Tempe Downs Station
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{{Short description|Pastoral lease in the Northern Territory}}
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{{Location map|Northern Territory|caption=Location in the Northern Territory|label=Tempe Downs|position=top|lat_deg=24.379117|lat_dir=S|lon_deg=132.42483|lon_dir=E}}
{{coord|24.379117|S|132.42483|E|type:landmark_region:AU|name=Tempe Downs Station|display=title}}
File:Tempie_Downs_in_1947,.jpg
File:Tempe_Downs_in_1947_as_pictured_by_Arthur_Groom.jpg
Tempe Downs Station is a pastoral lease {{Convert|200|km|mi}} east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.{{Cite web |title=Tempe Downs |url=https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=18857 |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=NT Place Names Register}} It is approximately {{convert|7769|km2|sqmi|0}} in size.{{Cite news |last=Forest |first=Peter |date=1984-08-10 |title=Station history: Tempe Downs |work=Centralian Advocate |pages=7}} It is near to the Kings Creek Station and Watarrka National Park.{{Cite web |last=O'Loughlin |first=Genny |title=Watarrka National Park: an early pioneer |url=https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/442014/watarrka-early-pioneer.pdf |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory}}
It is on the lands of the Luritja people, who are its traditional owners.{{Citation |author1=Australia. Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner |title=Tempe Downs and Middleton Ponds |publication-date=1998 |publisher=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission |isbn=978-1-876591-01-4}}
Early history
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.{{Citation |last=Mincham |first=Hans |title=Charles Chewings (1859–1937) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/chewings-charles-5578 |access-date=2024-09-08 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} Thornton was the shareholder-manager and he worked closely with Arrarbi who helped him in this.{{Cite book |last=Kimber |first=Dick |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/492231 |title=Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography |publisher=Charles Darwin University |year=2008 |isbn=9780980457810 |editor-last=Carment |editor-first=David |edition=Revised |location=Darwin |pages=15–16 |chapter=Arrarbi (c1870 - c1945)|hdl=10070/492231 }} 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.
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.{{Citation |last=Mulvaney |first=D. J. |title=William Henry Willshire (1852–1925) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/willshire-william-henry-9128 |access-date=2024-09-09 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2016-08-18 |title=The untold story behind the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-19/the-untold-story-being-the-1966-wave-hill-walk-off/7764524 |access-date=2024-09-09 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}
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.{{Cite web |title=Tempe Downs, Northern Territory |url=http://spencerandgillen.net/places/4fac6980023fd704f475b57e |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Spencer and Gillen: a journey through Aboriginal Australia}}{{Cite web |title=Horn Expedition General Field Notes. Gesture Language. Trip to Ayres (sic) Rock and Mt Olga. Lake Amadeus 1894. |url=http://spencerandgillen.net/objects/50ce72f4023fd7358c8a938f |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Spencer and Gillen: a journey through Aboriginal Australia}} During this visit it was decided that Arrarbi would join the expedition as a tracker and interpreter; he later returned to the station.
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.
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.{{Citation |author1=Groom |first=Arthur |title=I saw a strange land |publication-date=1950 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/19014349 |access-date=9 September 2024 |edition= |publisher=Angus and Robertson}}{{Cite web |last=Groom |first=Arthur |year=1947 |title=[Album of photographs of Central Australia] [picture] |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-140709170/view |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=Trove |language=en}}{{Citation |last=Jarrott |first=J. Keith |title=Arthur Groom (1904–1953) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/groom-arthur-6496 |access-date=2024-09-09 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Groom |first=Arthur |date=26 October 1951 |title=To the Editor |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59841008 |accessdate=9 September 2024 |newspaper=Centralian Advocate |location=Northern Territory, Australia |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=V |issue=229}}
See also
References
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