View source for Noonkanbah Station

{{Short description|Pastoral lease in the Kimberley region of Western Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Location map|Western Australia|label=Noonkanbah&nbsp;Station
  |position=center
  |lat_deg=18|lat_min=29|lat_sec=56|lat_dir=S
  |lon_deg=124|lon_min=49|lon_sec=52|lon_dir=E
  |caption=Location in Western Australia}}

'''Noonkanbah Station''' (or just '''Noonkanbah''') is a pastoral lease, both a [[cattle station|cattle]] and [[sheep station]], on the [[Fitzroy River (Western Australia)|Fitzroy River]] between [[Camballin, Western Australia|Camballin]] and [[Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia|Fitzroy Crossing]] in the south central [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region of [[Western Australia]].

The station was pegged out in the 1880s and covered approximately {{convert|4000|sqkm}}. It was the subject of an infamous land-rights dispute in August 1980 when state premier Sir [[Charles Court]] enforced an oil exploration project under police protection.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mayes|first=Andrea|title=Tribute to Sir Charles Court, a man of vision|url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sir-charles-a-man-of-vision/story-e6frg12c-1111115180557|access-date=19 December 2013|newspaper=[[PerthNow]]|date=22 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813101012/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sir-charles-a-man-of-vision/story-e6frg12c-1111115180557|archive-date=13 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.api-network.com/main/index.php?apply=scholars&webpage=default&flexedit=&flex_password=&menu_label=&menuID=homely&menubox=&scholar=112|title= The Fulcrum of Noonkanbah|first=David|last=Ritter|publisher=API Network|year=2002|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref> The [[traditional owners]] now control around 1800 square kilometres of the land sacred to the [[Yungngora Community, Western Australia|Yungngora Community]].

==History==
The station was established in the early 1880s by the Emanuel family when brothers [[Isadore Samuel Emanuel]] and Sydney Emanuel were sent to the Kimberley by their father. Between them they set up Noonkanbah, [[Meda Station|Meda]], [[Gogo Station|Gogo]] and Lower Liveringa stations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49974054 |title=Fortune of Pioneer. |newspaper=[[The Barrier Miner]] |location=Broken Hill, New South Wales |date=27 November 1954 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 1908 the station was {{convert|100000|acre|ha|0|abbr=on}} in size and was held still by Emanuel and Co, who paid a £25 rental on the property. The property held 86,989 sheep at the time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76813775 |title=The Meat Supply.|newspaper=[[Daily News (Perth, Western Australia)|The Daily News]] |location=Perth |date=18 September 1908 |access-date=10 June 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Put up for auction in 1920 by the Emanuels, the station, along with neighbouring Gogo and Liveringa stations, was advertised as having an area of {{convert|1035530|acre|ha|0|abbr=on}} on one compact block equipped with {{convert|400|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} of sheep fencing. The property was described as being abundantly watered by the Fitzroy River that passes through the centre of the run, and various other pools and springs. The property included a homestead and other buildings, including the fully equipped 20-stand [[shearing shed]]. Stock included a flock of 65,000 sheep, 70 [[horse]]s, 250 [[donkey]]s, 50 [[mule]]s and 50 cattle.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37471845 |title=Advertising. |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |location=Perth |date=14 October 1920 |access-date=12 August 2012 |page=12 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

[[Wool]] produced on the station was often in high demand and fetched high prices. In the 1930 clearance, Noonkanbah superfine wool was sold for the highest price of 16[[Penny (Australian coin)|d]] per pound.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23125116 |title=Perth Sales. |newspaper=[[The Queenslander]] |location=Brisbane, Queensland|date=3 July 1930 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The station took delivery of 50 [[merino]] [[Sheep|ram]]s from the Tootra Stud from [[Walebing, Western Australia|Walebing]] in 1934,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32959410 |title=Station merino rams |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth|date=17 September 1934 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> another 150 were sent in 1936,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74917454 |title=Rams for North-West. |newspaper=[[The Northern Times]] |location=Carnarvon, Western Australia |date=6 June 1936 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and a further 150 rams were sent to the station in 1941.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47323563 |title=Pastoral rams from Midland.|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=10 May 1941 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=15 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
During the [[drought]] of 1936 the plains at Noonkanbah had good feed and a record 100,000 sheep were sheared that season.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40734340 |title=North-West Drought|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=16 July 1936 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=14 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The station sold 205 [[wool bale|bales of wool]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47147881 |title=North-West news.|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=13 June 1941 |access-date=12 June 2012 |page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1950 the station was selling sheep to the [[Air Beef Scheme]]; 104 sheep were sold and transported in one lift to the [[abattoir]] about {{convert|115|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} away.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57099521 |title=Air Beef Story: vastextension |newspaper=[[The Morning Bulletin]] |location=Rockhampton, Queensland. |date=1 May 1952 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The shearing shed was busy that season, with 52,000 sheep being shorn.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article83051884 |title=1950 Shearing season starts.|newspaper=[[Daily News (Perth, Western Australia)|The Daily News]] |location=Perth |date=25 March 1950 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=3 Edition: FIRST |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 
In 1953 about 50,000 sheep were shorn. 720 bales of greasy wool from the station sold at 64d per pound at the London wool sales later that year.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59679656 |title=W.A. wool sells well|newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)]] |location=Perth |date=20 September 1953 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The station was at one stage owned by pastoralist [[William Cox (pastoralist)|William Cox]], who fathered at least two children to local Yungngora women. One of his sons, Davey, stayed on to run the station after his father returned to another of his stations, [[Louisa Downs Station|Louisa Downs]].

