Yeelirrie Station
| Company type | Pastoral lease |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture, Sheep farming |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Founder | Val Finch |
| Headquarters | Wiluna , Australia |
Area served | Mid West region, Western Australia |
| Owner | BHP (formerly), Cameco (for uranium deposit) |
Yeelirrie is a pastoral lease functioning as a sheep station situated on state-owned Crown land in the East Murchison area, approximately southwest of Wiluna within the Mid West region of Western Australia. The closest inhabited location is the village at Mount Keith Mine, located to the east, while the regional hub of Meekatharra lies to the west.
The terrain consists of an elevated plateau characterized by granitic escarpments and adjacent alluvial plains. Vegetation primarily includes Acacia woodlands, dominated by Acacia aneura, alongside shrublands and spinifex grasslands featuring Triodia basedowii. Climatic conditions are shaped by dominant high-pressure systems combined with northern monsoonal influences, leading to annual rainfall averaging 208 mm and temperature fluctuations ranging between 45 °C and −5 °C.
Spanning , Yeelirrie Station was founded in 1924 by Val Finch. By 1950, it yielded 169 wool bales from a flock of 7,179 sheep. The adjacent Altona lease was merged into Yeelirrie in 1957. Presently under the ownership and management of BHP, the station experienced significant destocking from 1974 through 1986, with the remaining sheep recently removed due to predation by wild dogs and dingoes.
Notably, Yeelirrie is home to the Yeelirrie uranium deposit, which was uncovered in 1970 by Western Mining Corporation before being acquired by BHP. In August 2012, BHP divested this asset to Canadian mining company Cameco for US$430 million.
An environmental assessment conducted in 2011 for BHP documented three newly identified species, among them Atriplex yeelirrie, named in honor of the station.
The term Yeelirrie or Youlirrie originates from the local Aboriginal language and translates as "place of death".