| Charnley River Station is located 200km north east of Derby. It has common boundaries with Mt House and Mt Hart Stations, and is also with Vacant Crown Land. (The pastoral lease size is approximately 297,903 ha). | |||
Land Use History Charnley River Station has been used for extensive cattle grazing for about 90 years. The special agricultural lease acres were established in the mid 1970s and have been used for cropping hay production and improved pasture establishement. |
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A Diverse History Charnley River Station was initially offered as a war veteran's block after World War II. It has always been a cattle station though originally the dominant breed was shorthorn. The original homestead was built by a man of the name Doherty, the remains of the original homestead can still be seen at Old Beverley Springs. Peter and Cheryl Camp saw this lease as an opportunity to diversify their existing patrol lease, Kalyeeda, on the Fitroy River. Since purchasing the station in August 2001 the Camps have put a large amount of labour and effort into creating the beautiful settings you can see today, upgraded accomodation facilities, and substancial improvements of the water supply for the cattle. Approximately 11,000 cattle are currently on Charnley River Station, which is used to produce young cattle to transfer to Kalyeeda for preparation and fattening, over 12 months, to sell into the live export trade markets of Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. The method of muster is using helicopters to cover vast areas with a ground crew of 5-6 horsemen and a bull catcher and motorbike, where terrain allows. Once mustered, the cattle are then walked and handled by horsemen. This annual muster occurs during the dry. The properties employ both australian and international workers. At present there is 100kms of boundary fences to be done to contain the cattle coming from Kalyeeda. The ongoing general maintenance of fencing, herd management and animal welfare continues. There is always work to be done. |
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Peter Camp is a third generation cattleman and has always lived in Northern Australia. He has been involved in the Northern Australia pastoral industry his whole life. He is focused on developping Charnley Station as a diverse operation with a goal to improve cattle management while developping the agricultural and tourism sectors. The Camp family have four children who have grown up on stations and are keen and actively involved in running the properties. The children have been educated via SOTA (School of the Air) and the high school years by SIDE (School of Isolated and Distance Education). |
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| The Camp family thank you for visiting their home and sharing this unique ecotourism experience. |
Charnley River Station 2009 . Website by [R.I.P] |