Sturts Meadows Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Founder | Abraham Wallace, Matilda Wallace |
| Headquarters | Near Broken Hill , Australia |
| Products | Cattle, sheep |
Sturts Meadows Station, often referred to simply as Sturts Meadows, is a pastoral lease functioning as both a cattle station and sheep station situated in the remote regions of New South Wales. It lies approximately northeast of Broken Hill and westward from White Cliffs.
The establishment of the station was undertaken by Abraham and Matilda Wallace, who chose to name it in honor of the explorer Charles Sturt. In 1863, the Wallaces departed from Mt Gambier with livestock and provisions intending to settle in Queensland; however, due to government-imposed restrictions on livestock movement, they returned. Subsequently, they took up residence on land beyond the Barrier Ranges in New South Wales. After a transient phase around Fowlers Gap, they secured a permanent water source by 1876, with the station encompassing an area of 100,000 acres (40,469 ha).
In 1880, Wallace expanded his pastoral interests into the Northern Territory along the Roper River, bringing in 2,728 cattle from near Longreach, Queensland. By 1882, Sturts Meadows had sheared 32,000 sheep, and by the following year, investments totaling £24,080 had been made towards property enhancements. Wallace retired in 1884 and appointed a manager to handle daily operations.
Matilda Wallace authored Twelve years' life in Australia, from 1859 to 1871, offering valuable early accounts of life on the station. Prior to pursuing other business opportunities prompted by nearby silver finds, Sackville Kidman—brother of noted pastoralist Sidney Kidman—managed Sturts Meadows. Eventually, Sidney Kidman acquired the property before 1924 with ambitions to assemble a flock numbering 100,000 sheep across his regional estates including Sturts Meadows and adjacent stations.
During the mid-1920s, predation by dingoes caused a marked decline in sheep populations at Sturts Meadows. In 1928, trustees representing the estate of the late W.H. Williams put the property up for auction; at that time it was divided into 14 paddocks. Infrastructure comprised a seven-room stone homestead, accommodation for workers, a ten-stand shearing shed, and water facilities capable of supporting up to 7,000 sheep grazing on grassland and saltbush vegetation.
Bijerkerno Gorge within the property features Eight Mile Creek cutting through the Barrier Ranges. In 2004, an area of 5,600 hectares surrounding this gorge was enclosed with fencing to safeguard both environmental assets and remnants of historical tin mining activities.