# Ruby Plains Station

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruby_Plains_Station
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruby_Plains_Station.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Plains_Station
> Source revision: 1356319210
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Pastoral lease in Western Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Location map|Western Australia|label=Ruby Plains Station
  |position=floatleft
  |lat_deg=18.593611|lat_dir=S
  |lon_deg=127.641159|lon_dir=E
  |caption=Location in Western Australia}}

'''Ruby Plains Station''' is a [pastoral lease](/source/pastoral_lease) and [cattle station](/source/cattle_station) located about {{convert|41|km|mi|0}} south of [Halls Creek](/source/Halls_Creek%2C_Western_Australia) in the [Kimberley](/source/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)) region of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia). It is situated along the [Tanami Track](/source/Tanami_Track) and is used as a stopping place along the [Canning Stock Route](/source/Canning_Stock_Route).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://au.totaltravel.yahoo.com/destinations/destination/australia/wa/kimberleyarea/westkimberley/ruby-plains/|title=Ruby Plains|work=totaltravel|publisher=[Yahoo7](/source/Yahoo7)|year=2012|accessdate=12 February 2013}}</ref>                         

Ruby Plains and the Sturt Creek [Outstation](/source/Cattle_station) covers an area of {{convert|9674|km2|sqmi|0}}.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.kidman.com.au/properties/7/ruby-plains/|title=Ruby Plains|publisher=[S. Kidman & Co.](/source/Sidney_Kidman)|year=2012 |accessdate=12 February 2013}}</ref> Sturt Creek alone covers {{convert|3,150|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sturt Creek Outstation | website=S. Kidman | date=14 December 2019 | url=https://www.kidman.com.au/locations/sturt-creek/ | access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref>         

==History==
The station was established some time prior to 1900. In 1900 the property was owned by Messrs Cahill and Button. Button found some small nuggets of gold by accident not far from the [homestead](/source/homestead_(buildings)) while on his way home. The value of his find was about £100.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4267142 |title=News and Notes. |newspaper=[Northern Territory Times and Gazette](/source/The_Northern_Territory_Times) |location=Darwin, Northern Territory |date=8 June 1900 |accessdate=16 February 2013 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

By 1901 the station was carrying about 700 head of cattle.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24735761 |title=The North-West Blacks|newspaper=[The West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian)|location=Perth|date=29 May 1901 |accessdate=16 February 2013 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The area has a tropical climate and often receives high rainfall during the monsoon. In March 1904 the station recorded just under {{convert|3.5|in|mm|0}} of rain in 45 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84304969 |title=Adelaide Deluge |newspaper=[The Daily News](/source/Daily_News_(Perth%2C_Western_Australia)) |location=Perth |date=7 February 1925 |accessdate=16 February 2013 |page=16|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Two men named Shellie and Hansen struck [gold](/source/gold) while drilling for water at Ruby Plains in 1931. Gold was found at a depth of about {{convert|200|ft|m|0}} and the two men lodged a claim shortly after at Halls Creek.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16830133 |title=Gold Discovery|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=New South Wales |date=26 August 1931 |accessdate=16 February 2013 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

An [Aboriginal](/source/Aboriginal_Australians) woman named Judy was murdered at Ruby Plains by another Aboriginal woman named Topsy in 1944.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44816778 |title=Alleged Murder |newspaper=[The West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian) |location=Perth|date=22 July 1944 |accessdate=16 February 2013 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 2008 it was placed on the market and passed in at auction for A$38 million. [S. Kidman & Co.](/source/Sidney_Kidman) were hoping to attract a price of A$44 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/latest/m-in-cattle-properties-on-sale/story-e6frg90f-1111117952788|title=Land worth $450m on sale across northern Australia |author=Fiona Cameron|date=6 November 2008|accessdate=9 June 2014|work=[The Australian](/source/The_Australian)}}</ref>

==James Darcy==
James "Jimmy" Darcy was a [stockman](/source/Stockman_(Australia)) at Ruby Plains who fell from his horse while [mustering](/source/Muster_(livestock)) cattle in 1917. The seriously injured Darcy was transported by buggy for 12 hours to Halls Creek for treatment, despite there being no hospital or doctor in town. The [postmaster](/source/postmaster), Mr Tuckett, telegraphed Perth using [Morse code](/source/Morse_code) for advice and was told the stockman had a ruptured [bladder](/source/bladder) and would need to be operated on immediately. With no medical instruments or [anaesthetic](/source/anaesthetic), Tuckett operated while being advised by Dr Holland; the operation took seven hours to complete. The following day complications set in, and it became essential that a doctor come to the town. By this stage Darcy's plight had caught the imagination of the Australian public who were avidly following the story.
Holland made his way to [Derby](/source/Derby%2C_Western_Australia) on a cattle boat and was driven the final {{convert|555|km|mi|0}} to Halls Creek by [T-Model Ford](/source/Ford_Model_T) and a horse and silky, only to find that Darcy had died the day before he arrived.
This event was what inspired [John Flynn](/source/John_Flynn_(minister)) to establish the [Royal Flying Doctor Service](/source/Royal_Flying_Doctor_Service).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Halls-Creek/2005/02/17/1108500208467.html|title=Halls Creek – Western Australia|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=8 February 2004 |accessdate=13 February 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
*[List of ranches and stations](/source/List_of_ranches_and_stations)
*[List of the largest stations in Australia](/source/List_of_the_largest_stations_in_Australia)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.kidman.com.au/locations/ruby-plains/}}

{{Coord|18.593611|S|127.641159|E|type:landmark_region:AU-WA|display=title}}

{{Stations of the Kimberley Western Australia}}
{{Stations of Sidney Kidman}}

Category:Stations in the Kimberley (Western Australia)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruby Plains Station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Plains_Station) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Plains_Station?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.