Aramac Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Headquarters | Aramac , Australia |
| Products | Sheep, cattle |
Aramac Station functioned as a pastoral lease engaged in both cattle station and sheep station operations. It was situated approximately southeast of Muttaburra and northwest of Alpha, close to the town of Aramac in Queensland.
The area was initially surveyed by William Landsborough in 1859, who named Aramac Creek in honor of the pastoralist Robert Ramsay MacKenzie. Established shortly after Bowen Downs Station in 1863, the station was first settled by John Rule and Dyson Lacey along the creek’s edge and stocked primarily with sheep. Early drought conditions compelled many settlers to abandon their holdings, while subsequent flooding necessitated moving the homestead to elevated terrain. Tragically, Lacey and another shepherd were later speared by Aboriginal men.
Alexander "Long" Gordon, the station’s inaugural manager, is reported to have shot numerous Aboriginal people near Greyrock during his management period. Initially, the property covered about , with roughly two-thirds designated as open grazing land and one-third classified as desert.
In 1867, John Kingston, an employee at Aramac, founded a trading post on the creek that eventually developed into the town of Aramac. Rule departed from the station in 1871. Ownership transferred to Roderick Travers prior to 1873; he merged it with Malvern Downs, managing a combined stock of approximately 60,000 sheep and 10,000 cattle. By 1875, under the partnership of Travers and Gibson, Aramac maintained an estimated 20,000 sheep and had fenced around , which helped reduce dingo predation.
Between 1876 and 1881, the station expanded its livestock numbers by acquiring thousands of sheep and stud bulls from other estates. In December 1876, bushfires resulted in fatalities among workers and significant livestock losses; local volunteers assisted in controlling the blazes.
By 1879, buyers from Manuka Station purchased 10,000 sheep from Aramac. Additional purchases included over 11,000 ewes sourced from Huntly and Spottiswoode Stations by 1881.
Before 1890, control of the station passed to the Bank of New South Wales with William Forsyth acting as manager. In 1891, James Tolson acquired Aramac for £100,000; he also owned adjacent Corinda and Uanda Stations. By the turn of the century, Tolson’s flock had grown to around 150,000 sheep.
In 1930, Aramac Station was divided into seven parcels ranging between and through a ballot that attracted 396 applicants nationwide. The land was deemed degraded due to prolonged heavy stocking. That same year saw the sale of the station’s plant equipment, homestead buildings, and livestock; many selectors purchased machinery and gear. Newly formed properties included Politic, Powella, Edgebaston, and Stainburn.