Dalhousie Station (South Australia)
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cattle station |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Founder | Edward Meade Bagot |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | South Australia |
Dalhousie Station, which is also referred to as Dalhousie Springs Station, functioned as a pastoral lease and operated as a cattle station within South Australia. In 1985, this property along with adjacent leases was purchased by the Australian Government to establish Witjira National Park.
Positioned roughly northward of Oodnadatta and toward the southeast of Aputula, the estate encompassed a section of the intermittent Finke River, featuring multiple semi-permanent waterholes before the river faded well before reaching Lake Eyre.
The lease was initially obtained in 1873 by Edward Meade Bagot, a surveyor responsible for constructing part of the Overland Telegraph line from Port Augusta to the Peak. In 1889, Bagot and Smith put the property on the market, stocked with 5,000 head of cattle and 130 horses.
Subsequently, the Lewis family took ownership of Dalhousie, with A. Ross overseeing operations in 1904. By 1924, management had passed to R. Sandford during a year marked by substantial rainfall that replenished the waterholes along the Finke River.
In 1908, the station spanned approximately , including about of spring-fed areas. That same year, significant flooding inundated an extensive region near , impacting neighboring leases such as Macumba Station. At nearby Todmorden Station, rainfall totaled 6.5 inches within a single 24-hour period.
The site known as the Dalhousie Homestead Ruins is officially recognized on the South Australian Heritage Register.