Mertondale or Mertondale Station is a pastoral lease, most recently operated as a cattle station, but previously run as a sheep station. It is located about 30km (20miles) north east of Leonora and 84km (52miles) west of Laverton in the Goldfields of Western Australia. Mertondale adjoins Nambi,[1] Clover Downs and Tarmoola Stations.
The now abandoned town of Mertondale once stood within the station boundaries. The town was gazetted in 1899 following a gold discovery, but was abandoned in 1910.[2]
Andrew McDonald retired from managing the property and left the area in 1950.[3]
The property is run in conjunction with Clover Downs Station. Together they occupy a combined area of 149801ha and were placed on the market for 1.2 million in 2013. They have a carrying capacity of 9,000 sheep and 1,300 cattle.[4] Small areas of the station have been infested with the coral cactus, which had spread to Mertondale from neighbouring Tarmoola Station.[5]
In 2020 the Department of Defence bought the station to protect the Jindalee Operational Radar Network against Chinese attention.[6]