Calga History

The history of Calga Station can be traced back to the 1840s when Calga Station comprised of nearly 100,000 acres. The property passed through a number of owners in the 1800s such as the White Family of Belltrees, the Murphys, the Ryder Bros and then later sold to AML&F Co.

From historical records it states that in 1899, 61,000 sheep were shorn at Calga Station by 50 shearers with the rams averaging 15lbs 2oz and the ewes 12lbs. In 1907, 29,355 Calga bred sheep averaged 11lb 3oz all hand shorn. Calga sheep during that time gained a reputation for their largeness of frame and heavy wool cutting.

The Pye family have had a long connection with Calga Station, with the Pye family first taking up ownership for a short period in the early 1900s from 1911 to 1916. There was a lapse in Pye ownership until 1932 when the Pye family bought back Calga and that land remains in the Pye family current holdings. The Calga West portion was bought back by F C Pye in 1932 and subsequent original Calga holdings were added by R.A. Pye in 1969 and W.R. Pye in 1994. Further holdings were added in 1997, 1996 by WR Pye and more recently in 2017. The aggregation now totals 40,626 acres.

Calga was traditionally a wool growing property until more recent times when the decline in the wool industry in early 2000 forced a change to include a large dry land farming operation, along with the replacement of the Calga Merino flock by Dohne Sheep Studs.

In good seasons Calga Pty Ltd crops up to 13,000 ha of dry land farming. Crops grown include Wheat, Barley, Chickpea, Faba Beans, Canola and Sorghum.