Woodgreen Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cattle station |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Founder | Bob Purvis Sr |
| Headquarters | Near Alice Springs , Australia |
Area served | Northern Territory |
| Products | Cattle |
Woodgreen Station, alternatively spelled Wood Green and also known as Atartinga, is a cattle station situated in the Northern Territory of Australia, located northeast of Alice Springs. The property spans roughly . Locally, some Indigenous Australians referred to it as (Mer) Athatheng.
The pastoral lease was first held by Bob Purvis Sr in 1918, who initially ran the station as a sheep station and bred horses before transitioning to cattle. By the time his son, Bob Purvis Jr, assumed control in 1960, extensive overstocking had caused significant land degradation. Since then, Bob Jr has restored the station’s productivity by lowering cattle numbers, adopting regenerative agricultural methods, and developing soil rehabilitation techniques.
Pre-European era
The land now occupied by Wood Green Station traditionally belongs to two Aboriginal groups: predominantly the Anmatyerre, with its eastern boundary adjoining the territory of the Alyawarre people.[1][2] The area was known to Aboriginal people as Athatheng.[3] Prior to European arrival, the land had not been subjected to grazing by animals with hard hooves.[4]
Robert Henry (Bob) Purvis, circa 1885–1965
Robert Henry (Bob) Purvis) Sr migrated from Scotland and took up the lease for Woodgreen Station in 1924, managing it until 1960.
James Robert Purvis (Bob Purvis Jr), from 1960
Born on the property in 1937, Bob Purvis Jr received his education at a boarding school in Adelaide, South Australia. Upon assuming management in 1960, he inherited a station burdened by heavy debt caused by land degradation and a lease requirement mandating a minimum stocking of 3,000 cattle despite much of the terrain being unsuitable. At that time, debts surpassed the property's worth.
Over several decades, Purvis Jr employed regenerative farming methods to achieve long-term sustainability. He significantly decreased livestock numbers to around 400 head, constructed water-retaining structures—now termed "Purvis banks"—and implemented fire management techniques inspired by Indigenous knowledge. These practices revitalized perennial grasses and enhanced soil health. Areas previously dominated by mulga scrub were transformed into productive grasslands, improving feed quality for cattle. By 1985, he had eliminated debts and upgraded infrastructure including fencing and solar energy systems.
Together with his wife Marie, Purvis Jr introduced approaches that bolstered drought resilience and managed invasive buffel grass. He combined scientific research with hands-on experimentation to customize sustainable strategies suited to Woodgreen’s specific environment. He argues that the original recommended stocking levels were approximately three times higher than what the land could support sustainably. Presently, Woodgreen operates profitably with a healthy herd and minimal livestock losses.
Acknowledged as a trailblazer in low-density, premium beef production, Purvis Jr initially faced skepticism from industry peers but proved the approach’s effectiveness over time. The advent of native title in Australia legislation in 1993 also influenced relationships between Aboriginal employees and the Purvis family.
21st century
Jim, the son of Bob, has been involved in co-managing Woodgreen Station since prior to 2015.
By March 2020, anthropological studies had commenced on the pastoral leases of Woodgreen and Mount Skinner to assist potential native title claims, with coordination provided by the Central Land Council. This research had made considerable progress by mid-2021.
Property location and description
Woodgreen Station, also referred to as Atartinga, extends over roughly and is positioned approximately north of Alice Springs along the Sandover Highway. The homestead, named Atartinga, is situated within the Anmatjere locality inside the Central Desert Region local government jurisdiction. The station lies within the Simpson Desert and is part of the Atartinga subregion within the Burt Plain bioregion, which belongs to Australia's Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation framework.
Woodgreen Conservation Reserve
The Woodgreen Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory governed by the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976, encompassing about (927.09 km²). Established in 2014, it holds an IUCN Management Category V classification. The reserve straddles the Sandover Highway, predominantly on its western flank, with its northeastern boundary close to Atartinga homestead.
Mineral exploration activities have taken place within this reserve as recently as 2021.
1935 plane emergency landing
On 6 September 1935, a General Aircraft Monospar ST-12 aircraft operated by Australian Transcontinental Airways (ATA)—a short-lived airline founded in Melbourne in 1935 by Harold Berryman and associates—experienced engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing at Woodgreen Station. On board were pilot J. Maher, passengers Renfrey and Maloney, along with a juvenile crocodile intended for either Adelaide or Melbourne Zoo. Renfrey trekked approximately to Ryan's Well seeking assistance. After two days, search teams located him and transported him to Aileron telegraph station. Concurrently, Don Thomas from Alice Springs organized a rescue operation to find the downed plane. Maher and Maloney survived by consuming six oranges and eventually eating the crocodile until they were rescued.
Other people
Topsy Glynn, born circa 1916 to James Glynn—a "half-caste" stockman—and an Aboriginal mother, was classified by authorities as a "three-quarter-caste" Aboriginal. Following her mother's death around 1919, Ron Purvis Sr arranged for Topsy to attend the Half-caste Institution in Alice Springs (The Bungalow), on condition that she would subsequently work at Wood Green Station—a promise he fulfilled. While at Wood Green, Topsy gave birth to two daughters: Rona Glynn (born 1936), whose father was Ron Price and who became Alice Springs’ first Aboriginal teacher and nurse; and Freda Glynn (born 1939), fathered by Ron’s brother Alf Price, who co-founded the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association and is mother to filmmaker Erica Glynn.
In September 1939, when Freda was three weeks old, Topsy returned to The Bungalow due to health concerns and questions surrounding paternity. Authorities expressed apprehension over Topsy’s multiple births at Wood Green and decided it was best for her and her children to remain there. Although reluctant to leave Wood Green—where she performed duties as housemaid, cook, and stockworker for minimal pay—she preferred working as a laundress at the institution. By November 1940 she resumed work at Wood Green under conditions similar to those imposed on local half-caste girls. Following Darwin's bombing in 1942 and subsequent military evacuation directives, Topsy moved her family to New South Wales in search of employment.
Anmatyerr artist and cultural figure Hilda "Cookie" Price Pwerl (circa 1930–2019) worked for rations at Woodgreen (Athatheng) and neighboring stations during her youth.
Lorna Petyarr Purvis, niece of Bob Purvis Sr., married Alexander Donald (Pwerle) Ross in 1938 after meeting at Woodgreen. A "half-caste" Western Arrernte woman raised at The Bungalow, Lorna wed Don Ross—a senior Kaytetye man who owned Neutral Junction Station near Barrow Creek Telegraph Station between 1947 and 1952.
J. R. Purvis was also a son of Bob Purvis Sr.
Further reading
External links
- Image of Bob Purvis mounted on his horse near the Stuart Arms Hotel, 1922
- ↑ Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Anmatjera (NT)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press.
- ↑ Gibson, J.M. (2020). Ceremony Men: Making Ethnography and the Return of the Strehlow Collection. State University of New York Press. p. 147.
- ↑ Template:Cite thesis