Argadargada Station


Argadargada Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Location

It is situated about south of Alpurrurulam and north east of Alice Springs. The property shares a boundary with Annitowa and Ooratippra to the west, Lucy Creek and Manners Creek Station to the south, Lake Nash and Georgina Downs to the east and the Atnetye Aboriginal Land Trust to the south. The property is bisected by the Sandover Highway.

Description

The property has a mix of terrain including; open flat plains of Mitchell Grass, Buffel and Flinders Grass over massive portions and a mix of slightly undulating country with other sections of break-away country to the southern parts of the leasehold. Vegetation found within the boundaries includes Mulga, Bloodwood, Gidyea, Coolabah, Ghost Gum with an area of soft spinifex. The Sandover River also passes through the property providing flood-out country. In 2010 Argadargada was stocked with around 6,000 head cattle mostly being Charbray, Charolais and Bos Indicus breeds.

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Yaroinga peoples who inhabited around of country straddling both the Northern Territory and Queensland including Argadargada toward the western edge of their range.
Bores were sunk in the area in 1918 a few miles west of the Argadargada waterhole.
The station was established in 1951 by Damian Miller and Milton Willick who had a difficult time with the property, losing 1,300 head of cattle in 1953–54 to gidgee poisoning. In 1954 Calder joined the partnership and became the manager before they sold the station in 1964. The property occupied an area of when it was first taken up and construction of the homestead began in or after 1952 with the Milton and Phyllis Willick living in tents until all materials arrived.
The lessee of the station in 1998 was Dick Rogers when the property was in size and the land resources were mapped and surveyed with 35 land unit identified and described.
The Broad family bought the property in 2003 for 3 million.
In 2010, Peter Hughes of the Georgina Pastoral Company acquired the property for 5 million from the Broad family. The company also own the adjoining property Lake Nash Station.
The Rushton family moved to Argadargada in 2017 to manage the property for the Georgina Pastoral Company.