Oulnina

Oulnina is located in South Australia
Oulnina
Oulnina
class=notpageimage|
Location in South Australia

32°30′48″S 140°03′11″E / 32.51325°S 140.05297°E / -32.51325; 140.05297 (Oulnina)

Aerial views of Oulnina Park Station at Manna Hill, South Australia.

Oulnina Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia.

It is situated approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) south east of Mannahill and 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Yunta.

The property was established some time prior to 1861. In 1862, Henry Lorenzo Sprigg owned the station.[1] Sprigg struck financial problems in 1867[2] and by 1868 both Oulnina and Wadnaminga Station were put up for sale.[3] The two runs occupied a combined area of 900 square miles (2,331 km2) and were stocked with a total of 21,800 sheep. The property had a woolshed, huts, yards and 14 wells.[2] The two stations were acquired by Philip Levi and Co.

In 1870 the two stations were again sold, along with other properties. By this time Oulnina and Wadnaminga were stocked with 17,000 sheep.[4] The area was struck by a plague of grasshoppers in 1872, causing most available feed for stock to be lost.[5] In 1880 a total of 59,095 sheep were shorn at Oulnina.[6]

Gold was found on Oulnina in 1885, and a syndicate was formed shortly after to work a mineral claim on the property.[7] In 1890 only 16,092 sheep were shorn at the property.[6]

In 1897 the property comprised 797 square miles (2,064 km2) and was divided into 17 paddocks. The flock at the time was estimated at 40,000 sheep.[6]

In 1907 the property was acquired by W.J. McBride from the executors of W.H. Duncan's estate. Oulnina occupied an area of 737 square miles (1,909 km2) and was stocked with 38,597 sheep, 62 cattle and 64 horses at this time. It was divided into 38 paddocks and was fully fenced. Stock could be watered from 9 wells or 26 dams with one permanent spring. McBride paid £53,300 for the property.[8]

In 1911,[9] the property was acquired, along with nearby Outlapa Station, by Robert Crawford from R. J. McBride.[10] Crawford intended to subdivide Oulnina into 11 blocks and sell them.[11] Oulnina comprised 776 square miles (2,010 km2) at this time. It was divided into blocks, the largest being 113 square miles (293 km2), and they were put up for sale.[12]

Many of the leases, collectively called 'Oulnina Park', were acquired by J.G. Terry, who in turn sold them off in 1917.[13] George Brooks acquired many of the lots at this point, including the homestead block of approximately 300 square miles (777 km2), and retained them until his death in 1926.[14]

Maurice Francis was the owner of the property in 2013.[15]

Michael Burdon and his family operated the station in 2017, having inherited it from his father.[16] He is believed to have murdered his wife, Tanja Ebert, on 8 August 2017, disposing of her body on or in the vicinity of Oulnina Park Station. Burdon fatally shot himself dead at the property when police arrived on 16 August 2017 as part of their investigation into her disappearance.[17][18] The farm was offered for long term lease in March 2018.[19]

  1. ^ "Advertising". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 November 1862. p. 1. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Advertising". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 March 1867. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 October 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Advertising". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 August 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. ^ "New Books". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 April 1872. p. 5. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "The Pastoral Industry". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 July 1897. p. 5. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  7. ^ "The Advertiser". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 December 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Big Station sold". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 January 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Items of News". The Border Watch. Mount Gambier, South Australia: National Library of Australia. 18 February 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Robert Crawford, b. April 1859, Auchtermurty Scotland". eHive. 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Stations near Mannahill". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 15 February 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Advertising". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 February 1911. p. 26. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Land Sales". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 September 1917. p. 7. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Brooks, George (1849–1926)". Obituaries Australia. Australian National University. 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  15. ^ Alistair Lawson (22 November 2013). "Ewes to $144 at Yelta". The Land. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  16. ^ Wakefield, Elke (25 August 2017). "The words left unsaid about the disappearance of Tanja Ebert". InDaily. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Tanja Ebert: Police search scaled back for SA woman suspected murdered". ABC News. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Families of Tanja Ebert, Michael Burdon express hope and grief over suspected murder-suicide". ABC News. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. ^ Mott, Mitch (21 March 2018). "Oulnina Park, farm at centre of Tanja Ebert's disappearance, up for lease". The Advertiser. Retrieved 13 August 2021.