Place Names Register Extract

Undoolya

Extract date: 05/11/2026

Name Undoolya
Type Designation Homestead
Place Id 19262
Place Type Feature
Status Recorded
Date Registered
Location (Datum GDA94)  
Latitude: -23° 41' S (Decimal degrees -23.694951)
Longitude: 134° 02' E (Decimal degrees 134.035792)
Locality / Suburb  
  Hale
Local Government Area  
  MacDonnell Shire Council
History/Origin Undoolya Homestead, established in 1873, is among the oldest buildings in Central Australia, second only to the Alice Springs Telegraph Station. The name ?Undoolya? is derived from the Arrernte word Ntulye, meaning ?shade? or ?shadow?, likely referring to the shade cast by cliffs over the Undoolya Creek.

In April 1872, South Australian pastoralist and stock agent Edward Meade Bagot secured the first two pastoral leases in the Northern Territory to form Undoolya Station. In March 1873, Bagot?s son, Ted Bagot, along with his stepbrother James Churchill-Smith and associate William Gilbert, drove cattle from South Australia to stock the new station ? one of the significant early droving feats in Australian history. After their arrival, they initially camped at Emily Gap before commencing the construction of Undoolya Homestead near Mount Undoolya later that year.

The station changed ownership in 1876, when Bagot sold it to Andrew Tennant and John Love. Facing challenges such as severe droughts and economic downturns in the 1890s, the property eventually came under the ownership of the Hayes family in 1906.

Sources:
Wikipedia Contributors, n.d., Undoolya Station, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, viewed 13 March 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undoolya_Station.
Freestyle Publications, 2 October 2022, 150 years of Undoolya Station and Centralian pastoralists, Freestyle Publications, viewed 13 March 2025, https://freestylepublications.com.au/150-years-of-undoolya-station-and-centralian-pastoralists/.
ABC News, 2022, Undoolya cattle station turns 150: The first NT pastoral lease, ABC News Australia, viewed 13 March 2025, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-01/undooyla-cattle-station-turns-150-first-nt-pastoral-lease/101491974.

Register & Gazettal information

Date Gazettal Comment
  (None Found)  

The Northern Territory Gazetteer is maintained by the Place Names Section,
Department of Lands, Planning and Environment.
GPO Box 1680, Darwin NT 0801. Ph 08 8995 5333.
place.names@nt.gov.au

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