Myrtle Springs 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 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 ...

in outback

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 ...

Description

The station is located approximately south of Marree and north of

Blinman Blinman is a locality incorporating two towns in the Australian state of South Australia within the Flinders Ranges about north of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. It includes the highest surveyed town in South Australia, wi ...

. The property adjoins Beltana and Leigh Creek Stations. It is on the western side of the northern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

where the ranges stop and the flat plains of the

Lake Torrens Lake Torrens ( Kuyani: ''Ngarndamukia'') is a large ephemeral, normally endorheic salt lake in central South Australia. After sufficiently extreme rainfall events, the lake flows out through the Pirie-Torrens corridor to the Spencer Gulf. ...

basin starts. The area is mostly sand dunes interspersed with

claypan Claypan is a dense, compact, slowly permeable layer in the subsoil. It has a much higher clay content than the overlying material, from which it is separated by a sharply defined boundary. The dense structure restricts root growth and water infiltra ...

History

The pastoral lease was first taken up by Henry McConville in 1864. At that time the property was also known as Mount Scott, and the station occupied an area of . Shortly afterwards, the area was struck by drought until 1866. When the drought broke, the station's flock had been reduced to 3000 sheep. Unfortunately the rains that broke the drought made the ground boggy and further reduced the flock to 500. McConville then entered a partnership with William Baines in both Myrtle Springs and neighbouring Mirrabuckina Station. The flock eventually increased to 11,000. Baines and McConville placed the property on the market in late 1872, and it was bought by

Alexander Borthwick Murray Alexander Borthwick Murray (14 February 1816 – 17 March 1903) was an Australian sheep breeder and parliamentarian in the early days of South Australia. He married his business partner Margaret Tinline after they had established a successful s ...

in partnership with George Tinline in 1873. At this time it occupied an area of and was stocked with 3000 sheep, 300 head of cattle and 50 horses. The property was advertised as having many improvements such as yards, huts and the headstation. It was estimated to have a carrying capacity of 29,000 sheep. Murray and Tinline ran sheep on the property. In 1876 the area recorded good rains with about falling in a one-day period. This left the station isolated for a time and also caused the loss of 5,000 sheep and 17 horses. By 1898 the lease was held by Leonard Browne who also held the lease to Leigh's Creek Station. By 1907 the property was owned by the Matheson brothers who put it on the market the following year. The station occupied an area of and was stocked with 30,346 sheep. Richard Dawes sold the property in 1920 to

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure of original ...

and John Lindo. At this stage the station encompassed an area of and had an estimated carrying capacity of 50,000 sheep and 700 cattle. Kidman estates disposed of Myrtle Springs, Witchelina, Mount Nor' West and Ediacra stations with a combined area of over in 1950. The purchasers were A. S. Toll, E. G. and J. L. Boynthon who had established the Myrtle Springs Pastoral company. In 1954 Myrtle Springs was being managed by Maurice Smith, and the station consisted of . In April 2013, the land occupying the extent of the Myrtle Springs pastoral lease was gazetted by the Government of South Australia as a locality under the name ' Myrtle Springs'.

References

{{Stations of Sidney Kidman Stations in South Australia Far North (South Australia) 1864 establishments in Australia

Description

History

See also

References