Yardie Creek Station facts for kids
Yardie Creek is a special place in Western Australia. It was once a huge farm, known as a pastoral lease or sheep station. Imagine a giant ranch where sheep grazed! Today, it's part of a beautiful national park.
Contents
Yardie Creek: A Historic Australian Station
Yardie Creek, also called Yardie Creek Station, is located in the Gascoyne area of Western Australia. It's about 12.5 kilometers (7.8 miles) northwest of a town called Exmouth. It's also about 143 kilometers (89 miles) north of Coral Bay, a popular spot for tourists.
Early Days: How Yardie Creek Began
The story of Yardie Creek as a farm began a long time ago, in 1876. A man named J. Brockman first rented the land. He wanted to raise cattle in the area, which included the North West Cape.
In 1888, Brockman sold parts of his land lease. One of the buyers was Thomas Carter, who studied birds. He bought Yardie Creek, along with other areas like Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Station.
Thomas Carter was the very first person to settle here. In 1889, he started the pastoral station and began raising sheep. For many years, Yardie Creek was a working farm. However, in December 1969, the government took back the land. It became part of the Cape Range National Park.
Life on the Station: Challenges and Changes
Life on a sheep station like Yardie Creek wasn't always easy. In 1912, the area suffered from a very bad drought. This meant there wasn't enough water. Because of the drought, many kangaroos came down from the hills looking for water. They took over parts of the station!
The next year, things got better. A partner at the station, Mr. A. O. Holst, reported that the land finally received good rain. Six inches (150 mm) of rain fell in June, followed by another three inches (76 mm) in July. This helped the land recover.
Over the years, different people managed Yardie Creek. In 1927, Arnold Owen Holst and Alexander Campbell ended their business partnership. Campbell stayed at Yardie Creek and soon partnered with Eric Arthur Payne. The station continued to raise sheep. In 1928, they received 50 male sheep, called rams. The next year, they got 50 merino rams from a place called Walebing.
The partnership between Campbell and Payne ended in 1936. Eric Arthur Payne then took full control of the lease.
Cyclones and Changes: The Later Years
In 1938, Alexander Campbell left the station. He moved to Perth. He had to leave because of the drought and a tough economic time called the Great Depression. He said that he had improved the station a lot from its original wild state.
The Payne family continued to hold the lease for Yardie Creek until 1962. During their time, the station faced more challenges from nature. In 1946, a powerful cyclone hit the area. Many of the buildings on the station were destroyed.
Another cyclone struck in 1953. This storm caused a lot of damage to the main house, called the homestead. Several other buildings were completely knocked down.
The last family to live and work on the pastoral lease was the Broad family. They left Yardie Creek in 1970.
Yardie Creek Today: A National Park
The area around Yardie Creek was first declared a national park in 1964. Later, in 1987, the Ningaloo Marine Park was also created nearby. This park protects the amazing ocean life.
The old Yardie Creek homestead is now a special historical site. It was officially recognized as a heritage site in 1978. Some of the wood and iron used to build the smaller buildings came from an old ship! The ship was called the SS Mildura. It was carrying cattle when it got stuck and wrecked on a reef during a cyclone in 1907.
