Our next activation for Saturday, 1st November 2025, was Helms Flora Reserve VKFF-3057.
Above: Map showing the location of Helms Flora Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps
We drove south along Downfall Road and arrived in the small town of Rosewood.
European settlement of the Rosewood area commenced in c. 1836 when William Guise established Ondemaline Run as a heifer run. Ondemaline is an Aboriginal word meaning uncertain. William Guise was born in May 1796 in Sydney. In 1816, he married Catherine Allen. They had 8 children. Guise died in March 1850 at Liverpool, N.S.W. (ancestry 2016) (Andrews 1920)
By 1848, the run had been acquired by David R Gale who renamed it Glen Roy. (Andrews 1920)
Above: article from The Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 12 Oct 1848. Image c/o Trove
The property was then owned by John McAuliffe and Patrick Craven. In 1866, the 20,000-acre property had 3,000 sheep. In the late 1860s McAuliffe and Craven’s partnership was dissolved. McAuliffe retained one-half of the property while Craven acquired the northern half, naming it Rosewood. (Andrews 1920)
John McAuliffe was born c. 1795 in County Cork, Ireland. In 1824, he was convicted of rebellion and was transported for life to Australia aboard the Ann and Amelia, arriving on the 2nd day of January 1825. In 1839 he married Mary Hough. They had 11 children. John died in November 1884, aged 89 years. (convictrecords.com.au 2026)
Above: John McAuliffe. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
Eventually, the property became known as Wolseley Park. (Andrews 1920)
A very unique place in Rosewood is the Rosewood Gnome Retirement Village, featuring a large collection of garden gnomes. Apparently, new gnomes are welcome.
Marija and I continued on towards the park, travelling through beautiful countryside. We then reached the park which is located between Kunama and Laurel Hill on the western side of Batlow Road.
Above: the boundaries of Helms Flora Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth
The reserve is 110 hectares in size and was established on the 12th day of May 1989. (Dcceew.gov.au 2025)
To access the park, we drove along Nursery Access Road. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. Unfortunately, we had strength 8 static crashes on the 40m band.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK5TRM
VK3WSG
VK5HS
VK5DW
VK3DAC
VK4FE/P
VK2DA
VK1DA
VK3EPL
VK2OKR
VK2BXB
VK2AUS
VK2AUR
VK2AUT
VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0621
VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0621)
VK2ETI
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK5TRM
VK3WSG
VK5HS
VK5DW
VK3DAC
VK4FE/P
VK2DA
VK1DA
VK3EPL
VK2OKR
VK2BXB
VK2AUS
VK2AUR
VK2AUT
VK1DI
VK5TOY
VK1AO
VK2MET
VK2NP
VK3ZPF
VK3JW
VK3PJF
VK3JV
VK2ZR
VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0621)
VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0621)
VK3HJW
VK3KRL
VK2VW
VK2HFI
VK2AKA
VK2BUG
VK3MCK
VK2YL
VK2MG
VK2VH
VK4AAC
VK2LBL
VK2SVN
VK3TDX
VK3CA
VK2HAK
VK2ZRD
VK3PWG/2
VK3TTK/2
VK7IAN
VK3ZOL
VK3ABI
VK2CGR
VK2ETI
VK7PJM
After a successful activation, Marija and I headed to the town of Batlow. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to fully explore this beautiful little town.
In c. 1853, gold was discovered in the area, and a small settlement called Reedy Creek was established. The Reedy Creek Post Office opened on the 1st day of August 1873. The name was changed to Batlow in 1889 as a result of locals writing to the Postmaster General requesting a name change. This was due to their mail being sent by mistake to other localities with similar names, such as Reedy Flat. The name originates from the surveyor who laid out the town. (Wikipedia 2025)
Marija and I drove up to Weemala Lookout, overlooking Batlow. What a brilliant view there is to be enjoyed from here. Weemala is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘big view’ or ‘distant view’.
Batlow is well known for its apple production. There are about 50 apple growers in the Batlow district who supply 1.6 million cases of apples to the Australian market. This equates to 10% of Australia’s apple crop. (Wikipedia 2025)
The Batlow district also produces cherries and other stone fruit.
When gold mining in the district commenced to wind down, the miners turned their attention to farming. Supplies from Sydney took a long time to arrive in Batlow, and as a result, the settlers grew most of their own produce. From as early as the start of the 1900s, fruit from Batlow was known as far away as Gundagai and Cootamundra for its high quality. (Trove 2026)
In 1907, there were about 5,000 orchard trees in the Batlow area. Just three years later, in 1910, there were about 18,900 orchard trees. And three years later, in 1913, that had increased to 112,000 orchard trees. In 1923, the Batlow Cool Stores were opened. (Trove 2026)
Above: part of an article from The Tymut Advocate, Tue 10 Apr 1923. Image c/o Trove
Marija and I stopped at one of the roadside stores and purchased some apples and an apple pie. They were absolutely delicious.
We left Batlow, passing the town’s ‘Big Apple’, which is located about 5 km north of the town. Australia has more than 150 ‘Big Things’. This includes the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the Big Merino in Goulburn, and the Big Galah in Kimba. And of course, the Big Apple in Batlow.
