Daniel Harvey Patterson acquired Corona in 1875 along with Menamurtree station near
Wilcannia. Patterson soon took an interest in the Broken Hill mine and later became a director and chairman of
BHP. By 1883 the owners had spent £75,374 on improvements. Corona produced over 2,090
bales of wool in 1890. Patterson sold off his pastoral interests including Corona in 1894. During the
depression of the 1890s, with falling wool prices and drought, many of the properties in the area including Corona,
Sturts Meadows, Mount Arrowsmith, Langwirra,
Elsinora and
Thurloo Downs fell into the hands of finance companies. Corona was acquired by
Goldsbrough Mort & Co. The Corona Pastoral Company sold the property in 1911 to Messrs. T. L. Browne and
H. H. Dutton. The station was stocked at this time with a flock of 60,000 sheep, 280 cattle and 190 horses. In 1912 when
shearing was in full swing the men went on
strike over a butter allowance, which was not resolved until an
Australian Workers' Union representative travelled to Corona to settle the strike.
Sidney Kidman acquired the property in 1917. In the 1930s leases in the area were adjusted to give owners financial certainty so long as part of the lease was surrendered. Kidman did not exercise this option and the leasehold remained the same. In 1995 the property was fully stocked with 13,000 head of sheep. Soft Rolling Skin sheep were introduced to Corona in 2001 by Peter and Tracy Botten, who owned the station at the time. In the
drought of 2002 the flock was down to about 300. By 2005 the wool price was over A$200 a bale more than previous years and the flock was approximately 6,500. In 2013 the station was still owned by the Bottens, who were running 7,000 sheep on the property. Corona was awarded
organic certification earlier the same year. It was gained in two years rather than the normal three, because the Bottens had not used chemicals for the previous three years prior to starting certification. As a result, the
wool clip attained prices or up to A$1 per kilogram of wool and were fetching up to A$1,050 per bale. ==See also==