Melangata Station facts for kids

Melangata Station is a large farm, also known as a pastoral lease, located in Western Australia. It has been used for raising sheep and, more recently, as a place where goats are gathered before being sent elsewhere.

This station is about 63 kilometres (39 mi) north of Yalgoo and 99 kilometres (62 mi) west of Mount Magnet. It's in the Murchison area, which is part of the Mid West region of Western Australia. Melangata Station is special because it was the only private property in Western Australia to have a building designed by the famous architect John Hawes.

Melangata Station is smaller than some of its neighbors, like Jingemara Station and Dalgaranga Station. The land here is also a bit rougher. While it used to be mainly a sheep station, it now focuses on goats. The station is located on an old track that connected Yalgoo to Cue, which was a more direct route than the railway line.

The station is near the top of the Greenough River catchment area. This means that water from this area flows into the Greenough River. There is also a hill called Nooloojoo Hill on the northern edge of the property. Like many large stations in this part of Australia, Melangata has its own airstrip for planes.

Most of the land around Melangata was leased in the 1880s. However, Melangata itself wasn't leased until 1897. A person named C.C. Williamson bought the property in 1915. He then had the main house, called the homestead, built in 1917. Records show that sheep shearing was happening at the station as early as 1915, with about 2,500 sheep scheduled to be shorn. The Seaman family also had a long connection with the station over many years.

In 2013, Melangata Station was sold for A$475,000. At that time, the property covered 45,122 hectares (111,499 acres) of land. It was home to about 1,500 Damara sheep, which are a special type of sheep known for their meat.

The Homestead

The main house at Melangata Station, known as the homestead, was designed by the architect John Hawes. It was built in 1917. The house is made of stone, and its roof is made from corrugated iron.

The homestead has six bedrooms and a large living area. It also features a unique turret and even a small chapel with an altar. A cool design feature of the house is its "breezeways." These are open passages without doors, which allow air to flow freely through the house. This helps to keep the building cool in the warm Australian climate. Another special detail is the hand-painted pressed metal ceilings, which are similar to those found in other historic stations like Noongal and Carlaminda.