CURTIN SPRINGS STATION & WAYSIDE INN
“ … Curtin Springs, named after the then prime minister of Australia, John Curtin … “
When a young Peter Severin, his wife, Dawn, and baby son, Ashley, arrived in 1956 to take possession of his debt-ridden 1,639 square miles of Curtin Springs Station, he stepped from his Vanguard and announced that all this was to be their future home.
The young wife replied: “Boy, I’ve got news for you, and it’s all bad.”
Their accommodation consisted of two rough bough sheds, another galvanised iron shed, kitchen, bathroom and a crude bush dunny (toilet).
Originally, the land was first taken up in the 1930s by Paddy DeConnley. At that time the locality was known as “Mt Connor Station.”
The name change occurred when when a later owner, Abraham Andrews, tried to christen the lease as “Stalin Springs”, due to his admiration of Josef Stalin, of Russia. His two sons objected strongly, so the compromise was “Curtin Springs,” named after the then prime minister of Australia, John Curtin.
The Andrews battled against the banks, the loneliness and the stock agents. They failed.
At this point Peter Severin and his brother, Rollo, took possession of the drought-starved 1,029 acres.
In the 1960s the station was run by about five stockmen and one woman.
Every day, at 3.30pm, after the Royal Flying Doctor two-way radio session, young Dawn used to chat to her nearest female neighbour who lived 80 km away.
Even today, more than 50 years after the Severin’s arrived, all the water is pumped up from underground bores to storage tanks. They say the bore “must be watched constantly, serviced regularly and prayed over intermittently.
For electricity, a large generator runs for 24 hours every day, keeping functional air conditioners, heaters, water, fridges, petrol, phone, hot water, etc.
The generators, they say, get “more tender loving care than any of the women on the property.”
Today, the station – now 4,166 square miles – apart from its livestock, receives 30-40 buses of tourists per day, supplying cool drinks and meals, as well as tours to the beautiful Mt. Connor which is always visible in the distance.
Mt. Connor rises 344 metres above the surrounding plains.
It is three times as large as Ayers Rock and just as spectacular at sunrise and sunset.
It is sometimes called “the forgotten wonder” of Central Australia.
The much-promoted Ayers Rock/Uluru is only a 45-minute drive to the west of Curtin Springs homestead.
Their web site is www.curtinsprings.com
