{{Short description|Pastoral lease in Western Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Location map|Western Australia|label=Quobba Station |position=right |lat_deg=24|lat_min=23.728|lat_dir=S |lon_deg=113|lon_min=24.597|lon_dir=E |caption=Location in Western Australia}} {{coord|24|23.728|S|113|24.597|E|type:landmark_region:AU|name=Quobba|display=title}} [[File:Surf warning at Quobba.JPG|thumb|Surf warning at Quobba]] '''Quobba Station''', most commonly referred to as '''Quobba''', is a [[pastoral lease]] that operates as a [[sheep station]] in [[Western Australia]]. It was originally owned by Charles Augustus Fane and Charles Eugene Fane, who named it Point Charles.
==Description== The property is situated approximately {{convert|60|km|mi|0}} north of [[Carnarvon, Western Australia|Carnarvon]] and {{convert|144|km|mi|0}} south of [[Coral Bay, Western Australia|Coral Bay]] at the southern tip of the Ningaloo Reef Marine Park<ref name=Quobba/> in the [[Gascoyne]] region. It is bounded by [[Boolathana Station]] and [[Lake Macleod]] to the east and the south, [[Gnaraloo]] to the north, and the [[Indian Ocean]] to the west.<ref name=Quobba>{{cite web|url=http://quobba.com.au/quobba-homestead/?page_id=93|title=Quobba Station, Carnarvon, Western Australia – History|year=2015|access-date=19 December 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120538/http://quobba.com.au/quobba-homestead/?page_id=93|url-status=dead}}</ref> The property is the most westerly station in Australia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58061213 |title=Pastoral Pars |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]] |location=Perth |date=26 October 1924 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=26 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The station has a boundary that runs north to south along the coast for a length of {{convert|180|km|mi|0}} and has a width of between {{convert|10|and|12|km|mi}}. The area is composed of coastal rangeland vegetated in [[Atriplex|saltbush]], [[Acacia|karara]] and [[Megathyrsus maximus|buffalo grass]].<ref name=Farm/>
==History== Quobba was established in 1898 by Charles Augustus Fane and currently occupies an area of {{convert|187000|acre|ha}}.<ref name=Quobba/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/fsaustraliawa/northcoast/754456/surf-the-waves-at-red-bluff|title=Surf the waves at Red Bluff|date=3 December 2009|access-date=19 December 2015|work=Getaway|publisher=[[ninemsn]]|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222110216/http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/fsaustraliawa/northcoast/754456/surf-the-waves-at-red-bluff|url-status=dead}}</ref> The station was previously known as Point Charles Station after Charles Augustus Fane,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58061012 |title=Pastoral Pars |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]] |location=Perth |date=19 October 1924 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=25 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> who transferred the ownership to Charles Eugene Fane and Dan Powell in 1909.<ref name=slp/> French and Baston acquired the station and the sheep from Charles Eugene Fane in 1923.<ref name=slp>{{cite web|url=https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/gazlist/75316F103D3E28A348257C3C0014F735/$file/Tocgg069.pdf|title=Government Gazette|access-date=10 December 2019|publisher=[[State Library of Western Australia]]|date=10 December 1909}}</ref>
The property was owned by George Baston and Leonard French in 1923. In 1925, over 8,000 sheep were shorn at Quobba.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58230531 |title=Pastoral Pars |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]] |location=Perth |date=22 November 1925 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=8 S|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1929 French died following a long illness.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74898231 |title=Obituary |newspaper=[[The Northern Times]] |location=Carnarvon, Western Australia |date=7 November 1929 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Baston died in 1940<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74939475 |title=Funeral |newspaper=[[The Northern Times]] |location=Carnarvon, Western Australia |date=12 July 1940 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and left the property to his son Keith.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49013099 |title=Three missing in small aircraft |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=1 February 1952 |access-date=20 December 2015 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1941 following the [[Sinking of HMAS Sydney|battle]] between the German auxiliary cruise [[German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran|''Kormoran'']] and the Australian cruiser {{HMAS|Sydney|D48|6}}, survivors from ''Kormoran'' came ashore in a 46-man cutter near 17-Mile Well and a 57-man lifeboat near Red Bluff.