Ningaloo Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | by 1919 |
| Founder | Herbert William Cope, Douglas Black, Leslie Leon Grant Black |
| Headquarters | Gascoyne , Australia |
Area served | Approximately |
| Products | Sheep, wool |
Ningaloo Station is a sheep station located in Western Australia's Gascoyne area, positioned roughly north of Coral Bay. It lies adjacent to Ningaloo Reef and shares its northern boundary with Cape Range National Park. Spanning around , the property also provides accommodation options through camping facilities for visitors.
Established by at least 1919, Ningaloo Station produced 33 wool bales that year under the joint ownership of Herbert William Cope, Douglas Black, and Leslie Leon Grant Black. By 1923, after receiving favorable rainfall of , the station experienced abundant feed and a strong lambing season. That same year, a new shearing shed and living quarters were constructed using timber salvaged from the schooner Geraldton. A fire in November inflicted only minor damage. More than 9,000 sheep were shorn, resulting in a record shipment of 215 wool bales sent to Perth.
In 1924, Mr. Cope successfully drove over 1,200 sheep to the port of Carnarvon with very few losses. During that year, a total of 10,100 sheep and 3,000 lambs were shorn, producing 205 wool bales combined. Cope retired in June 1924, ending the partnership and leaving full ownership to the Blacks.
Although rainfall between March and July 1927 amounted to , shearing prospects were expected to be poor due to preceding drought conditions. In 1929, 3,490 sheep were sold at Midland Junction sale yards.
The Blacks sold Ningaloo Station in June 1937 to F. Lefroy and M. McBolt, who immediately took over management. In 1945, heavy flooding caused by cyclone remnants severely affected Ningaloo along with neighboring properties such as Wooramel Station. Intense rainfall also occurred in 1953 when Ningaloo recorded 303 points overnight and surrounding stations received as much as .
In 2008, more than 300 individuals protested against the Department of Environment and Conservation's proposal to take over camping management along Ningaloo's coastline. The Lefroy family, who had held the lease for over seven decades, criticized the brief five-day notice given to surrender control of the camp-sites. As of , plans by the state government include extending its jurisdiction over an additional stretch of coastline covering .