Research Library Miscellaneous Publications Research Publications 9-1994 Pastoral resources and their management in the north-eastern goldfields, esternW Australia H J. Pringle Follow this and additional works at: https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/misc_pbns Part of the Environmental Monitoring Commons, and the Soil Science Commons Recommended Citation Pringle, H J. (1994), Pastoral resources and their management in the north-eastern goldfields, esternW Australia. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, Perth. Report 22/94. This report is brought to you for free and open access by the Research Publications at Research Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Miscellaneous Publications by an authorized administrator of Research Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Miscellaneous publication 22/94 ISSN 0725-847X September 1994 PASTORAL RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH-EASTERN GOLDFIELDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA;a An interpretation of findings from the rangeland survey of the North-Eastern Goldfields (Pringle, Van Vreeswyk and Gilligan 1994) prepared with support from the Kalgoorlie and North-Eastern Goldfields Land Conservation District Committees H.J.R. Pringle Natural Resources Assessment Group a DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1aCCII WESTERN AUSTRALIA Miscellaneous publication 22/94 ISSN 0725-847X September 1994 PASTORAL RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH-EASTERN GOLDFIELDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA An interpretation of findings from the rangeland survey of the North-Eastern Goldfields (Pringle, Van Vreeswyk and Gilligan 1994) prepared with support from the Kalgoorlie and North-Eastern Goldfields Land Conservation District Committees H.J.R. Pringle Natural Resources Assessment Group ~ DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE d'cll\ WESTERN AUSTRALIA CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 1. Using rangeland survey information in pastoral management 5 2. The rangelands 8 2.1 Land types and their land systems 10 2.2 Pasture type groups 19 3. Climate 25 4. Current pastoral management 27 5. Individual station reports 29 Acknowledgements 134 References and further reading 134 iii This report commences with a brief section in which Introduction rangeland survey information is put into a pastoral management context. It then describes the This report covers about 100,600 square kilometres environment in terms of types of rangeland and of rangeland in the north-eastern Goldfields area of climate. Types of rangeland are described in terms of Western Australia (Fig. 1). pasture types, land systems and land types. A pasture type is a kind of land at a plant community or The area covered includes stations within the landform scale. It is what is seen out of the window of following 1:250,000series map sheets (Fig. 2): a vehicle and what monitoring sites are located on. A land system can be seen as a pattern of pasture types Sir Samuel Duketon in a characteristic position in the landscape. Similar Leonora Laverton land systems are grouped into land types - these may Menzies Edjudina be easier to deal with on a station plan if there are many land systems present. The survey area includes the towns of Agnew, Kookynie, Laverton, Leinster, Leonora and Menzies, The report includes a brief summary of current extending from Riverina station and the northern end pastoral management. It describes how stations are of Pinjin station in the south-west and south-east set up, what stock are used and how the stock are run. respectively to Yeelirrie and the south-west portion of This will provide background information for Lake Wells stations in the north-west and north-east. potential new pastoralists as well as providing an It is approximately bounded by 27°S and 30°5 account of how pastoralism operated in the early latitudes, and 120°E and 123°E longitudes. 1990s. Fifty-one stations fell wholly (40) or partly (11) within the North-Eastern Goldfields rangeland survey The final section of the report consists of resource area in 1990. The following stations fell wholly within summaries for each of the stations (or parts thereof) the survey area (Figure 3): covered by the survey. Brief land descriptions are presented, followed by more detailed information on the land systems and their range condition and Adelong Jeedamya Mero Ii a Riverina suggested carrying capacities (sec). The sec presented Bandya Kookynie Mertondale Sturt Meadows is an estimate of sustainable pastoral productivity for Banjawarn Laverton Downs Minara Tarmoola each land system assuming zero feral animals and a Braemore Leinster Downs Mt Keith Walling Rock population of kangaroos which might have been Clover Downs Mt Celia Mt Remarkable Weebo expected prior to pastoral