Henry Strong Price

Henry Strong Price
Born	Template:Birth date Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
Died	November 30, 1889(1889-11-30) (aged 64) Mitcham, South Australia
Occupation	Pastoralist
Known for	Founder and owner of Wilpena Station

Henry Strong Price (8 May 1825 – 30 November 1889), often referred to as H.S. Price or Harry Price, was a trailblazing sheep pastoralist in South Australia, renowned as the founder and owner of Wilpena Station located at Wilpena Pound, now encompassed within Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park.

Early life

Price was born on 8 May 1825 in Marlborough, Wiltshire. He was the second son of Captain David Molloy Price, a veteran of the Peninsula War, and Mary Strong. His older brother, Dr. Richard Edmonds Price (1822–1900), served as a surgeon and also held the position of mayor in Marlborough.

In pursuit of new opportunities, Price arrived in South Australia aboard the barque Fortitude in April 1842, shortly before turning seventeen. That same year, he collaborated with livestock overlander Charles Campbell to obtain a grazing licence at Hill River in the Mid North, employing William Roach as stock keeper. By 1844 their partnership had dissolved, prompting Price to broaden his pastoral ventures across the Mid North and Eyre Peninsula regions.

Subsequently, Price allied with the Browne brothers—William and John Harris Browne—both medical doctors and fellow Wiltshire natives, at their nearby Booborowie Station. He took on management responsibilities and became a partner in their pastoral operations. The families became further connected through marriage when Price’s daughter Helen Mary wed Leonard Browne, William’s eldest son.

Another of Price’s daughters, Florence Annie Price, married John Jervois, son of Sir William Jervois, who served as Governor of South Australia from 1877 to 1883. In honor of this connection, Governor Jervois named the Yorke Peninsula township of Price after her.

In 1851, Price pioneered and managed the Brownes' extensive Wilpena Station in the Flinders Ranges, covering roughly 800 square miles and including the renowned Wilpena Pound. He chose the location for the initial homestead beside Wilpena Creek on a level area dotted with native pines and red gums, surrounded by the striking mountain range.

Canowie Station

When the Browne brothers leased out Wilpena in 1853, Price shifted focus to managing their Canowie run, taking over from former manager William Warwick. For close to four years, he operated Canowie on behalf of the Brownes, eventually acquiring a half interest through both financial contribution and labor. Due to an economic downturn in South Australia following the Victorian gold rush, minimal improvements were made before Canowie was sold in January 1858.

Wilpena Station

After Canowie was sold, Price secured full ownership of Wilpena Station in 1861 by purchasing it from the Browne brothers for £40,400. The sale included approximately 17,000 sheep. That year also marked the commencement of copper mining activities at Blinman, with Wilpena homestead advantageously situated along the busy Kanyaka-Blinman road. Price maintained possession of Wilpena for nearly forty years.

Under his stewardship, Wilpena flourished with large-scale sheep shearing operations despite challenges such as droughts between 1864 and 1866. He established a largely self-reliant station community comprising a homestead, blacksmith’s workshop, store, workers’ cottages, cemetery, stables, yards, and shearing shed. Additionally, an eating house was created to accommodate travelers along the Blinman route.

Although he retained ownership until his passing, Price later delegated day-to-day management to resident overseers while living at his suburban Adelaide residence named Delamere in Mitcham. From there he oversaw his own pastoral properties as well as those belonging to Dr William Browne through power of attorney. Beyond pastoralism, Price held multiple directorship roles and invested profitably in mining shares from Broken Hill. He died at Mitcham on 30 November 1889 at age 65; his wife Ellen passed away five days afterward. Both are interred at Mitcham Cemetery.

His likeness and life story are documented in Pastoral Pioneers of South Australia, volume II, pages 40–41.

External links

Official South Australian Tourism Commission page for Wilpena Pound: http://www.southaustralia.com/info.aspx?id=9003936