Durundur Station Diary (1843-1844)

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Sketch of Durundur by Charles Archer, 31 July 1843.  In the early 1840s Durundur, near present-day Woodford, was the most northerly pastoral run in Australia.

Background

Of Norwegian descent, the nine Archer brothers who emigrated to Australia from Scotland played a prominent role in Queensland’s early pastoral history. David, Thomas and John Archer took up 200 square miles of country where they established Durundur Station near present-day Woodford in 1841. At that time it was the most northern pastoral run in Australia, and Durundur thus became the cradle of European settlement and a significant base for exploration into the unknown districts north and west. Ludwig Leichhardt gained valuable experience during his sojourn at Durundur in 1843-44, and the Archer brothers themselves spearheaded the advance of settlement into Central Queensland. In 1847-48 Thomas Archer explored the Burnett and Fitzroy River districts where, with his brother David, they established Eidsvold and Coonambula runs. Durundur was sold to David and John McConnel in 1848, and in 1853 Charles and William Archer took up Gracemere near the present-day city of Rockhampton. Gracemere thereafter became the centrepiece of the Archer family’s pastoral holdings.

 

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