<ref name=Frame6>{{cite book|last=Frame|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Frame (bishop)|title=HMAS Sydney: Loss and Controversy|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|location=Rydalmere, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-340-58468-8|oclc=32234178|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Olson|first=Wesley|title=Bitter Victory: The Death of HMAS Sydney|publisher=University of Western Australia Press|year=2000|isbn=1-876268-49-2|location=Nedlands, WA|page=40|oclc=45722719|author-link=Wes Olson}}</ref> After being alerted by the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] to the presence of the survivors, staff at Quobba, together with a number of officials, rounded up both groups that had made landfall, who did not resist capture.<ref name=Frame6/><ref name="abc 2024-11-23">{{cite news |last1=Bates |first1=Alistair |title=After WWII battle with HMAS Sydney, German seamen landed on an outback sheep station |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-23/world-war-ii-german-kormoran-lifeboats-landing-at-quobba-station/104625214 |access-date=22 December 2024 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |date=23 November 2024 |language=en-AU}}</ref>
The Meecham family acquired the property in 1977<ref name=Land>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/landline/old-site/content/2008/s2623445.htm|title=Quarrel Coast|work=Landline|author=Sean Murphy|date=12 July 2009|access-date=28 December 2018|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> and switched from rearing [[merino]] sheep for wool to [[damara sheep]] for meat. {{As of|2015}} the property has a flock of approximately 10,000 damaras.<ref name=Quobba/>
In 2015 the station owners had to renegotiate the lease agreement with the state government, including having the government excise sections of pastoral land along the world-heritage-listed [[Ningaloo Coast]] from the property, for conservation and tourism ventures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-29/pastoral-lease-rollover-draws-closer/6504144|title=Five weeks and counting: Negotiations ongoing as Western Australia's pastoral lease rollover approaches|author=Lucie Bell|date=29 May 2015|access-date=19 December 2015|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref>
==Tourism== [[File:Blowholes, Quobba Point, Western Australia (6924534900).jpg|thumb|Blowholes at Quobba Point]] Tourism and recreational activities, particularly fishing and surfing, have progressively increased since the 1970s.<ref name=Land/> {{As of|2015}}, tourism accounted for 20% of the station's income. Attractions around the property include [[Ningaloo Reef]], [[Blowhole (geology)|blowholes]], the wreck of the bulk carrier [[MV Korean Star (1984)|''Korean Star'']] and a memorial cairn to HMAS ''Sydney''. The station provides a variety of accommodation and a shop at Red Bluff.<ref name=Farm>{{cite web|url=http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/cattle/general-news/tourism-takes-on-bigger-role-at-quobba-station/21235.aspx|title=Tourism takes on bigger role at Quobba station|author=Megan Broad|date=12 August 1999|access-date=20 December 2015|work=[[Farm Weekly]]|publisher=[[Fairfax Media]]|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222095639/http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/cattle/general-news/tourism-takes-on-bigger-role-at-quobba-station/21235.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Surfing=== Red Bluff Point is a popular surfing spot with a left-hand break over the reef and waves of {{convert|1|to|12|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Australia_Pacific/Australia/WA/North_West/red_bluff/|title=Red Bluff, Australia|year=2015|access-date=20 December 2015|publisher=Wannasurf}}</ref> In 2012, a surfer survived a shark attack there, and was rescued by other surfers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/man-injured-but-alive-after-shark-attack/story-e6frg13u-1226460191349|title=Shark attack survivor Jon Hines resting after surgery |author=Nicole Cox; Phil Hickey|date=30 August 2012|access-date=21 December 2015|work=Perth Now/[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]]|publisher=[[News Corp Australia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/570016/1000-stitches-but-shark-survivor-jon-hines-set-to-fight-on/|title=1000 stitches but shark survivor Jon Hines set to fight on|author=Dan Proudman|date=3 November 2012|access-date=20 December 2015|work=[[Newcastle Herald]]|publisher=[[Fairfax Media]]}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of pastoral leases in Western Australia]]
==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{Stations of the Gascoyne Western Australia}}
[[Category:Stations in Gascoyne]] [[Category:Shire of Carnarvon]] [[Category:1898 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:Surfing locations in Western Australia]]