Carandotta Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cattle station |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Founder | Oscar De Satge syndicate |
| Headquarters | Shire of Boulia , Australia |
Area served | Queensland, Australia |
Carandotta Station, often referred to simply as Carandotta and occasionally spelled Carrandotta, is a pastoral lease functioning as a cattle station located in Queensland, Australia. It lies within the boundaries of the Shire of Boulia, specifically in the localities of Carrandotta and Piturie.
Geography
Situated approximately west of Dajarra and northward of Birdsville, this property borders the Georgina River, featuring a permanent waterhole that extends over . The landscape consists of floodplains alongside elevated pebbly downs, predominantly covered with Mitchell and Flinders Grass. Vegetation includes sparse timber stands of bloodwood, gidyea, and coolibah trees.
History
The area encompassing Carandotta Station and its surroundings along the Georgina River falls within the traditional language region of the Waluwarra people.
Founded in 1884 by a syndicate headed by pastoralist Oscar De Satge, Carandotta originally covered three million acres adjacent to the Georgina River. The group expected a railway line connecting Cloncurry to Normanton, which ultimately was never constructed. By 1891, the station maintained a stock of 100,000 sheep, 800 horses, and 20,000 cattle but experienced significant losses during the 1892 drought due to insufficient dam infrastructure.
In 1903, notable pastoralist Sidney Kidman purchased Carandotta for £65,000 under a walk-in walk-out agreement; at that time, the property encompassed around . Kidman settled the payment by 1906 but returned part of the leasehold to the Crown by 1907.
Carandotta was sold by Kidman in 1910 to Messrs Cumming and Capper. During this period, it extended over , divided into 20 sheep paddocks, equipped with a wool scouring facility and stone homestead, and had an estimated carrying capacity of 200,000 sheep.
In 1932, trustees managing the estate of the late Mr. T. A. Stirton sold the station—covering —to Mr. H. C. Taylor for the Carandotta Pastoral Company. The property then supported 50,000 sheep, 400 cattle, and 200 horses distributed among 51 paddocks, watered by 43 wells.
By 1938, Carandotta’s size was approximately , and it was purchased for £50,000 by Western Pastoral Company; at that time, it carried about 10,000 sheep.
During the early 1950s, the station dealt with dingo infestations, resulting in the removal of around 800 dingoes between 1952 and 1953.
Eventually merged into Headingly Station—which covers in Queensland's Gulf Country—the former Carandotta lease now operates together with Headingly and Wolgra leases under one management. Headingly Station runs roughly 40,000 Santa Gertrudis cattle and is owned by the Australian Agricultural Company.