Moolawatana Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Moolawatana StationSouth Australia |
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 Moolawatana Station
Location in South Australia
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| Postcode(s) | 5732 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 1,900 square kilometres (734 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
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| LGA(s) | None | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Stuart | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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Moolawatana Station, often just called Moolawatana, is a very large property in South Australia. It's a pastoral lease, which means it's a huge area of land rented from the government. This land is used as a cattle station, a big farm where cattle are raised.
The station is located about 139 kilometers (86 miles) east of Lyndhurst, South Australia. It is also about 227 kilometers (141 miles) west of Tibooburra, New South Wales.
Moolawatana Station covers a huge area of 1,900 square kilometers (734 square miles). It's sometimes called the Skeleton Block. This name comes from how much land it has lost over time. The station stretches from east to west, which is unusual for properties in South Australia. Its northern edge is right next to the Dingo Fence, a long fence built to keep dingoes out. The station also sits across the northeastern part of the Flinders Ranges mountains. A creek called Hamilton Creek, which only flows after rain, runs through the property.
Contents
History of Moolawatana
Early Days and Ownership
The Moolawatana property was first claimed by William Warwick in 1853. He also took over another station called Holowiliena Station around the same time.
In 1896, a fire broke out at the station. It destroyed between 120 and 130 large bundles of wool. The wagons carrying the wool were also burned. No one ever found out what caused the fire.
Heavy rains hit the area in 1903, causing Hamilton Creek to flood. About 3 inches (76 mm) of rain fell at nearby Mount Freeling over a few days.
Changing Hands and Stock
In 1935, Moolawatana was put up for sale but didn't sell right away. The owners at the time were Neil McGilp and his sons. They had owned the lease since 1880. Later that same year, the station was sold for £15,000. It was bought by A.J. and P.A. McBride, who owned the Wilgena Pastoral Company. The sale included 6,700 sheep and 20 horses that were already on the property.
The McBrides sold Moolawatana in 1947. The new owners were the Leslie Brothers, who owned Mount Fitton Station next door. The Leslies paid £22,500 to buy Moolawatana.
Growing and Shrinking
By 1963, the property had grown to include Moolawatana, Mount Freeling, Mount Fitton, and Yudnamutana leaseholds. Together, these areas covered about 2,200 square kilometers (850 square miles). Later, the Mount Freeling lease was sold off. This left Moolawatana at about 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles). In 1982, the Woolatchi lease was added, making the station about 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) larger.
Switch to Cattle Farming
In 1993, Moolawatana Station stopped raising sheep and started raising cattle instead. This change happened because of many attacks on the sheep by wild dogs. Earlier that year, over 900 wild dogs had been shot, with 98 of them found inside the station's fences.
Weather and Nature
Moolawatana had good rains in 1997, which made the creek flow. However, a long dry period followed, and much of the surrounding area suffered from drought. In 2001, the property had big thunderstorms. After the storms, there was a huge outbreak of locusts. One swarm of locusts took two hours to fly past the main homestead! More good rains fell in 2008.
On April 26, 2013, the land that makes up Moolawatana Station was officially named Moolawatana by the Government of South Australia.
Future Plans: Green Energy Hub
In November 2021, a company called Kallis Energy Investments announced an exciting plan. They want to build a large wind and solar farm near Moolawatana Station. This project, called the Moolawatana Renewable Hydrogen Project, would use the electricity from the farm to make green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is a clean fuel made using renewable energy. The plan is to then send this hydrogen through a pipeline to Port Bonython on Spencer Gulf for export.
