Commonwealth Hill Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | South Australia |
| Products | Sheep (wool) |
| Owner | Jumbuck Pastoral Company |
Commonwealth Hill Station, often simply referred to as Commonwealth Hill, operates as a sheep station under a pastoral lease arrangement.
Situated roughly north northwest of Tarcoola and southwest of Coober Pedy within South Australia, this property spans nearly (one million hectares), ranking it as the second-largest sheep station in Australia following Rawlinna Station. Ownership is held by the Jumbuck Pastoral Company.
History
Following favorable rainfall in 1947 that enhanced grazing conditions, Commonwealth Hill encountered challenges due to proposed expansions of the Woomera Test Range, which threatened to reduce its land area and affect wool output. Positioned inside the Woomera Test Range Area, the station's leaseholder at that time, Byron MacLachlan, spearheaded a group to negotiate terms permitting pastoral activities to continue alongside the weapons testing operations.
By 1956, safety issues were raised ahead of the Black Knight Rocket experiments conducted at Woomera. In response, the Minister of Supply in 1957, Howard Beale, pledged that the Commonwealth government would provide funding for shelters designed to withstand blasts for impacted graziers.
In 2011, Apollo Minerals obtained approval from the Defence Department to conduct iron ore exploration on the station after a federal review addressed mining activities within the former missile testing zone.
The pastoral lease area was formally recognized as the locality "Commonwealth Hill" by the Government of South Australia in 2013 under the provisions of the Geographical Names Act 1991.
Environment
Located on a level sandy plain at the northwestern margin of the Gawler craton, the station features landscapes dominated by sand sheets and dunefields. The flora mainly consists of low-growing mulga woodlands and tall myall shrublands overlaying perennial grass species, with scattered salt lakes and lunette landforms present throughout.
See also