of much of

Ion Idriess Ion Llewellyn Idriess (20 September 18896 June 1979) was a prolific and influential Australian author. He wrote more than 50 books over 43 years between 1927 and 1969 – an average of one book every 10 months, and twice published three books i ...

's reporting. on what turned out to be one of the world's richest lodes of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, forming

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 ...

References

{{Coord, 31.625, S, 141.558, E, type:landmark_region:AU-NSW, display=title Stations (Australian agriculture) Pastoral leases in New South Wales 1863 establishments in Australia

See also

References