23/10/2026
CHARLOTTE PLAINS – A CENTURY OF SHEEP, SURVIVAL & OUTBACK SPIRIT!
Deep in Queensland’s magnificent Mulga Lands, just 60km east of Cunnamulla, lies Charlotte Plains Station – a remarkable piece of Australian pastoral history where generations of hard work, resilience and determination have shaped the land.
Originally known as Turnworth, the property was established in the 1860s, covering an extraordinary 156,000 hectares. Around 1874, Scottish brothers Archibald and Peter McDonald purchased the station and renamed it Charlotte Plains, reportedly in honour of their mother.
By the late 1800s, Charlotte Plains was a thriving sheep empire. Its enormous 22-stand shearing shed, built around 1887, witnessed staggering numbers, with up to 104,000 sheep shorn in a single year!
In 1914, wool production peaked at an incredible 1,484 bales, transported by bullock teams to the railway at Cunnamulla.
In 1923, A.B. "Bunny" Nagel purchased Charlotte Plains, earning his nickname after constructing an expensive rabbit-proof fence to protect the station's precious pastures.
The property passed through generations of the Nagel family, including Bunny's son Gordon and his wife Lorraine, who became a much-loved local identity during her 56 years on the station.
In 2002, their daughter Robyn Russell took over, continuing a family legacy now spanning more than a century.
Beneath Charlotte Plains lies one of Australia's greatest natural treasures – the Great Artesian Basin. Its naturally heated underground waters have transformed the station into an unforgettable outback destination.
Today, visitors can soak in artesian baths beneath endless western skies, watch native birdlife around the wetlands, explore historic station buildings and experience the tranquility of authentic station life.
Now covering approximately 27,000 hectares, Charlotte Plains continues its sheep and cattle operations, adapting to drought, changing seasons and the challenges of farming in Australia's unforgiving inland.
From the thunder of thousands of sheep moving through the yards to the peaceful waters of its artesian baths, Charlotte Plains is more than a station – it's a living chapter of Australia's pioneering story.
A tribute to the families, stockmen, shearers and station workers whose courage and determination helped build Australia's wool industry.
