Tempe Downs Station
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24°22′45″S 132°25′29″E / 24.379117°S 132.42483°E
Tempe Downs Station is a pastoral lease 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.[1] It is approximately 7,769 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) in size.[2] It is near to the Kings Creek Station and Watarrka National Park.[3]
It is on the lands of the Luritja people, who are its traditional owners.[4]
Early history
[edit]The lands that make up Tempe Downs Station were first claimed for pastoral purposes by scientist and explorer Charles Chewings in partnership with other investors, including RJ Thornton in 1881. They began stocking it with cattle in 1884.[5] Thornton was the shareholder-manager and he worked closely with Arrarbi who helped him in this.[6] They struggled to make the new station profitable and 1893 in was sold and then left largely abandoned until 1906 when it was taken over by Bob and Bill Coulthard.[2]
In 1891 NT policeman William Willshire attacked sleeping Aboriginal people at the station and two men were killed. The incident was investigated by Francis James Gillen and Willshire was subsequently charged with murder.[7][8]
In 1894 the station was visited by the Horn expedition, who spent some time there and spent time documenting and making field notes about the site and the people living there.[9][10] During this visit it was decided that Arrarbi would join the expedition as a tracker and interpreter; he later returned to the station.[6]
In 1918 the property was again sold, this time to George Bennet, who entrusted its management to Trot and Amelia Kunoth who remained there until about 1927. Since them the property has been sold and transferred numerous times.[2]
In 1947 the station was visited by Arthur Groom who wrote about his experiences in I Saw a Strange Land (1950) and also photographed the station.[11][12][13][14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Tempe Downs". NT Place Names Register. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Forest, Peter (10 August 1984). "Station history: Tempe Downs". Centralian Advocate. p. 7.
- ^ O'Loughlin, Genny. "Watarrka National Park: an early pioneer" (PDF). Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Australia. Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner (1998), Tempe Downs and Middleton Ponds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ISBN 978-1-876591-01-4
- ^ Mincham, Hans, "Charles Chewings (1859–1937)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 8 September 2024
- ^ a b Kimber, Dick (2008). "Arrarbi (c1870 - c1945)". In Carment, David (ed.). Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography (Revised ed.). Darwin: Charles Darwin University. pp. 15–16. hdl:10070/492231. ISBN 9780980457810.
- ^ Mulvaney, D. J., "William Henry Willshire (1852–1925)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 9 September 2024
- ^ "The untold story behind the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off". ABC News. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ "Tempe Downs, Northern Territory". Spencer and Gillen: a journey through Aboriginal Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Horn Expedition General Field Notes. Gesture Language. Trip to Ayres (sic) Rock and Mt Olga. Lake Amadeus 1894". Spencer and Gillen: a journey through Aboriginal Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ Groom, Arthur (1950), I saw a strange land, Angus and Robertson, retrieved 9 September 2024
- ^ Groom, Arthur (1947). "[Album of photographs of Central Australia] [picture]". Trove. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Jarrott, J. Keith, "Arthur Groom (1904–1953)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 9 September 2024
- ^ Groom, Arthur (26 October 1951). "To the Editor". Centralian Advocate. Vol. V, no. 229. Northern Territory, Australia. p. 7. Retrieved 9 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.