Report from Wonganoo Station, Western Australia

by Kathy Boladeras

Dear Neil,

It’s hard to know where to begin, to describe a way of life that must be so different to anything the majority of your readers have known.  Let’s start with an overview of the way the livestock industry operates in the arid areas of Western Australia, the state covering the largest area of Australia.

All grazing land in Western Australia is “leased” or rented from the State Government. Lessees are required to look after the land environmentally, control all vermin and pay various rates. In return they have full water and grazing rights. These “pastoral” leases are large-scale farms or ranches, and are called “stations”.  Leases come up for sale on a per head of stock basis e.g. around $55 Australian /sheep or $600/cow, this works out to about 50 cents to $1 per acre USD.

My husband’s grandfather took up the lease on “Wonganoo” Station in 1925. I have always admired his wife because she was a city girl raised in comfort, and when she came out here, there was nothing but a tin shack with dirt floors to call home.

The family has built up a viable business since then, and living conditions have improved considerably.  We have 24 hour solar power, telephone, fax and satellite internet access – Gran would truly marvel if she were alive today.

The property covers an area of about 1,500 square miles (960,000 acres - Ed). Such large areas are necessary to carry stock because of the arid environment; it takes about 30 acres to support one sheep and 300 for a cow.  Anything above 8 inches of rain in a year usually constitutes a good season.  When we get less than 4 inches, we must reduce stock numbers and hope for better rainfall in the future.  Most of our rain comes from cyclonic activity during the summer months of December-March. 

To get here from Perth, catch a flight to Kalgoorlie, then hire a car and drive north to Leonora (140 miles), and then further north another 140 miles to Wonganoo.  We are 100 miles SE of Wiluna, 130 miles NE of Leinster, and 130 miles SW of Lake Carnegie.

 To the east of our property, the Great Victoria Desert stretches out across the continent to the edge of the pastoral country of South Australia.  North of us are all cattle producers, as the dingo populations up there make it too difficult to run sheep.

Actually, for the first time in many years we have had a serious dingo problem here, where they have bred up in the cattle country and moved down into sheep areas.  In the last 12 months we have lost half our flock, and because we have so many acres and rarely see the sheep anyway, it wasn’t until we mustered them for shearing that we realized the extent of the devastation.  We are down from 8,000 to 4,000 head.  Every lamb was taken, being prime targets for these marauding dogs.

  

 (continued)

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