Arcoona or Arcoona Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

. It is located about north east of Woomera in the outback of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, The station occupies an area of . The station was founded prior to 1880 and was owned by Mr A. M. Wooldridge in 1880. Wooldridge owned the Parakylia lease that he had established and then sold the western portion and kept the balance himself and renamed as Arcoona. The neighbouring properties are Wirraminna to the south and Andamooka Station to the north.

History

The pastoralist James Gemmell who had been managing Mundi Mundi Station left to take over Arcoona in 1893. The horse ''Discussion'' by ''Light Artillery'' from ''Small Talk'' was bought in 1906 and sent to Arcoona to stud. Richardson paid 190 guineas for the sire. It was sold in 1909 by Messrs. Richardson and Gemmell to

John Pick John Barclay Pick (26 December 1921 – 25 January 2015), often credited as J.B. Pick, was an English poet, novelist, and biographer. He was a Quaker and a conscientious objector during the Second World War, serving in the Friends' Ambulance ...

of Terowie, who would be elected to the House of Assembly while at Arcoona. At the time the station was stocked with 12,000

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, 600

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, 250

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and 7 camels. Although Arcoona has an

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

climate it is occasionally inundated with rain, in 1919 Mr J. H. Mules reported of rain falling and the lake ''filling fast'', and again on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

in 1921 of rain fell. Pick sold Arcoona in 1920 and bought Coondambo Station in May 1920 for £37,200. The station was restocked in 1930 with 2,000 ewes being delivered from the Matakanna district. Following a great season in 1938 the percentage of lambing was excellent with 6,637 lambs produced from 6,977 ewes. The 1942 season was fairly dry but some patchy rains provided enough feed for the sheep to graze on but not enough to fill any surface tanks. At this time the station was owned by Arcoona Pastoral Co. of which Mr. R. J. McEwin was a partner. During the

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

of 1944–1945 stock numbers were very low. The station was sold once again in 1947, for an undisclosed price believed to be in excess of £75,000 on account of J. E. Pick to Kidman Estates of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. At the time the area of the property was and had an estimated flock of 25,000 sheep. The station had also received heavier than normal rainfall over the last year and all the creeks were flowing and lakes were full to capacity. In 2003 the station was selected by the then federal Science Minister, Peter McGauran, as a low level

nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

dump. The site was chosen as it had better security, a less environmentally sensitive access route and more saline water which has no pastoral use. About of radioactive waste generated each year in Australia would be stored in an underground repository. The plan was abandoned in 2004, following legal action from the then owners, the Polke family, as well as opposition from the state government and

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

. In 2008 the property was acquired by the Handbury family who also owned Collinsville Station. The property occupied an area of and was managed by Andrew Willis. The property was running a flock of about 20,000 sheep as well as 100

shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always em ...

cattle. The land occupying the extent of the Arcoona pastoral lease was gazetted by the Government of South Australia as a locality in April 2013 under the name 'Arcoona'.

References

{{Stations of South Australia Stations in South Australia Far North (South Australia)

History

See also

References