Balla Balla Station is a pastoral lease and cattle

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

located approximately north of Karratha just off 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 a ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The station is also used for tourism purposes, with camping permitted, and renowned as being a good fishing location. There was once a townsite on the coastal side of the station; the town of Balla Balla, was an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

in the area. The waters could be treacherous, with the first recorded

drown Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others presen ...

ing occurring in 1898. Following the expansion of the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

mines at

Whim Creek Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mines at Elgin Creek in 1897 the town requested that an area of surrounding the townsite be set aside as a public reserve. The area included Balla Balla Pool, a permanent pool of freshwater, which could be used by stock. At this time 20 teams of workmen were employed in carting goods from the mines using in excess of 70

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s. A cyclone struck the town in 1898 destroying most of the buildings in the town. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

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 ...

, Chicago Hotel and

woolshed Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities. In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...

were completely destroyed. The Balla Balla Hotel was partly deroofed and boats were sunk. Two people died from flying debris. In 1902 a storm swept across the town, dumping a large amount of rain, and the sea level rose to be almost level with the town. Neighbouring

Sherlock Station Sherlock Station is a pastoral lease and sheep station located approximately East of Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Covering an area of pasture, the lease provides good grazing land. In 2015 it was purchased by Bettin ...

received about in the deluge. The port area was severely damaged with the sand ridges being washed away leaving the rails exposed. A marine survey was conducted around the harbour area 1907 by Captain Airey, the master of the steamer ''Penguin''. Besides the survey an estimate of the cost of building a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

between the mainland at Balla Balla and Depuch Island was also to be prepared. A

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

in 1912 caused havoc in the port, sinking many vessels and drowning several men. ''Crown of England'', ''Enterprise'' and ''Clyo'' were all sunk. The pearling fleet sought refuge in Balla Balla Creek and were unscathed. , which was sailing through the area, was also listed as missing. The area is rich in minerals, particularly

, and several mines operated in the vicinity. The leases pegged by a Mr Breen prior to 1926 were described by the prospector as "the best he had seen in the Nor' West". The Balla Balla Syndicate, an

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

base group of investors, sent Breen back to the area in 1926 with the equipment to build a 10-head

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

to develop the mine.

References

{{Coord, 20, 47, 52, S, 117, 48, 15, E, type:landmark_region:AU-WA, display=title Stations in the Pilbara

See also

References