Cattle Stations

The town of Tennant Creek serves the Barkly Tablelands which is where many historic cattle stations are located.

The stations include Newcastle Waters, Banka Banka, Phillip Creek, Tennant Creek and Brunette Downs. The cattle farmed include Brahman and Santa Gertrudis.

The Barkly Tablelands are spread over 240,000 square kilometres. Some of the cattle stations are thousands of square kilometres in size and carry tens of thousands of cattle. One particular station carries up to 80,000 head of cattle.

The size of these holdings may be gauged by the fact the Tableland Highway can go for over a hundred kilometres within a single property.

The Tablelands Highway inspired the famous Australian poem by Dorothea McKeller - My Country which mentions the area's 'rolling plains' and 'far horizons'.