Puttupa Springs from Beltana

Description

Puttapa Station in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia is located near Beltana. Puttapa Station  is 195 square miles in area and a lease was applied for in 1854 by John Haimes. His pastoral lease is dated from 1 January 1855.  Unfortunately little is known of Haimes who did not remain long in the country.  The Hon.  John Lewis in his autobiography Fought and Won states that after he left home at the age of 14 he worked for a time for Haimes both at his Telowie Station (near Port Germain) and at Puttapa which “was the far north in those days, and a very rough shop it was”.  Lewis is scant on details but recorded that Puttapa was “managed by a man named Jeffery who was very smart, energetic little fellow”.

Puttapa embraced the sites of the township Beltana and of the headquarters of the much larger Beltana Station established by Thomas Elder after the purchase of Puttapa from Haimes in 1862 and, a few years later, of the Mount Deception Run (95 square miles) immediately west of Puttapa.  These additional leases of areas on the western plain between the ranges and Lake Torrens were merged to form one station embracing 500 square miles.  Thus after seven years Puttapa lost its separate identity.

Puttapa (an Aboriginal word of uncertain meaning ) like many of the Aboriginal names retained for stations, has been spelt in various ways.  After nearly half a century of serving simply as a part of Beltation Station, Puttapa was detached to take on again its separate identity.  As related in this account, several owners held Puttapa from 1911 until the end of 1936 when it was bought by Len Ragless and his wife Dorothy who with children Richard and Margaret made Puttapa their home.