Avon Downs Station

Avon Downs is a pastoral station on the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Indigenous people have lived in the Barkly region for thousands of years.

[1] In 1866, John and James Ranken, two cousins from old pastoral families in New South Wales, herded 4,000 sheep to the area from Queensland's Mackay district, escaping severe drought.

In 1882 Thomas Guthrie purchased 1920 square km of the Barkly, expanding that later to more than 3600 square km, naming it Avon Downs after his merino stud 'Rich Avon' in Victoria.

[3] Avon Downs is now owned by the Australian Agricultural Company and is managed by Adam and Jordyn Ballantine.