How an Australian family transformed their sheep station into a wildlife haven

An Australian family who once built their life around sheep farming on a remote island are now helping give the same place a completely different future. Peter and Pamela Woolford took over Flinders Island off South Australia's Eyre Peninsula and raised their family there while running a Merino sheep station. Nearly five decades later, the island is at the centre of a $4.8 million conservation project backed by the Australian and South Australian governments. The project is removing livestock and targeting invasive cats, rats and mice to prepare the island for threatened wildlife. The Woolfords are working alongside government agencies and conservation experts while retaining ownership of the island. If the eradication effort is formally confirmed in 2027, endangered mammals could eventually be reintroduced to the island, creating a long-term wildlife refuge.

Peter and his first wife, Pamela Woolford, took on Flinders Island almost five decades ago and moved there with their young sons, Jonas and Tobin. Jonas was about one year old while Tobin was only six weeks old when the family began their isolated life on the island. The property covers about 3,854 hectares and lies roughly 30 to 35km off the Eyre Peninsula. The family ran it as a Merino sheep station and eventually converted the island to freehold in the mid-1980s. Jonas and Tobin grew up surfing, fishing and exploring the island while receiving School of the Air lessons through the radio. Sheep farming continued for decades, but the challenges of running an isolated pastoral operation eventually pushed the family to consider a different future for the property. The move towards conservation developed gradually. Discussions about Flinders Island's potential began in 2019, but the plans were temporarily put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic later brought Jonas and Tobin back to the island with their own families. They spent months there and began thinking about how the property could move beyond farming. The family developed a vision built around family, legacy, sustainability and low-level ecotourism. Their plans eventually led to Flinders Island Eco Escape while the family continued its abalone business. Sheep farming had already wound down in the early 2000s, and the island's final livestock were removed during the conservation operation in 2025.

The Australian and South Australian governments invested $4.8 million in 2024 to establish the Flinders Island Safe Haven project. The Woolford family is working with the Australian Government, South Australia's Department for Environment and Water and the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board. The project aims to remove introduced animals and restore the island's ecosystem before threatened species are reintroduced. Operations began in 2025 with the removal of sheep and cattle. Teams then carried out an intensive eradication programme targeting rats, mice and feral cats. About 108 tonnes of rodent bait were eventually distributed across the island by helicopter. Teams also used remote cameras, thermal drones, traps, foot searches and specially trained detection dogs to find remaining feral cats. The eradication is now in the verification stage and has not yet been formally declared successful.

The conservation project is designed to create a refuge for threatened Australian wildlife that struggles to survive on the mainland because of introduced predators. Several mammal species are being considered for future reintroduction. They include the Shark Bay mouse, greater stick-nest rat, southern brown bandicoot and banded hare-wallaby. These animals have either disappeared from the island or are known from historical and subfossil records. The early ecological signs have already been encouraging. Researchers have recorded little penguins returning to two sites and have seen native orchids appearing in large numbers. Seedlings of the critically endangered drooping she-oak have also emerged after grazing animals were removed. However, officials will not declare the eradication successful until verification surveys are completed in 2027.

Flinders Island is not being handed over to the government. The Woolford family will retain ownership while taking on day-to-day management and long-term stewardship of the property. A conservation agreement under the Landscape South Australia Act is being placed on the island's title. The legally binding agreement is intended to protect the island from activities that could threaten its ecological value. The family has also committed to maintaining strict biosecurity because even a small number of invasive animals could undermine the eradication work. Jonas and Tobin now run the family's abalone business and manage the island's ecotourism operation. Their children are also growing up with a connection to the property. If Flinders Island passes its required pest-free period and is formally declared free of invasive species in 2027, the next stage will be the reintroduction of endangered mammals. The former sheep station could then become a permanent safe haven for threatened Australian wildlife.