Mount Welcome Station is a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

that once operated 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 ...

but is now operated as a

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The property was founded at the foot of Mount Welcome by John and Emma Withnell on the banks of the

Harding River The Harding River, known as the Ngurin in Ngarluma language, is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 31 July 1861 by the surveyor and explorer Francis Gregory while on expedition in the area, after one of the vol ...

next to a freshwater pool called ''leramargadu''. The site is where the town of Roebourne is now located. The Withnell family comprised John, pregnant Emma, their children George and John, Emma's sister and brother Fanny and John Hancock, John's brother Robert and three servants. The group had intended to settle at

Port Walcott Port Walcott, formerly known as Tien Tsin Harbour, is a large open water harbour located on the northwest coast of Western Australia, located near the town of Point Samson. History Before the port was established, the land was inhabited by t ...

but their ship, ''Sea Ripple'', ran aground at

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

. It was later refloated and continued to Port Walcott, landing at

Tien Tsin Harbour Port Walcott, formerly known as Tien Tsin Harbour, is a large open water harbour located on the northwest coast of Western Australia, located near the town of Point Samson. History Before the port was established, the land was inhabited by th ...

in April 1864. Only 86 sheep were saved of the 460 aboard. The family walked to the Harding River and settled at Mount Welcome. A homestead for the property was quickly constructed, a single room house made from stone, mud bats and the remains of their cargo with a spinifex roof. The homestead was a hub for the local community, which had a population of 200 by 1865, as it served as a link between the port of

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

and the outlying runs. Following a drought in 1870 the homestead was destroyed by a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

in 1872 and a large number of stock were killed. In 1878, new buildings were destroyed by fire and the Withnells sold the property in 1879 to

Robert John Sholl Robert John Sholl (16 July 1819 – 19 June 1886) was a government administrator, magistrate, explorer, journalist, entrepreneur, harbourmaster, customs official, postmaster and lay reader in Western Australia (WA), during the colonial era. Be ...

Birman, 1976, p121; ''The Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle'', 29 October 1832. and moved to

Sherlock Station Sherlock Station is a pastoral lease and sheep station located approximately East of Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Covering an area of pasture, the lease provides good grazing land. In 2015 it was purchased by Bettin ...

. Sholl left the property under the management of his sons and in 1882 another cyclone struck, resulting in the loss of 160 sheep from the property. The property was acquired by the Stove brothers at some time prior to 1914. The Stoves also owned

Cooya Pooya Cooya Pooya Station most often referred to as Cooya Pooya or Cooyapooya is a pastoral lease operating as a sheep station in Western Australia. Description The property is situated approximately south of Roebourne and south east of Dampier a ...

, Karratha and Cherritta stations, which, along with Mount Welcome, sustained significant damage during a cyclone in 1925. Mount Welcome House, situated on Hampton Road in Roebourne, was constructed by the Stoves in 1937. It is a single storey, timber framed, corrugated iron building with barrel vaulted roofs and was built on the same site as the original homestead. When it was completed Arthur and Percy Stove moved in while Tom Stove remained in the ''Weerina'' residence that had been built by the Sholls. The Stove family still owned the property in 1952. Mount Welcome House was

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

listed in 1998. The state government threatened to forfeit the lease held by the Ieramugadu group, an Indigenous organisation, in 2006 after the property had been inspected and found to have been over-stocked, had poor fencing and inadequate watering points. By 2007 the problems were rectified and rent was paid, so the group was permitted to keep the lease-holding. In 2009 up to 20 Aboriginal squatters were to be evicted from the heritage listed homestead and have their pet dogs destroyed after the building was condemned that had existed in Roebourne since 1864. The homestead is known to the local Aborigines as ''Munda Miya''. The Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation is responsible for overseeing and managing Mount Welcome Station. The property occupies throughout

Ngarluma The Ngarluma are an Indigenous Australian people of the western Pilbara area of northwest Australia. They are coastal dwellers of the area around Roebourne and Karratha, excluding Millstream. Language The Ngarluma language belongs to the Ngay ...

country. Dave Rutherford was appointed by the corporation to manage the property in 2014 and bring it back into a productive cattle station. Rutherford also reintroduced sheep to the property by introducing

Dorper The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to ...

sheep for meat production and also to provide training for people in the Ngarluma Community.

References

{{Stations of the Pilbara Western Australia Stations in the Pilbara 1864 establishments in Australia

See also

References