We continued north on Batlow Road towards Tumut, admiring the absolutely spectacular countryside on the way.
References.
ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 15 Mar. 2026]
Andrews; A, 1920, The First Settlement of the Upper Murray
Trove. (2026). BATLOW GREW OUT OF GOLD MINING – Miners Planted the First fruit Trees – The Tumut and Adelong Times (NSW : 1864 – 1867; 1899 – 1950) – 21 Oct 1947. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/139315536 [Accessed 15 Mar. 2026].
Our next park activation for Saturday, 1st November 2025, was the Downfall Nature Reserve VKFF-2589. The reserve is located about 26 km west of the town of Batlow and 9km north of the small town of Rosewood.
Above: Map showing the location of Downfall Nature Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.
After leaving Murraguldrie, Marija and I drove to the town of Humula. It was once named American Yards or American Fields during the 1850s gold rush. By 1888, the name Humula had been officially adopted by the local Post Office. (Wikipedia 2026)
The Humula Bush Fore Brigade features a magnificent mural. It features an NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer carrying a kangaroo joey away from a fire. It also features native flora and fauna, and ‘Elvis’, the NSW RFS helicopter. The mural was completed in March 2023 and is the work of Melbourne-based artist Alex Sugar. (City 2023)
The original Humula Hall was built in 1890. In 1955, the building was auctioned and demolished, and the current brick hall was built. Outside the front of the hall are the silhouettes of local returned service personnel. (Festival of Small Halls 2026)
The former Union Church at Humula is now a private property.
St Therese Catholic Church was built in c. 1937. Prior to the erection of the church, Mass was celebrated in the local School of Arts. (UBC Web Design 2022)
In 1874, the Washington Hotel was built at the Ravine Lobbs Hole near Kiandra in the Snowy Mountains. It was built to service the gold miners and later the copper mines in the area. In 1910, the entire building was pulled apart and moved piece by piece to the American Yards by bullock and cart. It ceased being a licensed premises and became the Humula village general store, haberdashery, baker, grocer, and service station. During the 1960s, it was registered as the Humula Post Office. After 50 years ot closed and falling into disrepair. (Familclub.com.au 2021)
Marija and I then drove south on Downfall Road. It was quite a warm day with plenty of snakes and lizards on the road.
Downfall Nature Reserve takes its name from the locality of Downfall, which in turn was named from a steep slope in the Rosewood Hills where those constructing the railway had to negotiate a very steep slope. (NSW NPWS 2006)
The first Europeans to visit the area were the explorers Hume and Hovell, who passed through the area in 1824. In c. 1836, settlement commenced in the Tumbarumba area. From about 1850, the reserve was part of the American Yards pastoral run. Prior to 1885, the land became part of the Humula Run. In 1906, the reserve became Crown Land. (NSW NPWS 2006)
The Carabost State Forest is located to the south and southwest of the reserve. The forest is primarily pine plantation; however, it also contains native forest. To the southwest of the reserve is a Travelling Stock Route (TSR)
Above: the boundaries of Downfall Nature Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth
Downfall Nature Reserve is about 496 hectares in size and was gazetted in 2001 as part of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement. The reserve is dominated by moderately steep slopes with an elevation range between 400 metres and 690 metres. The reserve is a piece of remnant vegetation in an area where there has been a significant history of clearing of the land. (NSW NPWS 2006)
Above: An aerial view of Downfall Nature Reserve. Image c/o Google Maps
This was not an entirely easy reserve to access. There are no signs. Access is via 4WD tracks. We also had to do some creek crossings.
The reserve contains six distinct forest types, including Apple box forest, Peppermint moust forest, Red Stringybark-Scribbly Gum-Rough barked Red Box-Tussock grass open forest, Peppermint-mixed box grassy forest, Norton’s Box-Peppermint grassy open forest, and Secondary wattle shrubland. (NSW NPWS 2006)
A total of 16 native mammals can be found in the park. A total of 72 species of birds have been recorded in Downfall. The reserve has several species listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, including the Barking Owl, Turquoise Parrot, Black-chinned honeyeater, Diamond Firetail, and Squirrel Glider. (NSW NPWS 2006)
After leaving Ellerslie Nature Reserve on Saturday, 1st November 2026, Marija and I drove south along Hume Highway until we reached the town of Tarcutta.
The explorers Hume and Hovell were the first known Europeans in the Tarcutta district as they passed through the area on their way from Sydney to Port Phillip. (Wikipedia 2025)
In c. 1835, a slab house called ‘Hambledon’ was erected at Tarcutta and became the first inn and post office to be built between Gundagai and Albury. The town of Tarcutta was proclaimed on the 28th day of October 1890. (Wikipedia 2025)
Tarcutta is the home of the Australian Truck Drivers Memorial. The memorial features a memorial brick wall, which features memorial plaques of truck drivers who have been killed whilst at work. The memorial was founded in 1994 by Ronny Pullen. The site for the memorial was chosen as the town of Tarcutta has a long association with the transport industry. The memorial was located on the side of the busy Hume Highway, until the Tarcutta Bypass was established in 2011. (UBC Web Design 2026)
Across the road is the ‘Arm Horn’ sculptures. I am sure most people in Australia can remember as children, standing on the side of a road, gesturing to truckies to honk their horns by lifting their arm up and down.
