Our Story

Almost 90 Years on the Land

The Harrington family took up Olga Downs Station in 1936, joining the wave of pastoral families who shaped the Richmond district from the late 19th century onward. The region's story stretches back even further. Arthur Bundock and Walter Hayes established the original Richmond Downs run in the 1870s, opening up vast tracts of Mitchell grass country for grazing.

Across the decades that followed, the Harringtons built a life on this land. They mustered cattle on horseback, sank bores into the Great Artesian Basin, and raised each new generation with the skills and resilience that outback life demands. The station has been home to loyal stockmen for decades, including the legendary Harold "Bam" Brisbin, who worked at Olga Downs for 41 years.

The Harringtons

Today, Olga Downs is managed by Peter and Carmel Harrington, who run beef cattle on the rich grasslands between Richmond and the Gulf country. Peter is a traditional cattleman at heart, but the family has always embraced innovation when it can make a difference.

Their son William, his wife Hollie, and their two boys also live on the station, carrying the family legacy forward into the next generation. William's sisters Emily and Grace also work on the station when their jobs allow.

From Dial-Up to 5G

When William Harrington finished his computer systems engineering degree at James Cook University, he returned to the station with a problem to solve: Olga Downs had 24 kbps dial-up internet, barely enough to send an email.

What started as a personal project, a 46-kilometre microwave relay link to Richmond's ADSL cables, became Wi-Sky, a rural internet service provider that now operates 30 towers across the Richmond, Flinders, Winton, McKinlay, and Cloncurry shires. Wi-Sky is now rolling out 5G internet to rural Queensland towns including Georgetown, Julia Creek, and Winton.

William also founded uSee (Harrington Systems Electronics), which supplies remote monitoring cameras and livestock identification systems to producers across Australia, New Zealand, and South-East Asia.

Milestones

Innovation on the Ground

Through the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Hub, a federally-funded program with $8 million from the Future Drought Fund, Olga Downs trialled Agscent's pioneering breath-based pregnancy testing technology. The handheld device delivers results in under 60 seconds, a potential game-changer for remote producers where the nearest vet is 200 km away.

Peter Harrington also established a flight training school at the station in cooperation with Cleveland Bay Aviation from Townsville, using an Aeroprakt A22 LS Foxbat ultralight for training and mustering. Students receive theory training via satellite link and practical instruction on-site.