During World War II the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] established a base, named ''Noonkanbah'', at the civil airfield at the station on 1 March 1943. [[No. 75 Operational Base Unit]] operated the base during its wartime use.

Large petrol and bomb dumps were established and the airfield was used by the [[Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force|Netherlands East Indies Air Force]] as a staging base. [[No 24 Squadron RAAF|No 24 Squadron]], [[25 Squadron RAAF|25 Squadron]] and [[No. 31 Squadron RAAF|31 Squadron]] all utilized the airfield. The airfield was large enough to handle [[B-24 Liberator]]s.

On 30 September 1944, the airfield base was made non-operational, and on 24 December 1945, the airfield was disbanded.

During the late 1950s and into the 1960s the station was managed by Duncan Beaton.

The following year, Beatson ordered the planting of {{convert|5|acre|ha|0|abbr=on}} of [[lucerne]] in an experiment to improve the stock carrying capacity of the property. He watered his crop from one of the river pools.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39110940|title=Pastoralists are enlisting the aid of agriculture to improve the stock-carrying capacity of their holdings Kimberley Changes |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |location=Perth |date=15 February 1951 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=13 Supplement: The WESTERN MAIL COUNTRYMAN'S MAGAZINE |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

A large proportion of the West Kimberley was afflicted by [[drought]] in 1952 and 1953, including Noonkanbah. Virtually all feed was lost and even many native trees started dying as a result of intense heat and lack of water.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49227202 |title=Drought Inflicts Big Cattle Loss in Kimberley.|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=17 August 1953 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The number of cattle in the area was reduced by half. This was the first drought suffered by pastoralists in 70 years, with many hurriedly sinking bores and buying feed to keep their stock alive. Other nearby properties that were affected were Liveringa, Quandan, Gogo, [[Glenroy Station|Glenroy]], [[Cherrabun]], Luiluigui, [[Fossil Downs Station|Fossil Downs]], Christmas Creek and Bohemia Downs stations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49227202 |title=Drought Inflicts Big Cattle Loss in Kimberley. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=17 August 1953 |access-date=15 November 2013 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1952 over 60,000 sheep were shorn at Noonkanbah.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49073669 |title=Kimberley rains brighten future.|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=10 January 1953 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=14 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The Fitzroy River flooded after heavy rain in 1949 and 1954. The 1954 event came immediately after a [[drought]] and the swollen river washed away stock from both Noonkanbah and Liveringa. At the height of the flood the river level was {{convert|10|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} above the low [[level crossing]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49632010 |title=Fitzroy has mouth of seven miles.|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=1 May 1954 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Noonkanbah lost 300-400 sheep that were drowned in the boggy ground in the marshy ground.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49631209 |title=New Fitzroy Flood May Drown Sheep. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=27 April 1954 |access-date=14 June 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

An amphibian fossil species that existed in the area during the Triassic, ''[[Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis]]'', was identified from material obtained at a bore on the station, and noted in the specific epithet of its name.<ref name="Cosgriff1972">{{cite journal |last1=Cosgriff |first1=John W. |last2=Garbutt |first2=Neil K. |title=''Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis'', a trematosaurid species from the Blina Shale |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia |date=1972 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=5–18 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/209913}}</ref>

