Witchelina Nature Reserve

Witchelina Nature Reserve, in South Australia, is situated on a former pastoral lease known as Witchelina, that had operated as both a sheep station and cattle station. The station gave its name to the locality of Witchelina.

Witchelina Nature Reserve
Location in South Australia

The property is situated approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) north west of Leigh Creek and 664 kilometres (413 mi) north of Adelaide. The country is made up of gibber plains, red river gum and coolibah woodlands, bluebush shrubland, saltbush plains and acacia dunefields.[1]

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Adnyamathanha and Arabunna peoples, Witchelina straddles of the boundary of both the groups traditional lands.[1] The property was first established as a sheep station by John Ragless in 1873.[2]

John Ragless' sons, Frederick and Richard, left Witchelina in 1882 with 2,500 sheep and three station hands to open up a property east of Lake Callabonna, after some poor seasons the brothers abandoned the run in 1886.[3]

In 1915 the property was carrying a flock of approximately 4,000 sheep.[4] The Ragless brothers placed Witchelina on the market in 1916, at this time it occupied an area of 485 square miles (1,256 km2) with a 10-room homestead, a 20-stand shearing shed and a complete boundary fence.[5] The property was acquired by Sidney Kidman in partnership with Lewis and Pearce.[6]

Following a heat wave in 1932 the station manager, Mr. Gourlay, trapped an estimated 100,000 rabbits, including 5,000 in a single night.[7]

In 1949 the area had good rains although several miles of boundary fence at Witchelina were washed away.[8] Kidman estates disposed of Witchelina, Mount Nor' West, Myrtle Springs and Ediacra stations with a combined area of over 2,000 square miles (5,180 km2) in 1950. The purchasers were A. S. Toll, E. G. and J. L. Boynthon who had established the Myrtle Springs Pastoral company.[9]

The 4,219 square kilometres (1,629 sq mi) property was on the market in 2009.[10] The property boasts a stone two storey homestead, a three bedroom managers house, a ten-room shearers quarters, a six stand stone shearing shed and significant shedding around the holding.[10] The property is rated to carry either 6,600 head of cattle or 33,000 sheep.[10]

In 2010 the property was purchased by Nature Foundation SA with two-thirds of the funds provided by a Federal Government grant via the Caring for Our Country program, with strong assistance from some private donors and State Government land purchase funds.[11] The station was reported as being the state's largest private nature reserve[11] forming "a vital habitat link for Lake Torrens into the Northern Territory."[1]

See also

References
  1. "Witchelina". Department of the Environment. 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. "Place Names of South Australia – W". The Manning Index of South Australian history. Government of South Australia. 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. "Out among the People". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 July 1953. p. 47. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  4. "The land and the producer". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. "Advertising". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 July 1916. p. 10. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  6. "The Burra Record". Burra Record. South Australia: National Library of Australia. 18 December 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. "Central Australia". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 25 February 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  8. "Good Season Forecast For Pastoral Country". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 March 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  9. "North Stations Change Hands". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 November 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. "Expansive northern SA Pastoral Holding". Landmark. 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  11. "Improvements to Witchelina Station nature reserve with Santos' support". Santos. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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