BACK                                                                                                                   HOME All that remains are the ruins of the original homestead, and the large shearing shed, erected in 1875, the latter has been donated by the trustees of the estate of the late H. B. Hughes to the New South Wales Government for presentation within the Kinchega National Parks, established in 1967.  John and Annie Hughes in 1972 managed Kars Station and today are the owners.  Relics of early pastoral days may be seen at Kars Station's store, which also housed journals and records dating back to September, 1870.  The blacksmith's shop, traction steam engine and brick chimney are typical reminders of the pioneering spirit and enterprise of the pastoralists of the West Darling District of New South Wales. Water tank still remains and the troughs are still visable. Cornish pumping equipment was imported (together with Cornish labour and materials) in order to raise water from a depth of 200 or 250 feet at Kars well, more than 20 miles west of the river.  The boilerhouse and fine brick stack are still standing.  The stack was built in the early 1870s. The new pumping plant enabled water to be drawn from Kars well, which was strategically placed at the corner of four paddocks, each five miles square.  It thus provided water for 100 square miles of land.  The excavation of earth tanks to trap surface run-off was also made possible by mechanisation.  Two large steam tractors were used to haul a reversible plough backward and forward between them, ripping up the hard packed clay so that excavation work could proceed. The rusting plough may also be seen on the property. The homestead itself still remains which is 120 years old, also a sundial in the front yard which is over 100 years old.                                                             PHOTOS NEXT PAGE