===Traditional ownership===
The traditional owners – the people of the [[Yungngora Community, Western Australia|Yungngora Community]] – were employed by the station owners until 1971 when they walked off over a pay and conditions dispute.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://eh.net/XIIICongress/cd/papers/58Smith195.pdf|title=Indigenous Accumulation and the Question of Land in the Kimberly Region of Western Australia: Pre 1968-1975|author=Tony Smith|year=2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616034527/http://eh.net/XIIICongress/cd/papers/58Smith195.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2010}}</ref> In 1976 the station was purchased by the Aboriginal Land Fund to be developed by the traditional owners. It has since then been run by the people of the Yungngora Community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/getmedia/0f29fb3d-98bb-41ea-b56c-18f04c03f255/LOP_Yungngora_LP2_Amendment_10_Report|title = LOP Yungngora LP2 Amendment 10 Report|access-date=2021-02-10}}</ref>

The station was the scene for an intense political dispute when the government of the day allowed exploration company AMAX to drill for oil in [[Australian Aboriginal sacred site|sacred sites]]. The [[mining]] boom experienced in the 1970s led to hundreds of resource tenements being pegged on the pastoral station in the Kimberley, but an [[anthropology|anthropological]] report found the land covered by the station had spiritual significance for the Yungngora community. Western Australia's Premier, [[Charles Court]], was adamant that the exploration should go ahead regardless – and a convoy of 45 non-union drilling rigs and trucks left Perth protected by hundreds of police on 7 August 1980. Violent confrontations between police and Noonkanbah protesters ensued, culminating in the drilling rigs forcing their way through community picket lines onto sacred land.<ref name="Mayes">{{cite news|title=Sir Charles Court dead at 96|author=Andrea Mayes|work=news.com.au|url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22966125-2761,00.html|date=23 December 2007|access-date=2007-12-23}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=Hawke, Steve | author2=Gallagher, Michael | title=Noonkanbah, whose land, whose law | year=1989 | publication-date=1989 | publisher=[[Fremantle Arts Centre Press]] | isbn=978-0-949206-55-8 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vassiley |first=Alexis |date=2021 |title=Noonkanbah 1979: When Unionists Stood up for Aboriginal Rights |url=https://commonslibrary.org/noonkanbah-1979/ |website=Commons Social Change Library}}</ref>

In April 2007, the Yungngora people had their [[Native title in Australia|native title]] recognised over the Noonkanbah land.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2007/s1908091.htm|date=27 April 2007|title=Yungngora people given native title in WA|access-date=2007-05-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1908166.htm|date=27 April 2007|title=Hundreds welcome native title ruling at Noonkanbah|access-date=2007-05-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=30 April 2007|title=Native title at Noonkanbah not the end of the story|publisher=Crikey.com.au|url=http://www.crikey.com.au/Email/Preview/DailyEmailPreview.aspx?pid=e152394a-816e-444b-8356-7cc318b8d556#c9def6ba-5011-4931-aca5-3e36cea22c5d|format=fee required|access-date=2007-05-01}}</ref>

In October 2022, the Yungnora Association was fined $250,000 after pleading guilty to multiple charges of animal cruelty, in connection with the deaths of over 100 cattle on Noonkanbah Station in 2018. The fine was suspended for two years,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/yungngora-association-fined-over-noonkanbah-cattle-deaths/101589704|title=Yungngora Association handed suspended $250,000 fine for animal cruelty after Noonkanbah cattle deaths|publisher=ABC News|date=30 October 2022|accessdate=2 November 2022}}</ref> leading to criticism from the [[Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia|Pastoralists and Graziers Association]] which alleged that Indigenous graziers had received favourable treatment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-02/pga-slams-animal-welfare-sentencing-over-kimberley-cattle-deaths/101603238|title=WA farm lobby group says Yungngora Association Incorporated's penalty for cattle death inadequate|publisher=ABC News|date=2 November 2022|accessdate=2 November 2022}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Nkb-old-station.jpg|Ruins of the old station buildings
Image:Nkb-woolshed.JPG|Noonkanbah woolshed, now the community centre
Image:Nkb-sandy-billabong.jpg|Sandy Billabong, near Yungngora community, with many pairs of eyes watching
Image:Kulkarriya-01.jpg|Secondary section of the Kulkarriya Community School
Image:Kulkarriya-02.jpg|Primary section of the Kulkarriya Community School
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of pastoral leases in Western Australia]]
*[[List of the largest stations in Australia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2005/1342962.htm AMAX drills]
* [http://www.ozatwar.com/airfields/nookanbah.htm OzatWar Website]
*McLeavy, Lyn, 1948- Land Council meeting, Fitzroy Crossing, W.A. October 1979 [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23389398 photograph at National Library of Australia, Canberra]

{{Stations of the Kimberley Western Australia}}

[[Category:Stations in the Kimberley (Western Australia)]]