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Burraduc Field Station was a pastoral property at Myall Lakes used by the University's School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, primarily for cattle breeding and husbandry, and pasture utilization under high rainfall coastal conditions (00035580/9). UNSW initially leased the land and sub-leased a house on the property from Myall Properties Pty Ltd on terms established in late 1976 (0035580). This land was chosen after the provision of the Tea Gardens by the AMP Society for cattle breeding, in operation since 1971, was terminated. Part of the Burraduc land was acquired by National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1979, leading Myall Properties to put the homestead on the market. The proposal to purchase the property was approved by the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Asspcoate Business Manager (Property) in March 1980, aided by funding from Commonwealth Development Bank and the Rural Bank of New South Wales (00370371/261). UNSW exchanged contracts on 23 May 1980, after gaining approval to mortgage the property from the Minister of Education on 19 May 1980 (00370371/322A). Associate Professor Euan Roberts managed both the Burraduc and Hay Field Stations until the Pro-Vice-Chancellor determined that the management of the field stations (Wellington, Hay, Deniliquin and Burraduc) should pass to the School of Fibre Science and Technology, and the Field Station Management Committee was formed to aid this transition. At their inaugural meeting on 12 September 1991, Roberts was appointed coordinator of Burraduc until its anticipated sale, and the coordination of Hay was passed to Dr Geoff Robards (911524). Burraduc Field Station was no longer being used by the School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences by the end of the 1980s. In 1990 the Vice-Chancellor decided it should be sold (00035579/78). The property was put up for auction in 1991 but was unsuccessful in securing a buyer, until a private sale was negotiated in 1992. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 7-17/11/1976 - ?/?/1992

On 3 February 1966 the Acting Bursar, E. H. Davis, wrote to the District Surveyor of the Land Board Office, Hay, noting that as in the near future a substantial part of the town common at Hay will become available for other use...I should be grateful if you would consider making this land available to the university on a permissive occupancy basis. On 13 April 1966 the Under Secretary for the Department of Lands, W. J. Broadfoot, wrote to Mr Davis advising that it has been approved that an area of about 1800 acres be revoked from Hay Common. Following revocation, a Permissive Occupancy will be offered to the university over the area, for research purposes associated with Wool Technology. In the Government Gazette published on 21 October 1966, it was notified that these 1800 acres had been revoked from Hay Common. On 16 December 1966 a Permissive Occupancy (66/12) for this site was offered to the university for the purposes of a research station to be effective from 1 January 1967. Hay Field Station was administratively placed under the School of Wool & Pastoral Sciences (file 00014498). On 12 May 1970 the Officer-in-Charge of the Hay Land Board Office wrote to Mr Davis to indicate that the residue of Hay Common has recently been revoked and the university's permissive occupancy is being amended to include the area. On 29 May 1970, Mr Davis accepted this offer on behalf of the university. On the same date Mr Davis also wrote to the Under Secretary for the Department of Lands, Mr R. Sinclair, suggesting that it seems appropriate that the [Hay] land should be held on a more secure basis than a Permissive Occupancy which is, in effect, a tenancy at will. On 14 August 1970, Mr Sinclair responded to this request indicating that there are no objections to the university gaining a more secure title and following completion of the investigations into the needs of the local vegetable farmers action will be taken towards dedication of an area for 'experimental farm' (file 00370941). The Government Gazette No. 90 of 6 July 1973 announced that this plan to dedicate the area as an experimental farm had been approved (file 00370942). On 16 September 1991 the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Professor A. J. Wicken, wrote to Professor Euan Roberts indicating that in future Hay, Deniliquin, Wellington and Burraduc (until sold) Field Stations should be looked after by a Management Committee in much the same way as Fowlers Gap Field Station. The first Chair of the Committee was Professor Ross Griffiths, as head of the School of Fibre Science & Technology (file 911523). On 2 December 1996 Council resolved to later approve timetable and administrative arrangements for the disestablishment of the School of Fibre Science & Technology (resolution CL96/88/4). At Council's 3 February 1997 meeting, it was resolved that this would be effective 1 July 1997 (resolution CL97/5). As a result, on 1 December 1997 Council passed a resolution to approve the disposal of the Hay Field Station and agree that, following consent from the Minister of Education, arrangements will be made for the sale of the Hay property (resolution CL97/88). However, on 30 April 1999 the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor Bruce Dowton, wrote to the Executive Director of the Division of Business & Finance, Chris Lidbury, proposing that on 15 May 1999 operational and financial responsibility for the Hay Field Station [be transferred] from the Chancellery to the Faculty of Medicine. This was agreed to by Chris Lidbury on 5 