20/09/2026
When South Australia was first settled, aspiring pastoralists could lease large areas of Crown land through an annual occupational licence covering several square miles.
These vast runs were unfenced, with boundaries often marked only by a simple plough furrow. Flocks of around 1,000 sheep were cared for by a shepherd who lived wherever the sheep were grazing. A hut keeper helped maintain the camp and protected the flock at night from dingoes and others who saw the sheep as an easy source of food.
In the early days, shepherds slept in transportable boxes before more permanent huts were built. Each night, the sheep were penned around the hut for protection. The station owner typically visited only once a week to deliver fresh supplies, making life on the frontier a lonely and isolated existence.
A little-known loophole in the land system allowed enterprising pastoralists to secure their holdings. They could purchase a selected section of land anywhere within their lease and then continue leasing the surrounding country. If others showed interest in purchasing the same land, it was put up for auction, where wealthy pastoralists often outbid competitors.
One notable exception occurred when the Moravian Brethren selected three square miles for their Bethel settlement. Competition at auction drove the price to more than 30 shillings per acre, far above the usual £1 per acre. Fortunately, they had the financial backing of George Fife Angas.
Many of South Australia's large pastoral estates were established this way. Owners would purchase a small freehold block, often just 80 acres for a homestead and outbuildings, while leasing the surrounding land. Over time, they gradually acquired the freehold, creating some of the extensive holdings that shaped the state's pastoral history.
Life on the early pastoral frontier was challenging, isolated, and often uncertain, but it played a significant role in shaping rural South Australia as we know it today.
