
Sheep eating grass in rural Australia
'Station' is the term for a large
Australian landholding used for
livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term '
ranch'.
Stations in Australia are, in some cases, on
pastoral lease, and are known colloquially as '
Sheep Stations' or '
Cattle Stations' as most are stock specific, dependent upon the country and rainfall.
Sheep and Cattle Stations can be thousands of square kilometres in area, with the nearest neighbour being hundreds of kilometres away.
Because of the vast distances, there is a
School of the Air so that children can attend classes from their homes.
Medical assistance is given by the
Royal Flying Doctor Service, where medical staff such as doctors and nurses can treat patients at their homes, or airlift emergency and seriously ill patients to hospitals at the nearest towns.
Veterinary surgeons also fly to some of the more distant cattle and sheep stations.
The owner of a station is called a
Grazier. The word 'grazier' corresponds to the North American term '
rancher'.
See also
★
Stockman
★
Sheep station
★
Cattle Station
Reference
Collins
★
Collins Dictionary of the English Language, , Patrick, Hanks, Wm. Collins, 1984,