development (i.e. only accessing natural surface water sources as available). Depot Springs Melita Morapoi White Cliffs They are not proposed for any regulatory purposes. In Edjudina Melrose Mt Weld Yakabindie most years, carrying capacity is primarily determined Erlistoun Menangina Nam bi Yandal by type of country and seasonal conditions (which are Glenorn Menangina South Perrinvale Yerilla characteristically highly variable and unpredictable). Ida Valley Mendleyarri Pinnacles Yundamindra The figures suggested in this report are for a 'normal year', to be carried over summer (see the 'Climate' section of this report). Those stations only partly covered by the survey include those already partly covered in the Wiluna-Meekatharra report (Mabbutt et al. 1963); This report is intended to be used by the pastoral Albion Downs, Barwidgee, Lake Way and Wonganoo. industry, for the general information it provides, and Stations not previously surveyed and only partly also as a starting point for future reviews of station covered in this survey are Credo, Dandaraga, management. On a general level, there are numerous Goongarrie, Kaluwiri, Lake Wells, Pinjin and Yeelirrie. issues raised in the report that pastoralists might like to take a bit further through their Land Conservation District committees. There is also much information This report is a product of a rangeland survey in the specific to individual stations that will help North-Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia pastoralists review current paddock management conducted jointly by the Department of Agriculture strategies in station management planning. Western Australia (DAWA) and the Department of Land Administration (DOLA) with support and participation from the Kalgoorlie and North-Eastern Goldfields Land Conservation District Committees, between 1988 and 1990. In conjunction with the Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin No. 87 (Pringle, Van Vreeswyk and Gilligan 1994) and accompanying land system maps it is intended for use by pastoralists and Government agencies involved with the pastoral industry. This report has a particular pastoral focus whereas Technical Bulletin No. 87 provides a more detailed description of the natural resources and their condition within the North-Eastern Goldfields survey area. 1 ~ WILUNA I \ \ -, -, -, " <, I \ I -. I I I ( I \ \ ) I I ) I ( J\ Lake I "\._? Dar/at \ \ ',,,_. LEINSTER -, AGNEW• <, <, \ \ -, -, ..... , <, \ \ ) I \ \ I I ,-~ ( / ~ LAVERTON I / \ / \ / \ /// \ _,/ \ .r :" LEONORA~-- _ __,,__,,-• \ I \ I I I I I I I I I I I r / ~e \:ENZIES .: \ \ I I I \ \ \ \ \ \ ) \ \ \ \ \ \ \ e KALGOORLIE 0 Ci,.,,, .. "' -i I l~UIO I. Location map, the North-Eastern Goldiielcts survey area. 2 SIR SAMUEL LEONORA LEONORA• MENZIES • MENZIES 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 KILOMETRES Figure 2. The six 1 :250,000 map sheets covering the survey area. 3 'WILUNA I \ \ -, -, ' <, ' I WONGANOO BARWIDGEE VCL VANDAL KALUWIRI DEPOT SPRINGS ERLISTOUN NAMBI PINNACLES IDAVALLEY MEROLIA WHITE CLIFFS PERRJNVALE MOUNT CELIA VCL VCL • TOWN SITE MELITA PASTORAL STATION PASTORAL BOUNDARY SURVEY BOUNDARY MAJOR ROAD KALGOORLIE Figure 3. Pastoral stations within the survey area. 4 Chapter 1 Using rangeland survey information in pastoral management Rangeland surveys provide information that is useful for pastoral management in three major areas: e Description and assessment of the land. .. Matching management with current resources . .. Recognising and managing change . 1 (b) This visually imposing tor field on Nambi station supports sparse perennial shrubs and stunted trees. Infertile and shallow gritty soils support only moderate amounts of ground feed in good seasons and in poor seasons this country has very little (i) Description and assessment of the in the way of forage. land The range condition assessments provide insights In chapter five of this report resources are described into how the land has been managed historically. This for each station in terms of land systems and their information is particularly relevant as it indicates how total areas and condition. There is also summary the drought durability of stations has been affected. information for groups of land systems clustered During prolonged dry times, range condition is according to land type (similar looking land systems) important as it relates to the composition and and pastoral value. abundance of palatable perennial shrubs and grasses. This information is provided on a station basis, Range condition has most relevance in areas where paddock breakdowns will need to be generated by palatable perennials are abundant, such as lake individual pastoralists. Assistance to do this is country, rather than in stony poverty bush country for currently available from local district officers of the instance. In other words, if there never were many