Yardie Creek Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1889 |
| Founder | Thomas Carter |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Fate | Incorporated into Cape Range National Park |
| Headquarters | Gascoyne , Australia |
| Products | Sheep grazing |
Yardie Creek, also known as Yardie Creek Station, is a sheep grazing property operating under a pastoral lease in the Gascoyne area of Western Australia. It is situated approximately west-northwest of Exmouth and north of Coral Bay.
The lease originated in 1876 when J Brockman acquired territory across North West Cape for cattle farming. In 1888, Brockman sold portions including Yardie Creek, Exmouth Gulf, and Ningaloo Station to ornithologist Thomas Carter, who founded a sheep station on the site in 1889. The government reclaimed the operational station in December 1969 to incorporate it into the Cape Range National Park.
During the drought of 1912, Yardie Creek experienced an influx of kangaroos searching for water. Conditions improved by 1913 following substantial rainfall in June and July. The partnership between Arnold Owen Holst and Alexander Campbell was dissolved in 1927; Campbell remained at Yardie Creek alongside Eric Arthur Payne. The station increased its sheep numbers with new rams arriving in 1928 and again in 1929.
By 1936, the partnership ended, leaving Payne as sole manager. Campbell departed from the station in 1938 due to drought and economic challenges linked to the Great Depression, having invested approximately £14,000 in improvements. The Payne family retained control of the lease until 1962.
Severe cyclone events caused significant destruction: buildings were demolished in 1946 and suffered extensive damage again in 1953, affecting the homestead and auxiliary structures. The Broad family were the final pastoral leaseholders before leaving in 1970. The site was designated as part of a national park in 1964, with the neighboring Ningaloo Marine Park established later in 1987.
The Yardie Creek homestead gained entry on the Register of the National Estate in 1978. Materials such as timber and iron used for outbuildings were retrieved from the wreckage of the SS Mildura (1901), which was transporting cattle from the Kimberley region when it was lost during a cyclone in 1907.