In August 1946 Kimberley Research Station was formally established as a jointly operated research centre, following an exchange of letters between Prime Minister Chifley and Western Australian Premier Wise.This agreement was terminated in 1973, when the station was taken over by CSIRO. The division of responsibilities for research and management of the station stipulated that CSIRO would be responsible for 'plant research' while the WA Department of Agriculture would accept responsibility for entomological, soil and cattle studies. The Department would also be responsible for day-to-day management of the station, as well as for capital works. Each organisation would pay the salaries of its own officers while the operational and capital costs would be shared equally between the two governments, with the Commonwealth contribution being paid by the Department of National Development.
 
These administrative and financial arrangements continued for the next 28 years of joint operations of KRS, although CSIRO gradually became increasingly involved in entomological research, in soil fertility studies and in cattle experiments aimed at assessment of the nutritional deficiencies of native pastures.  Because the post of Director, and later Officer-in-Charge of KRS was, with one exception, filled by CSIRO officers, increasing involvement of the organisation in administration was also inevitable.  In 1967 it led to the appointment of a CSIRO Administrative Officer who took overall responsibility for the station's day-to-day management.
 

Source

'The Northern Challenge - A History of CSIRO Crop Research in Northern Australia' by Basinola, Wood and Hacker 1985. Research Report No. 3; CSIRO Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures.
Historical agency address
70 km north-west of Kununurra, Ord River WA