Sheep station

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Shearing shed, meat house and shearers' quarters, on a station, Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia
Walter Peak sheep station, South Island, NZ
Poddy lambs (orphaned lambs) drinking milk at a sheep station in rural Australia
Sheep grazing in rural Australia

A sheep station is a large property (

sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South Island. These properties may be thousands of square kilometres in size and run low stocking rates
to be able to sustainably provide enough feed and water for the stock.

In Australia, the owner of a sheep station may be called a

squatter (as in "Waltzing Matilda
"), when their sheep grazing land was referred to as a sheep run.

History

Sheep stations and sheep husbandry began in Australia when the

British colonisers started raising sheep in 1788 at Sydney Cove.[1]

Improvements and facilities

In the Australian and New Zealand context, shearing involves an annual

landing strip available for use by the Royal Flying Doctor Service
and other light aircraft.

Historically, an

homeland community, it is still used on large cattle and sheep stations today, for example Rawlinna sheep station.[4]

Management and operation

Main article:
Sheep husbandry

Where the climate and vegetation allow, especially north of the

dog fence, cattle stations are similar but run beef
cattle rather than sheep. Some properties are not exclusively sheep or cattle stations but may have a mix of cattle, sheep, cropping and even goats which makes the owner less vulnerable to changes in wool or beef prices.

Management practices vary according to the location of the station and the season being experienced. For instance, drought necessitates decisions concerning the sale of stock or provision of supplementary feeding.

Routine procedures include supervising

lice and maggots (if necessary), lambing and lamb marking. Lambs are weaned at about five months of age. Drenching for internal parasites
is an important routine on a sheep station.

Other activities include ram buying and classing the sheep in order to determine the inferior types that are to be culled.

Crops and pastures are often also grown to provide additional feed for the sheep, especially those that will be raised and sold as prime lambs. Fences require regular inspections to locate and repair any damage that has been found.

crows, dingos or foxes
are likely to be a problem.

Terminology

The term "sheep run" was commonly used during the early settlement period to describe an unfenced tract of land operated by squatters, later used of a large station property, fenced or unfenced.[6]

For administrative purposes, many stations exist on pastoral leases, but in state government jurisdictions they are increasingly known as stations.[further explanation needed]

The term "playing for sheep stations" is used to denote a large or serious game, usually in the expression "we're not playing for sheep stations".[citation needed]

Examples

Rawlinna Station in Western Australia is the largest sheep station in Australia.[7]

Walter Peak is a notable old sheep station that was founded in 1860 on the south shore of

South Island, New Zealand. It is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) across Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, 40 minutes steaming time on the historic TSS Earnslaw steamship.[citation needed
]

In literature

Two well-known nineteenth-century authors have written about life on a sheep station:

  • Lady Barker Station Life in New Zealand and Station Amusements in New Zealand.
  • Samuel Butler A First Year in the Canterbury Settlement and his novel Erewhon.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sheep at Sheep Station; Houses and Woods in Background, Australia". World Digital Library. 1900–1923. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  2. ISBN 9781925022902. Retrieved 2 August 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help
    )
  3. ^ "R7756 Cattle Creek outstation, 1962". Wave Hill walk-off. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. ^ Smith, Aidan (10 April 2018). "Rawlinna shears 64,000 sheep". Farm Weekly. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  5. World Book Encyclopaedia
    . Vol. 24. USA: Field Enterprises. 1977. p. 1152. Wool production.
  6. Edward E. Morris
    (1898). Dictionary of Australian Words.
  7. ^ Lucas, Jarrod (28 April 2023). "Twiggy Forrest's Fortescue set to buy Australia's biggest sheep station". ABC News. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

External links
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