General News
15 January, 2025
A slow start to wet season but we don't want another 2024, says station owner
Westmoreland Station broke a rainfall record last year after massive rain in early 2024.
There has been little to get excited about in terms of wet weather this summer, but an average wet season would be just perfect for most graziers in the region.
Last year brought record-breaking rainfalls across parts of the Gulf and North West – this time last year McKinlay was virtually underwater.
The “Golden Gumboot” winner in the region with the most rainfall of any Bureau of Meteorology gauge was Westmoreland Station, located not far from Hells Gate Roadhouse near the Northern Territory border.
A new record was set at the 260,000-hectare property in the Gulf country, with 1940mm tipped out in 2024, eclipsing the previous annual record of 1900mm.
Most of last year’s rain came in the space of a fortnight.
Dianne Gould, who has lived on Westmoreland Station since 1980, said it was the worst flooding she had seen since ex-Cyclone Larry devastated the Gulf in 2006.
“It was an incredible amount of water,” she said.
“It’s hard to explain, I suppose.
“You want the rain but you wish it would stop when you get so much all at once.
“You can hear your cattle bellowing and there’s nothing you can do for them.
“You know some of them have got washed away. We lost a lot of cattle; a lot of young cattle.”
While governments make funds available for graziers impacted by flooding, Ms Gould said finding the time to navigate the red tape was problematic, especially when there was work to be done fixing up the property and re-stocking.
“We’re used to the wet but that was more water than we’ve ever had before,” she said.
“We would be happy with an average wet season this year.”
Some “good storms” helped with grass growth in November and December, with about 105mm falling at Westmoreland Station before Christmas.
“Every November we do a big shopping trip to Mount Isa and stock up,” Ms Gould said.
“We know what its like to be cut off and we prepare. We’re lucky that Burke Shire Council will often send out a helicopter with the mail and some basic supplies if we need them when the wet season kicks in.
“But we’d survive without it.”
The Gould family still has a landline phone but relies on Starlink for its internet service year-round.
2024 RAINFALL AROUND THE REGION
1934.1mm Westmoreland Station
1776.8mm Mornington Island Airport
1671.6mm Burketown Post Office
1625.4mm Burketown Airport
1493.7mm Sweers Island
1221.6mm Normanton Airport
953.6mm Trepell Airport (Cannington)
921.8mm Croydon Township
908.6mm Rocklands
882.2mm Century Mine
762mm Camooweal Township
722.4mm Mount Isa Mine
686.8mm Cloncurry Airport
659.6mm Mount Isa Aero
625mm McKinlay Roadhouse
596.6mm Lake Julius AWS
596.4mm Richmond Airport
496.5mm Phosphate Hill
467.4mm Hughenden Airport
449.4mm Julia Creek Airport
371.2mm Bedourie
333mm Urandangi Aerodrome
236.4mm Birdsville Airport
Source: Bureau of Meteorology