PLOUGHSHARES INTO SWORDS

Things change … Middleback Station owner Andrew Nicolson is resigned to the army's acquisition of the land his family has worked since 1919.

South Australian sheep stations swallowed up by Australian Army

Station owners have met the army's land acquisition proposal with mixed reactions.

Middleback Station owner Andrew Nicolson said the decision has been made, things change and life goes on.
"It's a decision you wouldn't have arrived at yourself," he said. "At the end of the day the decision is not ours.
"The army will make the decision and life goes on."
Although Andrew was unsure how much of Middleback Station the army wanted, he thought it was about 80 per cent.
"At this stage they would take the whole lot," Andrew said. "It would leave us with something unviable."
The Nicolson family has owned Middleback Station since 1919 and Andrew has run it since 1988.
"Of course it's sad to see it go," he said. "I have loved the farming and the family's loved it."

Andrew said the acquisition would provide another use for the land.
Because of its hardy ecology, the land was well suited to the army's heavy vehicle and troop training activities.
Having such a large area of land would allow areas to recover and regenerate between training sessions.

Cultana to triple in size

The Cultana defence training area could triple in size within the next five years, according to parliamentary secretary for defence Teresa Gambaro.
The Defence Minister has approved land acquisitions between the existing training area and Iron Knob.
This land, in addition to the current 48,000 hectares, would make Cultana one of Australia's largest military training areas.
Just how much land was acquired would depend on negotiations with leaseholders of nearby stations. However, the defence department proposed to acquire all of Tregalana Station and all or part of Roopena and Katunga stations.

The stations surrounding Whyalla have significant historical value for Whyalla and its residents and this would have to be safeguarded if the expansion went ahead.