May 1999 and so the station remained with the university (file 971170). On 19 July 2004 the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Elspeth McLachlan, wrote a proposal to the Budget Advisory Group (BAG) recommending that the Hay Field Station be retained to provide a secure supply of healthy sheep for research at UNSW [and] that the Hay Field Station become part of the Biological Resources Centre with an effective date retrospective to 1 January 2003 (file 2004/1850). Although these recommendations were initially not accepted by BAG at its 18 August 2004 meeting, at the following BAG meeting on 20 October 2004 it was determined that UNSW had an obligation to continue activities at Hay Field Station in the meantime (file 2005/0446). It is unclear as to whether this also resulted in the approval of the move of the station to the Biological Resources Centre. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 01/01/1967-

On 12 April 1965 the Vice-Chancellor Professor J. P. Baxter wrote to the Minister for Lands, the Hon K. C. Compton, to enquire whether the Fowler's Gap Reserve in the neighbourhood of Broken Hill, which has been used recently by the Conservation Commission...[could] be made available to the University of New South Wales. It was also noted that the reserve has about 90,000 acres and is approximately 60 miles from Broken Hill and that the university has for some time been considering the desirability of establishing an experimental area in arid zone country...aris[ing] from the work of several different university departments. On 17 August 1965 the Minister for Lands the Hon T. L. Lewis approved a lease to the university for an initial term of ten years, commencing from 1 January 1966. Mr T. K. Hogan, Director of the Broken Hill Division of the university, was initially appointed Executive Director of the Station (file 00370994). On 8 November 1965 Council adopted the resolutions ii) that Council accepts the property known as Fowler's Gap upon the terms and conditions set out in a letter from the Minister for Lands to the university and iii) that Fowler's Gap be administered as part of the Broken Hill Division (resolution 65/163). On 6 July 1966 the Associate Bursar provided a file note indicating that all university research stations should be called 'field stations', prefaced in each case by the locality name. Thus the station at Fowler's Gap officially became known as Fowler's Gap Field Station (file 00014498). On 29 September 1966 the Vice-Chancellor wrote to the Minister for Lands advising that a Fowler's Gap Consultative Committee was to be established to furnish advice to the Council of the university on matters relating to the activities and development of the Fowler's Gap arid zone research station. The inaugural Chairman of the Committee was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor J. F. Clark and the first meeting was held on 13 April 1967 (file 00020449). On 26 October 1971 the Vice-Chancellor Professor R. H. Myers wrote to the Minister for Lands, Mr T. L. Lewis to ask for an extension of the Fowler's Gap lease to a lease in perpetuity as the development of the research station and of research programmes would be assisted if the university knew that its future occupation was assured. On 24 January 1972 Council resolved that it approves the conditions proposed by the Minister for Lands for acceptance of the lease in perpetuity of Fowler's Gap Field Station to the university (resolution 72/9i). On 24 March 1972 Mr G. R. Woods, the Western Lands Commissioner, wrote to the Vice-Chancellor to inform him that the university's application for a lease in perpetuity had been successful (file 00370994). In 1980 the management structure of the Station was reviewed. A report was released by Pro-Vice-Chancellor R. M. Golding on 4 December 1980 and approved by the Vice-Chancellor on 19 December 1980. As a result from this date the management of the Station was via a Management Committee, although an officer-in-charge remained on site at the Station. Responsible to the Vice-Chancellor and chaired by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the main aim of the committee was to determine the utilisation of resources to maintain an adequate level of income and to meet the needs of the university in carrying out its teaching and research programmes at the field station. From December 1981 this structure was altered slightly, as although the Pro-Vice-Chancellor continued to serve on the Committee and be responsible for reporting to the Vice-Chancellor, the Chairman position was taken by A/Professor J. P. Kennedy (file 911521). During 1991 the Station organisation was restructured and the Officer-in-Charge position replaced by a Station Supervisor (file 971929). From 1 July 1992 senior management responsibility for the Station was changed to the Bursar (S329). In January 2003, following a staff restructure, Dr David Croft took up the position of on-site Director at the Station, while also holding a fractional position in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. The Director reports to the Management Committee, which continues to administer the Station (file 2002/2855). The status of Fowlers Gap Station in 2012 was located 112 km north of Broken Hill, New South Wales (latitude 31.09° S, longitude 142.70°E) in the Parish of Hume, County Mootwingee (Mutawintji). The Station occupies Western Lands Lease No. 10194, an area of 38,888 hectares., and is held by the University of New South Wales as a 'lease in perpetuity' for the purpose of research, grazing and tourism. The mission of the Station is to further understanding of the functioning of the arid zone of NSW