Kanyaka Station was a cattle and sheep station in the Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...

 of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 approximately 40 km north of Quorn, South Australia

Quorn, South Australia

Quorn is a township and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, 39 km northeast of Port Augusta. At the 2006 census, Quorn had a population of 1068.Quorn is the home of the Flinders Ranges Council local government area...

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History

Kanyaka Station was established as a cattle station in February 1852 by Hugh Proby. The Flinders Ranges is very dry country, so it is both tragic and ironic that in August that same year, Hugh Proby was drowned when he was swept from his horse crossing the swollen Willochra Creek while trying to herd a mob of cattle during a thunderstorm.

Under subsequent owners, the station grew in size until it was one of the largest in the district with 70 families living and working there. Because of the difficulties of transport, the station had to be very self-sufficient and Kanyaka station grew to include a large homestead, cottages for workers, workshops, huts and sheds, mostly built from local stone due to limited supplies of workable local timber. The station switched from cattle to sheep, but had cows, pigs, and vegetable gardens to supply food for the residents. There was also a cemetery for those who died, so far from medical help. Note Hugh Proby was not buried in the Kanyaka cemetery, as it had not been established at the time of his death.

Severe droughts resulted in massive losses of sheep and eventually the station was abandoned. Due to its stone construction, many of the buildings survive today as ruins and are a popular tourist attraction.

Hugh Proby

Hugh Proby was the third son of the third Earl of Carysfort

Earl of Carysfort

Earl of Carysfort was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for the John Proby, 2nd Baron Carysfort. The Proby family descended from Sir Peter Proby, Lord Mayor of London in 1622. His great-great-grandson John Proby represented Huntingdonshire and Stamford in the House of Commons...

of Ireland. He was born on 9 April 1826 at Stamford in Lincolnshire, England, the son of Admiral Granville Leveson Proby (the third Earl) and Isabella Howard. Hugh Proby emigrated on the ship "Wellington" which arrived on 30 May 1851 at Port Adelaide, South Australia. He died on 30 August 1852 in Willochra Creek, South Australia aged 24 years. He was buried the following day. Six years later in 1858 his grave was marked with an engraved slab shipped from Britain by his brothers and sisters; it was said to weigh one and a half tons and posed a significant challenge to transport it to the grave site.

External links

• Photos of Kanyaka Station, the cemetery and its headstones