Mount Elvire Station
Encyclopedia
Mount Elvire Station was a pastoral lease and sheep Station
located approximately 177 kilometres (110 mi) south west of Leonora
in the Goldfields of Western Australia
,
The explorer John Forrest
passed through the area in 1869. Travelling in the area to the North of Mount Elvire, which he named after his wife, he then named the nearby Lake Barlee
after the Colonial Secretary of Western Australia. The station encompasses a large peninsula of Lake Barlee
at its northern boundary.
Malcolm Campbell Ross, of Menzies, first took up the lease on the station in 1966 but it was never fully stocked or developed. The owners from 1973-77 were the McLaughlin family who ran 3,500 head of sheep on the lease.
In 1989, an inspector from the Department of Agriculture stumbled across a large cannabis
crop at Kalli Station
, another sheep station in the Mid West near Cue
. Following a police investigation, Operation Cerberus, another crop was found at Gingin
and another was planned to be planted at Mount Elvire by the L'Onorata Syndicate. As a result, ten men were arrested including Rocco Versace and Sebastino Pizzata, who were the ringleaders. The head of the operation Bruno "The Fox" Romeo was arrested years later.
The pastoral lease was acquired by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 1991 and is now used as a tourist destination which offer overnight stays on the site.
In 2006, the Department of Environment and Conservation proposed that the 1543 sqkm station be converted to the Mount Elvire Conservation Park as past of the larger Mount Manning Nature Reserve.
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
located approximately 177 kilometres (110 mi) south west of Leonora
Leonora, Western Australia
Leonora is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located northeast of the state capital, Perth, and north of the city of Kalgoorlie. At the 2006 census, Leonora had a population of 401, about a third of whom are of Aboriginal descent. The area is extremely arid, with a...
in the Goldfields of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
,
The explorer John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
passed through the area in 1869. Travelling in the area to the North of Mount Elvire, which he named after his wife, he then named the nearby Lake Barlee
Lake Barlee
Lake Barlee is an intermittent salt lake in Western Australia. It is about 150 km east of Paynes Find and west of Leonora on the border between the Shires of Sandstone and Menzies. Lake Barlee is more than 100 km wide from west to east, and about 80 km wide from north to south. The...
after the Colonial Secretary of Western Australia. The station encompasses a large peninsula of Lake Barlee
Lake Barlee
Lake Barlee is an intermittent salt lake in Western Australia. It is about 150 km east of Paynes Find and west of Leonora on the border between the Shires of Sandstone and Menzies. Lake Barlee is more than 100 km wide from west to east, and about 80 km wide from north to south. The...
at its northern boundary.
Malcolm Campbell Ross, of Menzies, first took up the lease on the station in 1966 but it was never fully stocked or developed. The owners from 1973-77 were the McLaughlin family who ran 3,500 head of sheep on the lease.
In 1989, an inspector from the Department of Agriculture stumbled across a large cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
crop at Kalli Station
Kalli Station (pastoral lease)
Kalli Station is a pastoral lease in of Western Australia.The property covers an area of and has traditionally farmed sheep for the production of wool. The station is located in the Shire of Murchison in the Mid West region of Western Australia and the nearest town is Cue. The soil has a low level...
, another sheep station in the Mid West near Cue
Cue, Western Australia
- Further reading:* 'Along the Cue railway. Inspection of line with suggested improvements, visit to Georgina Siding'. West Australian, 11 June 1898, p. 5-External links:* *...
. Following a police investigation, Operation Cerberus, another crop was found at Gingin
Gingin, Western Australia
Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia. The town is located north of Perth along the Brand Highway.The town is well suited for agriculture with a mild climate and available water sources...
and another was planned to be planted at Mount Elvire by the L'Onorata Syndicate. As a result, ten men were arrested including Rocco Versace and Sebastino Pizzata, who were the ringleaders. The head of the operation Bruno "The Fox" Romeo was arrested years later.
The pastoral lease was acquired by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 1991 and is now used as a tourist destination which offer overnight stays on the site.
In 2006, the Department of Environment and Conservation proposed that the 1543 sqkm station be converted to the Mount Elvire Conservation Park as past of the larger Mount Manning Nature Reserve.