Mileura Station

Mileura Station

Location in Western Australia

Mileura Station is a pastoral lease and sheep station located in the Mid West region of Western Australia.

Description

The station occupies an area of approximately 620,000 acres (250,905 ha)^[1] and is situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Meekatharra.^[2] The property adjoins Nookawarra Station.

The station has expanses of mulga, limestone gibber, rocky outcrops, floodplains and river and creek systems.

History

The station was established in 1885 by the Walsh family. Harry and his brother Fred Walsh moved to the area from Victoria and the family held the station for the next four generations until it was placed on the market in 2004.

Fred left the station until about 1898 before leaving the area and moving to Grass Valley and became a renowned merino judge.^[3]

Mr W. M. McIllwraith commenced as the station manager in 1904.^[4] He most likely replaced David Noble who had managed the station for the Walshes at about this time but returned to South Australia when his children reached school age.^[5]

In early 1909, the station received good early rain fall including 3.5 inches (89 mm) one day followed by 4 inches (102 mm) the next, flooding ensued and the homestead had to be surrounded by embankments. The Walsh's reported that one could see nothing but water for miles in every direction.^[6] Later the same year the Walsh brothers despatched 200 cattle from the station that were sent to Midland Junction.^[7]

Having good rains in 1913 Harry Walsh sold off 50 cattle all being described to be of prime quality at a special sale at Copley's Siding.^[8]

In 1918, the station was struck by tragedy, when a young employee died of heat exhaustion when he became lost in the bush. The young man, Frank Deeble, was sent to check that some of the remote windmills were operating and that water troughs contained adequate water for the sheep. Setting off on his bicycle he failed to return to the homestead that evening so the station manager Mr McIllwraith set off on a motorcycle to find him. The search lasted for eight days until Deeble's body was found only 3 miles from Mindoolah Station homestead.^[9]

Later the same year 13 shorthorn cattle were sold off from the holding.^[10]

The station had a poor clip from shearing in 1919, the lambing season was also poor. Approximately 11,000 sheep were shorn but the clip was well below that of previous seasons.^[11]

Following a good season in 1928 a further 10 bogies of sheep were sold, they were sent by rail from Day Dawn to Midland Junction.^[12] A flock of 12,740 sheep were shorn the same year producing 272 bales or wool.^[13]

The station had a good year in 1930 with early rains, unfortunately much of the surrounding areas had not and soon Mileura was inundated with kangaroos in search of feed. Hundreds were shot daily by kangaroo hunters who collected a large harvest of hides to sell.^[14] A shipment of 1,300 sheep was sold and sent by rail to Midland Junction later the same year.^[15]

By 1931 approximately 13,000 kangaroos had been shot at Mileura station over the course of the year, prompting the manager, Geoffrey Henry Walsh, to write to the government asking for the royalty for a kangaroos shot to be waived.^[16]

The station sold 850 wethers in 1932 at the Copley's Siding market.^[17]

Producing 80 bales of wool in 1933, weighing over 13 long tons (13 t), that had to be transported 80 miles (129 km) to Cue was though to be a record load in the state at the time.^[18]

Godfrey Henry Walsh, who owned the station, died in 1949 aged 48 years. He left his entire estate worth £12,657 to his wife.^[19]

Don Sears, who had previously worked at Liveringa Station for 16 years, took up the position of manager at Mileura. He arrived with his wife and child in 1950.^[20]

The Walsh family sold the station they had owned for 119 years in 2004 to the state government. The Walshes have remained on the property as managers while the government put in a bid to use the land to place the proposed Square Kilometre Array project, the largest radio telescope in the world. The formal proposal was placed in 2005 and was chosen, along with a site in South Africa, to host the telescope in 2008. Construction was due to begin in 2012.^[21] Fittingly the name of the station means to see a long way in the Aboriginal language of the area. Initial testing for feasibility was conducted at Mileura but the site that was ultimately chosen was at Boolardy station to the southwest where the Murchison Widefield Array and the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory are now both situated.^[22]

The lessees in 2012 were Gregory and Cynthia Stoney and the Mileura Cattle Company, Mileura is operating under the Crown Lease number CL551-1966 and has the Land Act number LA3114/720. The Stoney family business control approximately 16,000 square kilometres (6,178 sq mi) of holdings around Western Australia in both the Pilbara and Nullarbor regions. In 2013 receivers were appointed to deal with family debts of A$15.6 million with all the family properties including Mileura, Hillside and Balladonia Stations being placed on the market.^[23]

See also

• List of ranches and stations

References

Coordinates: 26°22′24.83″S 117°19′58.79″E / 26.3735639°S 117.3329972°E / -26.3735639; 117.3329972