The Tarcutta Memorial Hall features a mural of the district’s military and soldier history. It is the work of Adelaide-based artist Sam Brooks. It was officially opened on ANZAC Day in 2021. (Nsw.gov.au 2021)
A remaining historic building in Tarcutta is the former Tarcutta Inn, which was built in c. 1836. It was used as a Cobb & Co coach change station. (Chirp Internet 2026)
Marija and I then left Tarcutta and headed along the Hume Highway. Our next stop was the Tarcutta Water Tank art at the Kilgowlah Rest Area. It was painted in 2020 by Peter and Samara Ingram. The murals on the water tank feature various Aboriginal scenes. (Australiansiloarttrail.com 2026)
We continued south on the Hume Highway and then took Tumbarumba Road and soon reached the Murraguldrie Flora Reserve VKFF-3076.
Above: Map showing the location of the Murraguldrie Flora Reserve. Map c/o Google maps
The reserve is located on the eastern side of Tumbarumba Road. A portion of the reserve’s northern boundary is located on Humula Eight Mile Road. It is located in the district of Kyeamba, which is a Wiradjuri Aboriginal word for ‘forehead band.’ The reserve’s eastern boundary adjoins the district of Humula. (Wagga Wagga 2000) (Wikipedia 2024)
Above: An aerial view of the reserve showing its boundaries. Image c/o Google Earth
Humula was originally known as American Yards, part of the Humula run, which was taken up in the 1850s by William Walker & Co. of Sydney. Gold was discovered in the Humula district in November 1851 by a shepherd. As a result, large numbers of people flocked to the area, including a large number of Chinese. It was called American Yards due to the gold prospectors who came to the district from the California gold fields and building horse yards in the American Corral style. In 1878, a provisional school was established at American Yards. In March 1885, Humula was proclaimed as a town. (Wagga Wagga 2000)
The reserve is about 1,520 hectares in size and was established on the 1st day of January 2001. The reserve includes the endangered White Box Yellow Box Blakely’s Red Gum Woodland. Vulnerable bird species found in the park include Turquoise Parrot, Speckled Warbler, and Brown Treecreeper. Squirrel Gliders, which are listed as endangered, can be found in the reserve. (CAPAD 2024) (Forests NSW n.d.)
On Saturday, 1st November 2025, Marija and I headed down to the petrol station/truck stop north of Gundagai for some breakfast. As you would expect, with plenty of truckies frequenting the servo, the food was very good. While there, I took a few more photos of the trucks for our little grandson, Flynn, who is truck mad.
After breakfast, we headed southwest out of Gundagai along the busy Hume Highway. Marija and I were hoping to activate the Tumblong State Conservation Area.
We soon reached the small town of Tumblong, about 15 km southwest of Gundagai. Until 1913, Tumblong was called Adelong Crossing Place, after the nearby Adelong Creek. Although it is called a creek, it is technically a river. It flows for 46 km from the Australian Alps, with its mouth being the Murrumbidgee River. It is believed that Adelong is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘along the way’ or river on a plain’. (Elder 2023) (Wikipedia 2025)
Today, little remains at Tumblong of what was a thriving town. The most impressive surviving building is the hotel. (Wikipedia 2025)
The first European settler in the area was Robert Pitt Jenkins, who had a 25,000-acre property called Bangus Station. He was born in January 1814 in Richmond, N.S.W., and was the son of a wealthy colonial family. Jenkins also owned other land, including Bramballa in the Marulan area. Jenkins built a substantial 10-room home on the Bangus property, and in 1848, he moved his family into the home. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: Robert Pitt Jenkins. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
Jenkins was the Magistrate at Gundagai until 1853 when he left the district. He was unable to sell Bangus Station and 3,000 sheep. As a result he let out the residence and it became known as the Bangus Inn, a public house. (Wikipedia 2025)
By 1856, he successfully sold the Bangus Inn and an acre of land for £1,000. In that same year, he was appointed as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. (Wikipedia 2025)
The new owner of the Bangus Inn renamed it the Home Hotel. During the 1870s it was purchased by William Williams of Adelong who built a new hotel called the Coach and Horses in 1873. This lasted intil 1905 when it was replaced with the Adelong Crossing Hotel, and now the Tumblong Tavern. (Wikipedia 2025)
Sadly, in 1859, whilst en route to visit their daughter Alice who was at school in Paris, Robert Pitt Jenkins, his wife, and four sons lost their lives in the sinking of the Royal Charter off the English Coast. Following their deaths, Alice inherited the Bangus property which was later sold off by her husband, Hubert de Castella, to finance vineyards which he owned in Victoria. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: the wreck of the Royal Charter. Image c/o Wikipedia
Author Charles Dickens wrote about the Royal Charter disaster in an article called The Uncommercial Traveller in his journal entitled All Year Round. Dickens spoke with the Reverend Stephen Roose Hughes who had located many of the bodies from the wreck. (Wikipedia 2025)
Dickens wrote:
“So tremendous had the force of the sea been when it broke the ship, that it had beaten one great ingot of gold, deep into a strong and heavy piece of her solid iron-work: in which also several loose sovereigns that the ingot had swept in before it, had been found, as firmly embedded as though the iron had been liquid when they were forced there.” (Wikipedia 2025)
The wreck of the Royal Charter brought about changes in meteorogical warnings.
