Outback Cattle Station Names

Gooday Bob,
sounds interesting, but unfortunately I am not a subscriber to the Australian, and therefore can only read the "banner" and not the article. Since retiring, I just don't buy newspapers anymore.
regards

Gday
I am a bit taken with 'Munmalary' in NT...I worked there for a while.

My favorite station would have to be Keeroongooloo in SW Qld. between Eromanga and Windorah.
For over 15yrs. we open cut mined for boulder opal in the bottom section, historically known as Kyabra where some of the very first boulder opal was mined by a Mr. Joe Bridle in the 1870's.
His original workings can still be seen with the remains of old camps and a fenced grave.
In 1996 when we started there the station was owned by the WA Holmes a'Court family then later sold to the Colonial banking group. These days it is held by a private pastoral company.
I reckon would be about half a mill. ha. fattening Brahman cattle, the trick is in knowing how to pronounce the name of the place!!
mike

Weona Worri - south of Winton - owned by friends

Bit of a coincidence, Bob, the first station name mentioned in the article is Auvergne. Worked there for about 18 months, back in '72-'73.

I'm not a subscriber either, so might see if can pick up a copy tomorrow.

Think it's often the forming of the station, or what's happened in the past, that gives the stations some status, or even notoriety. Take "Bradshaw Station" up on the Victoria River for example. Don't know when it was taken up, but recall that some people were killed by Aboriginals, who swam out to the ship, anchored near Bradshaw. That would have been no mean feat, as crocs would have "wall-to-wall" back then, late 19th century. Maybe they used canoes?

Think the victims were buried on top oh a hill, that overlooks the current station. Bradshaw was also where Charles Chavael did most of the filming of 1950's film "Jedda".
It's now owned by the Army, as a training area.

Victoria River Downs, Brunette Downs, Elsey Station and Argyle Station are a few properties that are well known to many people. Over 45 years I worked on about 10-12 different stations, and on 5 of these I worked more than once. Stations varied in size from 160,000 acres, up to 12,000 square kilometres. Think that's about 3 million acres?

Bob.

Thanks to Bob (and gqturbo),
what a very interesting read. Stirs up many memories of the many years living in the NT. Many of the original family owned holdings are gone, taken up by large pastoral companies.

The history of those properties is amazing, and many holding that oral history are sadly no longer with us. Many a "character" would have told many a story, both "tall" and true around camp fires a many.

Fortunately, there are many (mostly on EO of course... lol.! ) that still holding onto that tradition of sitting around the campfire telling "tall" stoies....
regards

This map will give you some idea of the properties in the NT in 1945.
regards

Worked on a few, Hexham, Ashfield, Kittyvale, Daintree, Cathedral, all out of Winton.. (The first three owned by the same people and operated as one, and last two owned by the same people), and Thorner out of Urandangi.

Cooee Hills named after Jeff Hills wife Cooee names was changed to Amungee Mungee after the bottom waterhole. Beetalloo Station founded by Bulwaddy Bates owned by the Batten Family Trust for a while. Tanumbirini station, OT downs (overland telegraph). Nutwood Downs Pungalina son many names so many stories most of them about hardship and heartbreak.

For what it's worth, all the streets in the suburb of Hawker in Canberra are named after NT stations. I once lived in Jinka Street which ran between Beetaloo Street and Walhallow Street. Seeing these names (and others) on signs in such totally different environments adds a little something to travelling in the Territory. Megan

Fascinating subject and the thread should go on for ages, with all the names of properties that there are in Australia. Anyone who has seen Terrence Alicks maps of properties in Qld and NT woulld know there is plenty of subject matter.

One property name that sticks in my memory is Wirrilyerna, mainly because I believe it is pronounced "Wirry-yarna". For poetry, one cannot go past Bing Bong, Borroloola.

The images that the name of a property conjures up does not always connect with reality and I think some "namers" must have had stars in their eyes when they first set foot on the place and named it. You would think "Verdun Valley" would be a green, lush place because of the likeness of "verdun" with "verdant" and that Verdun is in France and usually very green. Bob Y might agree with me that Verdun Valley is far from that description for most of the time.

Dunham Towers would bring to mind some stronghold in Scotland, complete with a Lord and retinue. Fact is that it is a s**tful bit of country on the Mayne River southish of Winton.

Juxtaposition of properties and names brings some contradictions as well. I can think of an area where there is a Cawnpore, Hyderabad, Chiltern Hills, Mayfair and LLanrheidol. So you go from India to England and end up with a Welsh sounding name.

Villatranquilla, it looks like we have friends in common at Weona, and Tjukayirla Roadhouse you mention a lot of places I know. I don't think I am giving too much away in telling you that Bruce and Bob Y live in the same street.

We lived in Winton for 5 years 1984 to the end of 88. I was the Stock Inspector there.

Cheers for Xmas tomorrow.
"A".

Mongrel Downs

Danbialia .... although not the name of a station, it will someday grace my retirement home somewhere (probably along the Murray River). The first 3 letters of my kids names (Daniel, Bianca, Liana).

Not to overshadow the usual "shack" names like Didyoubringabeeralong.

Fab.