Located 42 km north of
Quorn on the road to
Hawker, the
Kanyaka Homestead is definitely worth visiting.
The buildings include remnants of a stable and harness room, a woolshed and an overseer's cottage. Detailed
information about the
ruins and their history is provided on a number of excellent
information plaques which include photographs of the buildings before they became
ruins.
The
Kanyaka ruins are of the once huge sheep run,
Kanyaka Station in the pioneering era. In 1856 the
Kanyaka Station leases totalled 365 square
miles or 240000 acres (945 square km or 94500 hectares).
In good seasons the property housed up to 70 workers and their families. The main
homestead consisted of 16 rooms with 18 inch (46 cm) thick walls of stone and mortar construction.
One interpretation of the name "Kanyaka" appears to be from the aboriginal word "agnia", meaning a big stone or
rock, and "ka" signifying surprise or wonder (possibly referring to the nearby "Death Rock" at
Kanyaka Waterhole).
The earliest records show that the first Pastoral Lease of
Kanyaka was to Hugh Proby on 1 July 1851. Proby's Grave is an historic attraction on the Arden Vale Road near
Quorn.