Durack Homestead and 7520 Cattle

We leave Lake Argyle to travel a few kilometres down the road to The Durack Homestead (The Argyle Homestead Museum). If there’s a story to tell about endeavour and the resilience and determination of the early pioneers on thIs great land, then this is it.

In 1953, Michael Durack, a struggling tenant farmer from Ireland moved to Goulburn in New South Wales with his family. Not long after he had settled, Michael died leaving his eldest son, 18 year old Patrick (Patsy) to look after the family.

Patrick Durack married Mary Costello in 1862. He soon established a head of cattle 30,000 strong in Coopers Creek, South West Queensland but mindful of drought, he sought more dependable land. The Durack family acquired substantial land in The Kimberley’s, Western Australia and in mid 1883, they began the historic task of stocking the land.

7520 cattle and 209 horses were to be driven over 4,800km from Coopers Creek to The Ord River in Western Australia. The original timeframe for the journey to move the cattle was 3 to 4 months. However, they were often held up for weeks and months facing drought, floods, fever and disease, scurvy, crocodiles and native spears.

They eventually arrived at The Ord River in September 1885, more than 2 years later losing half the cattle, many of the horses and a few good men.

After Mary passed, Patrick built a Homestead for The Durack family on their Kimberley land at Argyle on the banks of The Behn River. It survived a few generations until The Ord River Dam project created Lake Argyle in 1971.

Before Argyle was flooded taking out most of the homestead, the family home was taken apart with each stone numbered and stored for future relocation, The Durack Family Home was reconstructed on higher ground and opened as the Argyle Homestead Museum in 1979 in recognition of the pioneering spirit and historical significance of Patrick and The Durack Family.

We have followed a similar route on our travels to The Kimberley’s in the luxury of an air conditioned 4 wheel drive. It’s a long way with harsh sun burnt land to navigate and I can’t imagine how Patrick Durack drove his cattle 4,800km across unforgiving land to settle in the mighty Kimberley’s.

It’s the stuff of legend.もっと詳しく