Noonkanbah Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture, Livestock grazing |
| Founded | 1880s |
| Founder | Isadore Samuel Emanuel, Sydney Emanuel |
| Headquarters | Fitzroy Crossing , Australia |
Area served | Kimberley region, Western Australia |
| Products | Sheep, cattle, wool |
Noonkanbah Station operates as a pastoral lease managing both sheep and cattle grazing along the Fitzroy River, situated between Camballin and Fitzroy Crossing within Western Australia's Kimberley region.
Originating in the 1880s under the establishment of the Emanuel family, Noonkanbah initially encompassed roughly 4,000 square kilometers. The station gained prominence during a 1980 land-rights conflict when Premier Sir Charles Court authorized oil exploration activities under police escort. Presently, approximately 1,800 square kilometers of this land, sacred to the Yungngora Community, is under the stewardship of its traditional custodians.
History
Noonkanbah was founded by Isadore Samuel and Sydney Emanuel, brothers who also managed nearby stations such as Meda, Gogo, and Lower Liveringa. By 1908, the property extended over 100,000 acres and supported nearly 87,000 sheep under Emanuel and Co., with an annual rent of £25.
In 1920, Noonkanbah along with adjacent stations was put up for auction as a consolidated block of 1,035,530 acres featuring 400 miles of fencing dedicated to sheep. The estate included reliable water sources from the Fitzroy River, a homestead complex, numerous buildings including a shearing shed equipped with 20 stands, and livestock comprising 65,000 sheep alongside horses, donkeys, mules, and cattle.
The station’s superfine wool fetched premium market prices; for instance, in 1930 it was sold at 16 pence per pound. To enhance flock quality, Noonkanbah regularly imported merino rams in years such as 1934, 1936, and 1941. Despite drought conditions in 1936 affecting the region, the station achieved a record shearing count of 100,000 sheep. Wool output remained robust with sales exceeding 200 bales by 1941.
By mid-century, Noonkanbah took part in the Air Beef Scheme which involved airlifting sheep to abattoirs for processing. In 1950 alone, around 52,000 sheep were shorn; by 1953 shearing numbers hovered near 50,000 with wool prices performing well on London markets.
At one point owned by pastoralist William Cox, management of Noonkanbah was later overseen by his son Davey following Cox’s return to Louisa Downs Station.
During World War II from March 1943 until December 1945, the Royal Australian Air Force operated an airbase at Noonkanbah. This facility supported several RAAF squadrons as well as units from the Netherlands East Indies Air Force and was capable of accommodating B-24 Liberator bombers.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s under manager Duncan Beaton’s direction, lucerne cultivation trials were undertaken using river water to increase stocking capacity. However, severe droughts between 1952 and 1953 drastically reduced cattle populations by half and severely impacted feed availability across West Kimberley stations including Noonkanbah.
Flood events on the Fitzroy River in both 1949 and notably in 1954 caused substantial livestock losses at Noonkanbah and neighboring Liveringa Station. The flood in ’54 followed a drought period and resulted in drowning between 300 and 400 sheep.
An amphibian fossil dating back to the Triassic era discovered during bore drilling on the station was named Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis in reference to Noonkanbah.
Traditional ownership
The land is traditionally owned by the Yungngora Community, whose members worked on the station until they staged a walk-off in 1971 over disputes concerning wages and working conditions. In 1976 ownership transferred to the Aboriginal Land Fund to facilitate development by traditional custodians; since then management has been under Yungngora control.
Noonkanbah became a center of political tension when exploration company AMAX was permitted by government authorities to conduct drilling operations on sites sacred to the community. The resource boom of the 1970s led to multiple mining tenements issued over pastoral lands in Kimberley; however, anthropological findings affirmed these areas’ spiritual importance to Yungngora people. Despite opposition protests, Premier Charles Court insisted that exploration continue. On August 7th, 1980, a convoy comprising 45 non-union drilling rigs escorted by police broke through community picket lines onto sacred grounds provoking violent clashes.
In April 2007 native title rights over Noonkanbah were formally recognized for the Yungngora people.
In October 2022 the Yungnora Association received a $250,000 fine after admitting guilt on several animal cruelty charges related to over one hundred cattle deaths at Noonkanbah Station during 2018. The penalty was suspended for two years but drew criticism from the Pastoralists and Graziers Association, which accused Indigenous pastoralists of receiving preferential treatment.
See also
External links
- AMAX drilling activities
- OzatWar resource
- McLeavy, Lyn, 1948- Photograph from Land Council meeting, Fitzroy Crossing, W.A., October 1979 National Library of Australia, Canberra