Hugh Proby was the third son of the third Earl of Carysfort, Ireland. He migrated to Australia and established Kenyaka Station as a cattle station. The Flinders Ranges is very dry country, so it is both tragic and ironic that on 30 August 1852, Proby drowned when he was swept from his horse crossing the swollen Willochra Creek while trying to herd a mob of cattle during a thunderstorm. Six years later, in 1858, his grave was marked with an engraved slab shipped from Britain by his brothers and sisters. It was said to weigh one and a half tons and posed a significant challenge to transport it to the grave site. Proby's father was a British naval commander and a Whig politician. He and his wife had four sons and four daughters, the eldest son, pre-deceasing his father, which allowed for the second son to become the 4th Earl of Carysfort. Severe droughts resulted in massive losses of sheep and eventually Kanyaka Station was abandoned. Due to its stone construction, many of the buildings survive today as ruins and are a popular tourist attraction. Today, the ruins of the Kanyaka Station complex, including the nearby woolshed and cemetery, and the stone walling on the opposite side of the Hawker road, are located on the South Australian Heritage Register.