The locality was first explored by Europeans in March 1838 by the party of Hill, Wood, Willis, and Oakden, who were scouting an overlanding route from the Murray. The station is the oldest merino stud in Australia and was settled in 1839 by Capt. John Finnis, who called it "Mount Dispersion", and stocked it with 12,000 sheep. The property was acquired in 1841 by Frederick Dutton, at which time it was at the frontier of European settlement. In the early days Anlaby extended from near Kapunda to Tothill's Creek occupying an area of with a length of and a width of. The neighbouring pastoralist to the west and north was W. S. Peter, while to the south was Bagot'sKoonunga. To the east was the Murray scrub. A two-man mounted police station was established at Julia Creek between 1842 and 1846 to protect the Anlaby and Koonunga flocks from attacks by local Aboriginal people. The property ran as many as 70,000 sheep and shearing lasted nine months, employing 70 people. In 1843 a log hut was constructed for the manager Alexander Buchanan. The name of the run was also changed by Dutton to Anlaby, the name of the Yorkshire village that his sister's husband hailed from. By 1851 the property had been reduced to, with the loss of another so that closer settlement could be made. Another from Anlaby was subdivided for wheat farming up until 1917. Returned servicemen were allocated another between 1918 and 1922 in the Soldiers Settlement Scheme. The manager, whose son, also named Alexander Buchanan, became Master of the South Australian Supreme Court, died in 1865, and his place was filled by Henry Thomas Morris, a nephew of John Hindmarsh, and one of the original immigrants of 1836. Later managers were Peter and Mayoh Miller, then C. Campbell. Frederick Dutton died in 1890 and left Anlaby to his nephew Henry Dutton, who carried out extensive improvements and married the accomplished musician and socialite Emily Martin on 29 November 1905. On Henry's death in 1932 she took over management of the station and cattle stud. The Anlaby Pastoral Company was formed in 1960 and took over control of the property. Partners were Emily Dutton, John H. Dutton, Geoffrey P. Dutton, Helen Blackburn and Leonie Dutton. By 1968 the stud and property were acquired by the Mosey family. In early 2009 Andrew Morphett acquired Anlaby. Anlaby Homestead and the Anlaby Shearing Shed, Slaughterhouse, Shearers' Quarters and Manager's House are both separately listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. The prolific authorGeoffrey Dutton grew up at Anlaby, and includes information about his ancestors in his 1985 book The Squatters.