through research, teaching, interpretation and knowledge diffusion in a pastoral context. It is the only research station in the arid zone of New South Wales and the winter rainfall area of arid Australia. Areas have been monitored and data collected continuously, in some cases for over 30 years. The Station and its records form a unique facility for research and education. The University of New South Wales, in taking over the lease, undertook to carry out research and provide facilities for relevant research programs that might be proposed by other universities and government organisations. Research or other academic endeavour has been conducted Schools/units of the University of New South Wales including: Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Built Environment, the Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering and the Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS. Other tertiary institutions have also conducted research, chiefly, Macquarie University, University of Sydney, University of Newcastle, University of New England, the University of Adelaide, the Australian National University, Monash University, Melbourne University and La Trobe University. Two Cooperative Research Centres, Sustainable Tourism and Landscape Evolution & Mineral Exploration, have conducted research. Government organisations that have utilised the facilities include: the former Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales (now part of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources), NSW Agriculture (now part of the Department of Primary Industries), Queensland DPI, SA Department of Agriculture, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation and several Divisions of CSIRO. Funding to support research has been provided by the University of New South Wales, Australian Research Council, Wool Research Trust Fund, Australian Wool Innovation, Meat and Livestock Australia, Rural Credits Development Fund, Water Research Foundation of Australia, Australian Housing Research Council, Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism and a number of overseas governments and universities. In addition to its research function, Fowlers Gap is used extensively for teaching, largely by way of student field excursions. Regular users from UNSW include staff and students from the College of Fine Arts and the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. Field training is conducted for students from several other educational institutions such as ANU and Adelaide University (CRC Landscape Evolution & Mineral Exploration training program), and Monash University (School of Geography and Environmental Science). The Station also attracts visitors from overseas and within Australia and has been the subject/site of numerous television documentaries, newspaper articles and local and national radio reports. The Field Station is administered by the Management Committee, consisting of representatives from those Schools of the University of New South Wales that use the Field Station. The Committee is assisted by two advisory groups - the Graziers' Committee, a small group of pastoralists who supply support and advice at an informal level, and the Consultative Committee, an advisory group representing organisations associated with the pastoral industry, land and wildlife conservation and other stakeholders in the West Darling region. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 01/01/1966-

The Management Committee of the Central West Field Stations was an administrative body that met regularly to oversee the three field stations: Wellington, Mandilra, and Stuart Town. The inaugural meeting was held on 7 November 1975, and attended by Professor Hadyn Lloyd Davies, John McFarlane, and John Brain. The Management Committee was not formally established until 17 November at the Institute of Rural Technology Management Committee meeting, where they accepted the proposed structure covering representatives from the School of Wool & Pastoral Sciences, members of the School with expertise in stipulated areas, the Chair of the Institute, and the Technical Secretary of the Institute. As a professor from the School, Professor Davies was appointed Chair. For the expertise roles, John McFarlane was appointed to advise on "agronomy" (and Executive Officer), Archibald N Sinclair to "animal health" and Dr Douglas M Murray to "animal husbandry". The topics covered in their meetings were routine business matters, such as finances, livestock status, station supplies, infrastructure, repairs, and weather reports. Controlling organisation: UNSW - 17/11/75 - ? Controlling agency: Central West Field Station Complex - 17/11/75 - ? Subordinate agency: Wellington Field Station - 17/11/75 - Subordinate agency: Manildra Field Station - 17/11/75 - Subordinate agency: Stuart Town Field Station - 17/11/75 -

Central West Field Stations Advisory Committee was established in July 1983 to advise the Vice-Chancellor on matters relating to the development and the operation of the Field Station with particular reference to policy, current activities and future operation. Members were drawn from the Institute of Rural Technology, the Central West Field Station, the School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, the School of Surveying, and others to be nominated by the Vice-Chancellor. The approximately two-year period preceding the formation of the Advisory Committee saw the Central West Field Station suffer through drought and debt, and this Committee was part of efforts to turn the stations into commercially profitable farms. The inaugural meeting was held on 14 November 1983, with Professor Ray Golding as Chair.