Strathburn Station

Strathburn Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located at the heart of the Cape York Peninsula, approximately 120km northwest of Musgrave Roadhouse in Tropical North Queensland. It was registered on December 9, 2014, and covers a massive 246,564.30 hectares. The regional land use is heavily focused on vast, remote pastoral operations. The land at Strathburn Station is primarily used for cattle grazing, specifically restocking Brahman cattle, while also hosting outback bowhunting safaris and supporting ecotourism.

Savanna Fire Management projects involve the strategic, planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. This methodology standardly requires proponents to implement prescribed burns to create a mosaic of burnt and unburnt country, significantly reducing the available fuel load. By doing so, the project mitigates the risk and spread of highly destructive, late dry season wildfires, successfully avoiding the emission of potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

The Cape York region features a tropical monsoonal climate that is classified as a high rainfall area, characterized by intense wet seasons and dry, hot periods. The local environmental conditions feature soils that typically range from sandy loams and lateritic regolith on the plains to alluvial clays along the major watercourses, such as the Holroyd River which flows almost year-round through the property.

This project originally commenced under the 2013 methodology and transitioned to the 2015 Methodology Determination in February 2017 to continue its fire management activities. Interestingly, Strathburn Station is owned and managed by former Westpac economist Rory Robertson, who oversees the premium carbon abatement operations. The pastoral holding is celebrated as one of the most biodiverse non-coastal properties in Queensland, serving as a sanctuary for barramundi, brolgas, scrub bulls, and feral pigs, which actively supports its secondary land use as a remote hunting destination.