Rawnsley Park Station is owned and managed by fourth generation Flinders Ranges residents, Tony and Julieanne Smith. The station has been in the Smith family since 1953, and was originally owned by Tony’s father, Clem Smith. Initially devoted to sheep shearing, the station ventured into tourism in 1968, when the first cabins were opened and sheep shearing demonstrations began.
Tony and Julieanne took over Rawnsley Park in 1985 and, since then, have transformed a small, struggling sheep station into an award-winning tourism facility that attracts 20,000 visitors each year. Though tourism is the main industry on the property, the Station still runs 2,000 sheep.