By 1874, William Williams had opened the Victoria Flour Mill at Adelong Crossing Place, and continued to operate until about 1880. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: part of an article from The Gundagai Times, Sat 11 Apr 1874. Image c/o Trove
In 1913, Adelong Crossing Place was renamed Tumblong to avoid confusion with the town of Adelong. The name Tumblong came from a property owned by Henry Stuckey that was across Adelong Creek. (Wikipedia 2025)
In 1903 the Adelong Crossing railway station was opened. It was renamed Tumblong in 1913 and closed in 1975. The station had a 40 metre long platform and a siding serving stockyards and a loading bank. The railway line closed in 1984. (Wikipedia 2025)
The Adelong Crossing Place Post Office opened on the 1st day of August 1864. In April 1913, it was renamed Tumblong. It closed in November 1973. (Wikipedia 2025)
In 1869, the Adelong Crossing School opened as a provisional school. By 1870, it became a public school, and in 1913 was renamed Tumblong. It closed in 1990 and is today a private premises. (Wikipedia 2025)
Opposite the old school is Saint James Church and the Soldiers’ War Memorial. There is an excellent information board at this location, detailing information about both the church and the War Memorial.
Between 1839 and 1851, Tumblong (Adelong Crossing Place) was served by itinerant clergy from the Parish of Yass. In 1851, the Reverend H Wilkinson was appointed to the area that included Tumut, Gundagai and Tumblong. Four years later in 1855, Wagga was included in this area and was serviced by the Reverend Samuel Fox. It was during this time that church services were held in the homes of local people including Mr Carter and Mr & Mrs Melrose.
In 1870, the Reverend James H Manning was appointed to Gundagai. Under his encouragement, plans commenced to build a church. A total of £25 was offered to the Adelong Crossing Place community by the Diocese of Goulburn. This was provided that the new church would be constructed from brick or stone.
In 1870, Messrs Marshall, Neale and Wolstenholme were contracted to commence construction of the church, which was completed in 1871. The opening services were held on the 1st day of October 1871 at 11 am and 3pm and were conducted by Reverend William Henry Pownall. An additional service was held at 7pm and was conducted by Reverend James Manning. The choir from St Johns at Gundagai attended the services. (Thorn 1974)
Records indicate that at the time of opening, the church was not quite complete, with the internal plastering still to be completed, and pews and other furniture yet to be added. It cost £170 to construct the church. A total of £70 was collected in donations with another £150 promised. The debt was cleared at an offertory service in April 1873.
On Tuesday, the 3rd day of October 1871, a tea meeting was held in the church, which was attended by 300 people. The church was described as ‘one of the finest specimens of rubble work that was to be seen in the colony.’
The church was consecrated in the honour of St James on the 9th day of May 1882.
On the 18th day of July 1872, the first wedding was performed in the church between John Hides and Eliza Luff. The first baptism took place on the 6th day of April 1873. This was John and Eliza Hide’s daughter, Eliza Jane Hides. In April 1883, the first funeral service was held for John Hides Snr.
The Soldier’s War Memorial was erected to honour the local servicemen who served in the armed forces for Australia during the First World War. It was unveiled on the 14th day of November 1917. The memorial was initially located in the grounds of the school, but following the school’s closure, the memorial was moved across the road to its current location.
Marija and I undertook our very best efforts to get into the Tumblong State Conservation Area. Sadly, we could not get in there. Each road we drove along took us to private property with no landowners at home.
Feeling a little disappointed as we were unable to get into the park, we headed back to Adelong Road and paid a brief visit to the Adelong Cemetery. We found the headstone of John and Jane Hides, whom I mentioned above.
Another interesting headstone in the cemetery is that of David Neve, who drowned in 1884, aged 16 years.
Young David was returning home from work at the Clarendon reef and was last seen near Freeman’s Crossing. His horse was found grazing near the riverbank with the saddle and bridle still on. His body was located about 100 yards downstream from the crossing place. (Trove 2026)
Above: article from the Cootamundra Herald, Sat 19 Jul 1884. Image c/o Trove
Samuel Watt was killed following a fall from his horse in 1884. He was 48 years old. Samuel was born c. 1842 in Ireland. In 1882, he married Lina Charlotte Devlin. (ancestry 2016)
There are several other historic headstones in the cemetery.
Marija and I then consulted our maps, and we decided to head to the Ellerslie Nature Reserve for a WWFF activation. Our drive took us through beautiful countryside towards the park.
