Merna Mora

Merna Mora Station also known as Mern Merna is a pastoral lease that currently operates as a sheep station, cattle station, and tourism venture in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia.

Mora Waters, ca. 1925

Merna Mora
Location in South Australia

The property encompasses the very top of Wilpena Pound and goes as far west as Lake Torrens, and north to Beltana in the central Flinders Ranges.[1]

It is about 38 kilometres (24 mi) north of Hawker and 57 kilometres (35 mi) south west of Blinman.

The Station is composed of a variety of hilly ranges, sandhills and clay plains country, with intermediate to large grass valleys, slopes and flats. Feed available to stock include black oak, Acacia, bullock bush, and other edible shrubs. Grasses include wallaby, windmill, millet, button, buffel, Bindeyi and Rootgrasses. The property has some permanent springs as well as 83 bores and is bisected by the Central Australia Railway.[2]

The property currently occupies an area of 290,000 acres (453 sq mi; 1,174 km2) and also offers tourist accommodation.[1] The property has been owned by the Fels[3] family since 1886 over five generations and in 1986 they opened up the property to tourists.[4] The Fels family are extremely accomplished bushmen due to long establishment in the outback.

The property was established in 1886 and was the site of the original Blinman mine which helped to establish the area.[5]

J. A. Fels sold off A 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) portion of the property in 1905. The section had two wells and had not been stocked for three years at the time of sale.[6]

In 1949 the property had been placed on the market by P. L. Fels when it occupied an area of 22,245 acres (9,002 ha) and was divided into six sheep-proof paddocks. It had a four bedrooms homestead and a galvanized iron woolshed end was equipped with three water wells.[2]

It is widely believed that the area has deteriorated severely in the last few decades due to heavy overstocking.

The original Merna Mora run was increased in size in 1978 with the Purchase of Wintabatinya station (formally 'bosworths lake' station of which sir Sidney Kidman held an interest). and again in 1993 with the purchase of Motpena station to give a total area of 290,000 acres, making it one of the largest pastoral properties in South Australia. The Fels cattle are found in several states of Australia.

See also

References
  1. "Merna Mora Station". South Australian Tourism Commission. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  2. "Family Notices". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 October 1949. p. 36. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. "Merna Mora Station". Government of South Australia. 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. "Merna Mora Station, Flinders Ranges". Weekend Notes. On Topic Media. 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  5. "Cattle station stays in the outback". Australian Geographic. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  6. "Advertising". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 March 1905. p. 22. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
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