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Famous Ranches and Stations

Argyle Downs Station: The Durack Family's Kimberley Run Beside Lake Argyle

The Duracks drove 7,250 breeders across northern Australia, and decades later their homestead was moved to make way for a lake.

What is Argyle Downs Station?

Argyle Downs is a pastoral lease and cattle station about 120 kilometres south-east of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, near the Northern Territory border. It is operated by the Consolidated Pastoral Company. The Wikipedia article on Argyle Downs gives its current area as about 1,000 square kilometres.

The lease is a mix of black soil plains and red basalt country. The Ord River and Lake Argyle form the western boundary. The traditional owners are the Malngin people.

The Durack overland drive

In 1879 Patrick and Michael Durack left Thylungra Station on Coopers Creek, Queensland, with 7,250 breeding cattle and 200 horses. In 1882 they settled the Kimberley area after trekking across the north of the continent. Wikipedia describes the roughly 3,000-mile journey as the longest of its type ever recorded.

The Duracks stocked Argyle Downs and Ivanhoe Station. They exported cattle through Wyndham to markets as far away as South Africa and North America. In 1901 the station, along with Newry and Auvergne, carried about 45,000 head.

The 1895 homestead

In 1895 the family built a homestead that became a major social gathering place in the east Kimberley. It was built from limestone blocks and mortar made from crushed termite mounds. Visitors included the Governor-General Lord Gowrie, who was a guest of the Duracks during his farewell tour in 1939.

In 1944 a RAAF mercy flight sent from Perth to a medical emergency at the station crashed into the ocean, killing all five people aboard.

Lake Argyle and the Ord River scheme

In the 1950s the government resumed a sizeable part of the lease for the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. In the 1970s the homestead was dismantled to make way for Lake Argyle. In 1979 it reopened in a new location on the lake shore, where it now operates as the Argyle Homestead museum. A farm.FM story on the Durack family would round out the wider history.

The loss of the original country is the main cost recorded in the history. The government resumed the land for irrigation, and the flooded country can no longer be grazed.

The cattle trade of the Kimberley

In 1911 about 2,606 cattle were droved overland to Queensland. Several drovers suffered fever, and Thomas Stafford died from his illness. In 1951 over 700 bullocks were sold and transported to Wyndham for slaughter.

Today the station turns off about 7,500 head a year for live export to Southeast Asia and breeds and raises stock horses for use on other stations.

What Made It Work

Argyle Downs began with one of the longest overland drives recorded and is still a working station after the lake took much of its land. The record points to scale of ambition, export markets and adaptation.

The cost came from the resumption of land and the flooding of the old homestead site.

  • Large founding herd: 7,250 breeders and 200 horses left Queensland in 1879.
  • Multiple stations: the family stocked Argyle Downs and Ivanhoe, with Newry and Auvergne carrying about 45,000 head by 1901.
  • Export markets: cattle left through Wyndham for markets as far as South Africa and North America.
  • Substantial buildings: the 1895 homestead used local limestone and termite-mound mortar.
  • Heritage conservation: the homestead was reopened as a museum in 1979.
  • Current market: live export to Southeast Asia, about 7,500 head a year.

Visit or learn more

The relocated homestead on the shore of Lake Argyle operates as a museum and is the easiest way to see the Durack story. Argyle Downs Airport lies within the lease. For broader reading, see the farm.FM ranching section. For the full record, see the source article's ownership history and its notes on the land and climate.

Timeline

  1. 1879Duracks leave Thylungra Station with 7,250 breeders
  2. 1882Family settles the Kimberley area
  3. 1895Argyle homestead built
  4. 1901Argyle, Newry and Auvergne carry about 45,000 head
  5. 1939Lord Gowrie visits on farewell tour
  6. 1944RAAF mercy flight crashes, killing five
  7. 1950sGovernment resumes land for Ord River scheme
  8. 1979Homestead reopens on the Lake Argyle shore as a museum

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Argyle Downs Station?

Patrick and Michael Durack settled the area in 1882 after an overland drive that began in 1879 from Thylungra Station, Queensland, with 7,250 breeding cattle and 200 horses.

What happened to the Argyle homestead?

The 1895 homestead was dismantled in the 1970s to make way for Lake Argyle and reopened in 1979 in a new location on the lake shore, where it operates as a museum.

Where is Argyle Downs Station?

It is about 120 kilometres south-east of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, near the Northern Territory border, with the Ord River and Lake Argyle on its western boundary.

Who runs Argyle Downs today?

The Consolidated Pastoral Company operates it. It covers about 1,000 square kilometres and turns off about 7,500 head of cattle annually for live export to Southeast Asia.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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