However, once again, we encountered difficulties and could not reach the park.
We doubled back and found a small section of the reserve that was accessible off the Snowy Mountains Highway.
The Ellerslie Nature Reserve is located in the Mount Adrah district, about 17km northwest of the town of Adelong. The reserve is named after the former Ellerslie pastoral property. (NSW Govt 2010)
Ellerslie Nature Reserve is located in the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri Aboriginal people. The first known Europeans in the area were the explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell, who passed through the area in 1825 and 1825 during their journey of exploration. (NSW Govt 2010)
Above: Hamilton Hume (left) and William Hovell (right). Images c/o Wikipedia
Several pastoral runs existed in the area during the 1840s. This included Ellerslie, Mount Adra, and Yab Tree.
In 1841, William Sawyer held a pasturage license in the Murrumbidgee district. He was born in Dorset, England, in 1798. By 1825, he had emigrated to Australia, and in that year, he married Ann Kneebone in Hobart, Tasmania. Sawyer was a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo. By 1845, Sawyer held a run called Mount Adrah with John Dean. Mount Adrah run was 10,240 acres in size and had an estimated 500 cattle. In 1869, Sawyer moved to Bethungra, and the property passed to his sons. (ancestry 2016) (Wikipedia 2026)
Sawyer died in 1873, and following his death, the property was passed to Job Dunn. Job Dunn was born in March 1835 in Somerset, England. In 1855, he married Sarah Uncles. They emigrated to Australia in 1862. (ancestry 2016) (Wikipedia 2026)
Above: from the Wagga Wagga Advertiser, Wed 17 Nov 1875. Image c/o Trove
In 1866, Irish immigrants Thomas and Matilda Crain, selected land near Spring Creek at Mount Adrah. Thomas was born in August 1822 in County Tyrone, Ireland. He married Matilda Lindsay in 1840. They built a slab hut and commenced farming in the district, purchasing further land over several decades. Thomas died in September 1883 at Adelong. Matilda died in 1907 at Adelong. (ancestry 2016) (Wikipedia 2026)
By the 1860s, Mount Adrah had become a regular stopping point for travellers to and from Tumut. A licence for the Mount Adra Inn was granted to Job Dunn. It subsequently became The Vineyard Hotel, run by James Nicholls. In 1881, Irvine Crain, the son of Thomas and Maitilda, obtained the license for the inn, which was renamed the Mount Adrah Hotel. It continued to operate until 1914, following the retirement of Irvine Crain and the family’s move to Sydney (Wikipedia 2026)
In the central eastern section of the park is an old boundary tree that contains an inscribed plaque. The plaque was originally placed to commemorate the centenary of the occupation of Yab Tree station by the Horsley family. In 1959, the tree containing the plaque was destroyed in a fire. The plaque was later cemented into the tree stump. (NSW Govt 2010)
In the 30th September 1848 issue of the New South Wales Government Gazette, when describing Mount Adra Run, Commissioner Binningham talks about a north-west marked tree and it being bounded by Yab tree. It is believed that the tree he refers to is the tree that contains the plaque. (NSW Govt 2010)
Prior to the Horsley family, the Yab Tree property appears to have been owned by John Hillas. Yab Tree obtained its name from the Kurrajoing trees that grew on the ridges near the homestead. The Aboriginal people called them ‘yabs’, hence the name Yab Tree. (Trove 2026)
The Horsley family owned Yab Tree Station from about 1859. Richard Frederick Horsley. Richard died in 1891. At this time, his son Richard Frederick Lachlan Horsley inherited the property. Yabtree was well known for its fine-wooled stud sheep. Richard Jr died in 1925 and Yabtree passed to his three sons, Frederick Lachlan Horsley, Wallace Horsley, and Richard Neville Horsley. (WWDHS 2019)
The eastern boundary of the reserve licks the Snowy Mountains Highway. Mount Pleasant Creek flows near the southern boundary, while there are a series of trails to the west and north of the reserve.
The reserve is about 1,877 hectares in size and was established in January 2001. It encompasses part of the Ellerslie Range (NSW Govt 2010) (NSW National Parks 2026)
Above: an aerial view of the Ellerslie Nature Reserve. Image c/o Google Maps
On the 24th day of December 1954, part of the current day reserve was declared as a Bird and Animal Sanctuary. On the 19th day of August 1955, the majority of the reserve was declared as Ellerslie State Forest. (NSW Govt 2010)
The reserve was first established on the 1st day of January 2001 as part of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement. At the time, the reserve’s size was 1,278 hectares. Prior to this, the majority of the reserve was managed as the Ellerslie State Forest by the then State Forests of New South Wales. After originally being gazetted, further land has been added to the reserve following the purchase of private land. (NSW Govt 2010)
A total of 15 native mammal species, 85 bird species, and 10 reptiles have been recorded in the reserve. Several threatened bird species can be found in the park, including Gang-gang cockatoo, Diamond Firetail, and Turquoise Parrot. The threatened Squirrel glider can also be found in the reserve. (NSW Govt 2010)
Marija and I parked the 4WD at the park gate and walked a short distance along the fenceline. We set up under some shade as it was quite a warm day. We were careful where we walked, ever vigilant of snakes.
