Andado

The station includes the Mac Clark Conservation Reserve, created to help preserve the rare Acacia peuce tree.

Vegetation communities include large areas of spinifex grassland, saltbush shrublands, and acacia and eucalypt woodlands.

The area is rich in Aboriginal artefacts and the name of the property is derived from a word meaning stone tool in Southern Arrente (aka Pertame), one of the Arrernte language dialects.

[3] He sank several bores in the area and in 1914 gained more leases with his brother Robert David MacGill and Henry Stanley Roper.

Molly and Mac Clark and their three sons, Graham, Kevin and Philip, initially lived in the original homestead that was built in the 1920s but was prone to flooding.

[8] By 1969 the Clark family owned Andado outright and by 1972 they commenced work on restoring the old abandoned homestead which was used to accommodate tourists.

In 1986 Molly sold the station except for the homestead and 45 square kilometres named Old Andado to be run as a stand-alone tourist destination.

The Costellos also acquired New Crown and Lilla Creek Station, which together occupy an area of 22,000 square kilometres (8,494 sq mi).

Dunes near Andado
Andado swamp
Bird flying over dune at Andado
Swamp between dunes, 2013
The Andado Station, c. 1973