Cattle station

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'Cattle station' is an Australian term for a large farm (station, the equivalent of ranch), usually in the outback, whose main activity is the raising of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a grazier. The largest cattle station is Anna Creek station.

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) set up a chain of such stations to be able to deliver his stock in good condition to the markets.

Cattle station has a parallel term, Sheep station, for those stations carrying sheep rather than cattle. In most cases the stations are in a rangeland context on pastoral leases. Many are larger than small countries.

The phrase is also in traditional Australian English to denote something large and/or important.

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