Warrawagine
Warrawagine or Warrawagine Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located between Marble Bar and Broome in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Description
[edit]The property is 1,000,000 acres (4,047 km2) in size and is approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) north east of Marble Bar bordering the Great Sandy Desert.[1] The Oakover River borders the property, and the Carawine Gorge lies within the property boundary.[2]
History
[edit]Warrawagine was established in 1896 and was initially managed by Frank Thompson and his wife Ceclia. The homestead was built in 1901 along with the store, workshop shed and blacksmith shop.[2]
In 1916 the property was acquired by the Rubin family and contributed to the wool production for uniforms in both world wars.
The property was acquired by Mills in 1992[3] and was stocked with 460 cattle at the time.[4] Wallal Downs was acquired in 2013 when the property market for cattle stations was at its lowest point.[3]
In 2015 the property was owned by Robin Mills and Rob Jowett and run along with Wallal Station; Warragine is stocked with approximately 23,000 head of droughtmaster cattle.[1] The pair have diversified and planted 37 hectares (91 acres) of sorghum, which is being grown using a centre-pivot irrigation system.[4]
The 2015 season was dry with the station also being hit hard by bushfires.[5] The station also commenced earthworks to hold annual rainwater runoff for longer to help rehydrate the rangelands in the De Grey River catchment area. Surrounding properties including Limestone, De Grey and Yarrie Stations are also involved in the project.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Warrawagine Station Cattle Company". Central Station. 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ a b Mark Muller. "New Beginnings". R. M. Williams. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Pastoralist eyes bright future for exports". Farm Weekly. Fairfax Media. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ a b Brad Thompson (23 March 2015). "Pastoralist eyes desert crops". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Tyne McConnon (19 February 2015). "Irrigated agriculture developed in perfect time for WA cattle station". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Lucie Bell (17 July 2015). "Pilbara pastoral stations trial techniques to improve rangelands rehydration along the De Grey River". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 September 2015.