William Liddle

William Hurle Liddle (2 December 1888 – 8 September 1959) was a pastoralist who established Angas Downs Station (now Angus Downs Indigenous Protected Area), in Central Australia, taking up the first pastoral lease in 1929.

Early life

Liddle, of Scottish descent, was born in Angaston, South Australia to Thomas and Matilda Ann Liddle.

Life in the Northern Territory

Liddle came to Alice Springs as a young man, to work at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station, in 1907. This is where he met, and married, Mary Earwaker the daughter of the blacksmith and a local Arrernte woman, in 1912.

Following their marriage (during which they had four children) Liddle worked as a contractor for Gerhardt Johannsen, and constructed many of the stone buildings at Arltunga, including the Arltunga Police Station.

William left Mary in Alice Springs. He then started working at a number of local cattle stations including Maryvale Station, Mount Burrell, Bowson's Hole, Hamilton Downs and finally King's Creek Station before establishing his own station Angas Downs: named for his home town. A formal lease was not officially granted until 1929. The Anangu name for this place is Walara.

In 1932 H.H. Finlayson stayed with Liddle at Angas Downs and, although it was his primary purpose of his expedition to study mammals he took many photographs and recordings of Aboriginal people here.