A PIECE of the De Pledge family history has been sold.
The family has been involved with Mandora station, Eighty Mile Beach, south of Broome, since the 1900s.
Originally a mixed sheep and cattle station-turned cattle station, it has been purchased by the West Australian station manager and co-owner, Haydn Sale and his family, from Yougawalla station, near Fitzroy Crossing.
The 94,000-hectare cattle station was purchased over the Christmas period for an undisclosed price, with about 4500 head of mostly Droughtmaster cattle.
It is understood the station will be a new venture for the Sale family that will run it separately to its other Kimberley stations Bulka, Yougawalla, and Margaret River, which it co-owns with partners, including advertising mogul Harold Mitchell.
Farm Weekly understands former station owners Peter and Polly (nee De Pledge) Edmunds, are expecting to spend their time at Hooley Station near Wittenoom and within WA.
Joe De Pledge (Polly's father) said they went to Mandora in 1945 and the family had Yanrey station first, in the 1800s.
Mr De Pledge said Thomas "Tom" De Pledge worked in the pastoral industry for many years before he went to Onslow to manage Yanrey station, which was then in the estate of the late John Stuart.
In 1898, Tom formally purchased Yanrey from the Stuart estate and it is still run by the De Pledge family today.
After World War 1 the two leases later became one to make up what is now known as Mandora.
"I was only four when we first came to Mandora and at that time it was half sheep and half cattle," Joe said.
"It was my decision to get out of sheep in the end - in 1975 - because the wool cut was light, and it was hard to get more than 30 per cent lambing.
The purchase of the station, will have Mr Sale branch out from the Yougawalla Pastoral Company.
Mr Sale plans to continue on the work from the Edmunds family and build up its existing herd.