Croydon Station

History

The lease was first taken up by the Robinson family from Brookton, when Edward Robinson, John Seabrook and W Robinson left the family's property near Pingelly with 3,000 sheep in November 1878. The sheep were broken into three flocks with an Aboriginal drover and one of the family members assigned to each flock. The groups passed through Beverley, York, Western Australia, Northam and New Norcia on the way before arriving at Croydon in 1879. Mr E. Robinson left Croydon in 1886 to purchase Helena Farm from H. Brockman for £3000. In the 1890s the McRae Brothers owned the station and had 32 Aboriginal men, 38 women and 13 children who were used as a source of labour. The station employees were given a new set of clothes every year in lieu of pay and were allowed to hunt native game, but only in their own time. The station suffered the loss of 800 sheep following a storm and resulting floods in 1894. Another storm swept over the area in 1898 causing even more damage. D. MacRae reported damage to the homestead and other buildings and waters rising to within of the 1894 watermark. No stock losses occurred, with livestock being removed from the most affected paddocks the day before. of rain fell over the course of a day. Ernest Anderton Hall (nephew of William Shakespeare Hall) bought Croydon from the McRaes in July 1911 for £27,270, after he sold Yandayarra Station, and Croydon was managed by his cousin Harold Aubrey Hall. At this time Croydon was described as comprising sixteen paddocks and twelve good wells with windmills, tanks, and troughs. Croydon was advertised in 1919 when Nicholas sold three properties in the northwest, Croydon, Peron Peninsula and Dirk Hartog Stations. At the time Croydon occupied an area of and was stocked with 11,000 sheep and 2,700…