We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB before the UTC rollover:-
VK2BAI
VK3GCD
VK1AO
VK2MET
VK2DA
VK1DA
VK1ACE
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK3SMW
VK1AD/P (VKFF-0865)
VK1CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
VK2CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB after the UTC rollover:-
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK5HS/P (VKFF-0372)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB before the UTC rollover:-
VK2BAI
VK3GCD
VK1AO
VK2MET
VK2DA
VK1DA
VK1ACE
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK3SMW
VK1AD/P (VKFF-0865)
VK3CLD
VK5QA
VK2DBF
VK5LA
VK5KAW
VK1CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
VK2CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
VK2LDJ
VK2NP
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB after the UTC rollover:-
VK2VW
VK2HFI
VK2AKA
VK2BUG
VK3KLI
VK2HRX
VK2MG
VK1MA
VK2HAK
VK1CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
VK2CHW/P (VKFF-0852)
VK3CEO
VK3MCK
VK3TDK
VK2NYC
VK3ZSC
VK3UH
VK2DA
VK1DA
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0845 & SOTA VK1/ AC-041)
VK3WSG
VK1AO
VK2MET
VK2USH
VK1SIG/M
VK1BUB
VK2LWK
VK3OAK
VK5HS/P (VKFF-0372)
VK3MDC/M
VK3MIJ
VK3HJW
VK1RT
VK1MCW
VK1QRP
VK1GH
VK5LA
VK5KAW
VK2FI
VK3HBG
VK3JR
VK2YAK
VK4YAK
VK7VZ
VK2TKU
VK2YL
VK1ACE
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
VK6XL
ZL3ASN
References.
ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 12 Mar. 2026]
After a good night’s sleep in Gundagai, our first stop on Friday, 31st October 2025, was the famous Dog On The Tuckerbox at Snake Gully, just north of Gundagai, New South Wales.
Marija was expecting a large monument, but I had warned her that it was just a small monument, going by my memory. The last time I was there was when I was about 12 years old with my parents. Once seeing it, Marija exclaimed: ‘Is that it?” Nevertheless, we were both pleased to view one of Australia’s iconic monuments and a piece of unique Australian history.
When I last visited the Dog On The Tuckerbox, the Hume Highway passed right by the Dog, and if my memory recalls correctly, there were lots of tourists stopping to admire the monument and visit the adjacent souvenir shop. While preparing this post, I went through some old photo albums and found the photo below showing myself, my Dad and my sister at the Dog On The Tuckerbox in c. 1977. The photo was taken on a Polaroid instant camera, which became very popular in Australia during the 1970s.
Today, the Hume Highway bypasses the statue. To access it, you need to take the highway exit to the service station/KFC/Subway, about 8 km from Gundagai and a little further along Annie Pyers Drive, you will find the statue. The old visitor shop is still there and was refurbished and reopened in late 2025. Annie Pyers Drive is named after the original shopkeeper. There are plans in place for a major redevelopment here, including accommodation, and it certainly needs it. The site was looking a little tired.
The inspiration behind the monument is the poem entitled ‘Bill, the Bullocky’, which was published in 1857. The poem describes a series of misfortunes faced by a bullock driver, which culminated in his dog sitting on the food in his tucker box. For those reading this from overseas, a tuckerbox is an Australian name for a box that holds food. A tucker box is similar to a lunchbox, but is larger in size. (Wikipedia 2026)
While going through my boxes of memorabilia, I also found this postcard that I purchased back in the 1970s when visiting The Dog On The Tuckerbox. It has the words to Bill the Bullocky on the rear.
Many years later, in 1923, Australian poet Jack Moses penned another poem, called ‘Nine Miles from Gundagai.’ It relates to the story of his dog, which sat on the tucker box nine miles from Gundagai. (Wikipedia 2026)
Jack Moses was born on the 12th day of January 1861 at Haymarket, New South Wales. He became a wine and whiskey salesman and travelled around Australia. During his travels on Cobb & Co coaches, sulkies, trains and then motor vehicles, he wrote poetry. Moses died in July 1945, aged 84 years. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: Jack Moses. Image c/o Trove
And in 1937, ‘Jack’ O’Hagan immortalised the legend in his son entitled ‘Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox.’ John Francis O’Hagan was born in November 1898 at Fitzroy, Victoria. Upon the introduction of radio in Australia, he was one of the very first to broadcast for radio stations 3LO and later on 3AW. He wrote over 600 songs. He was awarded the OBE in 1973. O’Hagan died on the 15th day of July 1986, aged 88. (Wikipedia 2025)
At the site, some signs describe the history of the Dog On The Tuckerbox and also show the words to both Bill the Bullocky and Nine Miles from Gundagai.
