Nanutarra Station, commonly referred to as Nanutarra, 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 stat ...

, and previously 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 ...

, 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

It is situated about south of Onslow and south east of

Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Histo ...

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 g ...

region. The

North West Coastal Highway North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and ...

runs through the property and the

Nanutarra Roadhouse Nanutarra is a locality in Western Australia adjacent to where the Ashburton river is crossed by the North West Coastal Highway. It is also close to the turn-off for State Route 136 to Paraburdoo and Tom Price. It is south of the Onslow tur ...

is within the station boundary. The Ashburton River and Henry River both traverse the lease. Neighbouring properties include Globe Hill to the west,

Uaroo Uaroo Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station and has previously operated as a sheep station. It is located about south of Onslow and west of Paraburdoo in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The property share ...

and

Glenflorrie Glenflorrie Station, also known as Glen Florrie Station, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station. It is located about south of Pannawonica and west of Paraburdoo in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and occupies an are ...

to the south, and Boolaloo to the north and east.

History

The lease was originally used by Harry Higham as grazing land in the 1877, after he had overlanded stock to the property. He developed 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 t ...

in 1884. In 1906 Nanutarra was carrying a flock of approximately 45,000 sheep. By 1919 the holding had grown to become one of the largest in the area. Harry Higham died in 1917, after managing Nanutarra until 1902 then retiring to live in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. The station was placed on the market for

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

in 1925 when it occupied an area of ; improvements included 18 wells, of boundary fencing and divisional fencing that divided the property into 17 paddocks. It was stocked with 8,617 sheep at the time. The Higham family retained possession of the station and the Highman brothers sold it in 1937, along with Mount Stuart Station, to the Boololoo Pastoral Company for an undisclosed price. In 2005 Nanutarra was given permanent status on the

Western Australian Register of Heritage Places The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. History In the 1970s, following its establishment of the ...

. The station was one of the original leases in the north west and played an important role in the development of the pastoral industry in the area. The Nanutarra lease occupies an area of , and an agreement was reached between Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation and Nanutarra Grazing Pty Ltd regarding land use in 2011 in accordance with the

Native Title Act The ''Native Title Act 1993'' (Cth) is a law passed by the Australian Parliament, the purpose of which is "to provide a national system for the recognition and protection of native title and for its co-existence with the national land managemen ...

. The station sold in 2012 along with neighbouring Uaroo Station which were being operated as one holding. Together the leases occupied an area of and had a herd of approximately 2,750 cattle with an estimate maximum carrying capacity is 7,600 head. The property contains 70 equipped watering points along with many permanent and semi-permanent waterholes along the creek and river systems. Both properties had been acquired by Andrew Forrest, the Chairman of

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of m ...

, who also owns Minderoo Station to the north of Uaroo.

Homestead

The homestead complex is a simple example of Victorian-Georgian architecture. The main building is composed of two detached wings connected by a covered area. Some of the buildings date back to the 1880s. Most of the complex is in fair to poor condition with most areas having deteriorated as a result of moisture ingress. The buildings were said to have moderate authenticity and are similar to the homesteads at Cooya Pooya and Tambrey stations.

References

{{Stations of the Pilbara Western Australia Stations (Australian agriculture) Pastoral leases in Western Australia Homesteads in Western Australia 1877 establishments in Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of Ashburton

Description

History

Homestead

See also

References