Hamilton Downs Station
23°38′58″S 133°29′52″E / 23.6494387°S 133.4977659°E Hamilton Downs Station was a cattle station west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is now a youth camp.
History
[edit]
Hamilton Downs was established in 1910 by hotel manager Sid Stanes Jr. and Ted Harris. It is named after a spring near Jay Creek which was named by John McDouall Stuart in 1860, after his supporter George Hamilton.[1] The first substantial homestead was built in 1913.[2]
The station was managed for some time by pioneer Aboriginal woman Amelia Kunoth and her husband Harry.[3] By the 1940s, it was run by the Davis Brothers, Pat and John who invested in developing the water infrastructure of the property.[4][5] by the 1950s the property was turning of over 3000 head of cattle per year.[6]
Gwoja Tjungurrayi worked on the station at some point in the 1940s or 1950s.[7]
Queen Elizabeth II visited the station in February 1963, during her Australian tour.[8]
Heritage listing
[edit]Significant restoration works were completed on the homesteads and stables in 1972. Five buildings on the property were heritage listed in 1993.[2] The station celebrated its 100th birthday in 2011.[9]
Youth camp
[edit]Hamilton Downs has also been the location of a youth camp since March 1978. It was initially run by Apex Club of Central Australia, but as of 2016[update] was being managed by an independent committee.[10]
Gallery
[edit]Images from the Hamilton Downs Collection, available through Wikimedia Commons, all taken around the 1940s:
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The old homestead at Hamilton Downs Station -
The yard near Cadney Bore on the Station -
A windmill at the station in August 1946 -
Skinning an animal, about 1950 at Hamilton Downs -
The station well near the old homsestead -
Horse drawn wagon loaded with timber -
A hut at Ceilidh Well -
The old station garden
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Volling, Tom (10 May 2016). "NT's pastoral history brought back to life with restoration of meat house on Hamilton Downs Station". NT News.
- ^ a b "Old Hamilton Downs Station". NT Heritage Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ Wilkins, Peter W. "Amelia Kunoth". www.wilmap.com.au. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "A Modern Station". Centralian Advocate. Vol. II, no. 97. Northern Territory, Australia. 8 April 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 13 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Improvements Continuing at Hamilton Downs". Centralian Advocate. Vol. III, no. 127. Northern Territory, Australia. 4 November 1949. p. 8. Retrieved 13 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "EX-V.R.D. Manager Buys Criticism". Centralian Advocate. Vol. VI, no. 309. Northern Territory, Australia. 8 May 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 13 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Knowles, Rachael (5 April 2023). "The remarkable life of the Warlpiri-Anmatyerre man on the $2 coin". NITV. SBS. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "The visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Hamilton Downs Station". Territory Stories. Northern Territory Library. 26 February 1963. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ Lee, Nicole (13 May 2011). "100 years of Hamilton Downs". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Alice Springs. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
- ^ "Home". Hamilton Downs Youth Camp. Retrieved 12 November 2016.