In 1926, a dog monument was erected on a site that was ‘nine miles’ from Gundagai. In 1928, Frank Rusconi, a Gundagai stonemason, suggested a more substantial monument. In 1932, this proposal was taken up by the local community. On the 11th day of August 1932, an article appeared in the Gundagai Independent which recommended that a monument be erected at the 9-mile peg dedicated to the pioneers and bullockies and that there should be an unveiling ceremony during the ‘Back to Gundagai Week.’ Wikipedia Contributors (2025).
Above: article from The Gundagai Independent, Thu 11 Aug 1932. Image c/o Trove
Unfortunately, the Gundagai Shire did not support the proposal for the erection of the Dog On The Tuckerbox monument.
Above: part of an article from The Gundagai Independent, Mon 12 Sept 1932. Image c/o Trove
Despite the initial pushback from the Council, the construction of the monument went ahead. The dog component of the monument was designed by Frank Rusconi. It was cast in bronze at Oliver’s Foundry in Sydney. On the 28th day of November 1932, the Dog on the Tuckerbox was unveiled by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons. More than 3,000 people were in attendance. (Wikipedia 2025)
Marija and I then drove back into Gundagai to have a quick walk along the main street. We have travelled around Australia quite a bit, and we rate Gundagai as one of the nicest country towns we have visited, with an enormous amount of history and a range of things to see and do.
The first Europeans in the Gundagai district were explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in November 1824. Five years later, in 1829, explorer Charles Sturt travelled through the area, and again in 1830 on his return journey. It is believed that Gundagai is derived from Gundagair’, a pastoral run established in 1838 by William Hutchinson, to the immediate north of present-day Gundagai. That name in turn derives from the Aboriginal word ‘gair’, meaning bird. (Gundagai 2023)
The original town of Gundagai was located on the Murrumbidgee floodplain at a location called ‘The Crossing Place.’ It was subject to several flooding incidents, including the 1844 floods. During those particular floods, Henry Bingham, the Crown Commissioner for the Murrumbidgee District, praised the Aboriginal people for their efforts in the rescue of people during the flood. (Gundagai 2023)
Above: article from The Colonial Observer, Thu 28 Nov 1844. Image c/o Trove
And then, 8 years later, a major flood on the 25th day of June 1852, swept the town away and killed at least 78 people. It is suspected that the death toll was higher. Considering Gundagai’s population was only about 250 people, this was a devastating event. It is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of colonial Australia. (Gundagai 2023)
During the 1852 flood, local Aboriginal men Yarri, Jacky Jacky, and Long Jimmy played an important role in the rescue of residents of Gundagai. Using bark canoes, they rescued over 60 people, about one-third of Gundagai’s population. In the main street of Gundagai, you can find a bronze sculpture of Yarri and Jacky Jacky. (Gundagai 2023)
I mentioned Jack O’Hagan a little earlier in this post. In 1922, he released the song ‘Along The Road to Gundagai.’ It was used as the theme to the Dad and Dave radio show, which I will talk about shortly. The song sold nearly 50,000 copies in the first 3 months. (Wikipedia 2025)
The Family Hotel was originally John Spencer’s Thatched Cottage in South Gundagai, and was first licensed in 1843. In 1848, Spencer renewed the license under the name of the Gundagai Family Hotel. It acted as a Cobb & Co booking agent. (Burch 2022)
At the hotel, you can find the sculpture of ‘Chip’, the Tuckerbox pup. It is the work of artist Darien Pullen. He is the same artist who created the Great Flood monument. ‘Chip’ is one of three pup sculptures in Gundagai. (Visit Gundagai 2021)
Marija and I then drove up to the Mount Parnassus lookout at Gundagai. which can be accessed either via Hanley Street or Nurse Murray Street. It was a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed excellent views of Gundagai and its surrounds, including the Murrumbidgee River.
The dual carriageway Sheahan Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River is clearly visible from the lookout. It is the 3rd longest bridge in New South Wales. (Wikipedia 2024)
Mount Parnassus is hardly a mountain. It is really a hill, about 330 metres ASL, that overlooks Gundagai. It was named by surveyor Samuel Augustus Perry in 1838 after Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Perry was born in 1787 in Wales who emigrated to Australia in 1829 after being appointed Deputy Surveyor General of New South Wales. (Mapcarta n.d.) (Wikipedia 2026)
Above: Samuel Augustus Perry. Image c/o Wikipedia
We then visited the Dad and Dave, Mum and Mabel sculptures in Gundagai. The sculptures were originally located at the Snake Gully Tourist complex opposite the Dog On The Tuckerbox. When the complex closed, they were donated to the community and moved to its current location. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.)
The Australian radio drama series Dad and Dave from Snake Gully was based on the On Our Selection stories of Steele Rudd. The series featured the characters Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel. The theme tune was ‘The Road to Gundagai’. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.) (Wikipedia 2025)
We then had a magnificent breakfast at The Coffee Pedaler, which is reputed to have the best coffee on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne. It was certainly very nice coffee, and the breakfast was sensational.
Following our excellent breakfast, we visited the North Gundagai Cemetery. Marija and I enjoy wandering around old cemeteries, viewing the historic headstones. They tell you so much about the local area. At Gundagai, we specifically wanted to see the headstone of the bushranger Captain Moonlite.
Andrew George Scott @ Captain Moonlitewas born on the 5th day of July 1842, in Rathfriland, Ireland. In 1861, Scott emigrated to New Zealand, where he intended to try his hand at the Otago goldfields. However, following the outbreak of the New Zealand Wars, he enlisted as an officer and fought in the Battle of Orakau. He was wounded and, following a long convalescence period, he was court-martialed, being accused of malingering. (Captain Moonlite 2024)
Above: Andrew Scott @ Captain Moonlite. Image c/o Wikipedia
Scott left New Zealand and travelled to Australia, where in 1868 he was appointed lay reader at Bachus Marsh in Victoria, with the intention of entering the Anglican priesthood. Scott’s first brush with the law was in the following year in 1869, when he was accused of robbing a bank agent. The masked offender forced the agent to sign a note which read:
“I hereby certify that L.W. Bruhn has done everything within his power to withstand this intrusion and the taking of money which was done with firearms, Captain Moonlite.”
Scott was then imprisoned in New South Wales for 18 months for obtaining money by false pretences. In 1872, he robbed the London Chartered Bank of Australia. He escaped from custody but was recaptured. Following a term of imprisonment at HM Prison Pentridge, Scott commenced a career as a public speaker on prison reform. He met up with James Nesbitt, whom he had met in prison, and it appears that Nesbitt became his lover. (Captain Moonlite 2024)
Despite Scott’s good intentions, he was allegedly harassed by the authorities, and he subsequently formed a gang and he commenced the life of a bushranger. The gang included Scott, Nesbitt, Thomas Rogan, Thomas Williams, Gus Wernickie, and Graham Bennett. (Captain Moonlite 2024)
In November 1879, Scott’s gang held up Wantabadgery Station, NSW, near Wagga Wagga. They also robbed the Australian Arms Hotel. They then held up the farmhouse of Edmund McGlede, where the gang was involved in a shootout with the police. It resulted in the death of Constable Edward Webb-Bowen. Scott was captured and charged with the shooting of the Constable, which he denied. Scott, along with his companion Rogan, was hanged at the Darlinghurst Gaol on the 20th day of January 1880. Scott was 38 years old. (Captain Moonlite 2024)
Above: the capture of Captain Moonlite. Image c/o Wikipedia
Below is a short video on the life of Scott @ Captain Moonlite. There are some other excellent videos on YouTube about Scott.
Scott’s final request before being hanged was to be buried in the same grave as his constant companion, James Nesbitt. This was denied by the authorities, and he was buried at Rookwood Cemetery. In January 1995, Scott’s remains were exhumed, and he was reinterred at the North Gundagai Cemetery alongside Nesbitt’s grave, which is unmarked. Gang member Augustus Ernest Diedrich William ‘Gus’ Wernicke is also buried nearby in an unmarked grave. He was just 15 years old when shot by police at Wantabadgery. (Captain Moonlite 2024) (Findagrave.com 2016)
Constable Edward Mostyn Webb-Bowen, who was killed in the shootout with Scott’s gang, is also buried at the North Gundagai Cemetery. As is Sergeant Edmund Parry who I spoke about in my Tidbinbilla post.
Edward Mostyn Webb-Bowen was born in October 1851 in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He arrived in Australia in 1873 aboard the Marietta. In 1876, he married Bridget Maria Power. They had 2 children. He commenced service with the New South Wales Police Force in March 1875. He was shot in the neck during the 1879 shootout with Scott’s gang at McGlede’s Farm, Wantabadgery, NSW. (ancestry 2016) (UBC Web Design 2026)
Above: Edward Webb-Bowen. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
Constable Webb-Bowen succumbed to his injuries a few days after being shot. His funeral took place in Gundagai on Monday 29th May 1899. It was reported to be one of the largest funerals that ever took place in Gundagai. (Trove 2026)
Above: article from the Newcastle Morning Herald, Tue 25 Nov 1879. Image c/o Trove
Constable Webb-Mostyn’s headstone was erected by the Government of New South Wales. It reads:
‘…was mortally wounded when bravely performing his duty in an encounter with armed criminals near Wantabadgery on the 17th of November 1879.’
Sergeant Edmund Parry was shot dead whilst attempting to capture the bushranger John Gilbert near Jugiong. He was 32 years old. His headstone was erected by ‘some of his officers and comrades by whom the deceased was much respected nd regretted.’
For more information about Sergeant Parry and John Gilbert, please have a read of my Tidbinbilla post.
Yarri, the famous Aboriginal hero whom I mentioned earlier in this post, is also buried in the cemetery. His headstone was erected in September 1990 by the Tumur-Brungle local Aboriginal Land Council in recognition of his heroism.
Stephen White was born c. 1800 in Wiltshire, England. On the 17th day of October 1820, he was sentenced to 7 years’ transportation to Australia. He arrived in Australia on the 16th day of September 1821 aboard the Grenada. On the 22nd day of September 1825, he was issued a Ticket of Leave. White died on the 16th day of December 1857, at Gundagai. (ancestry 2016) (convictrecords.com.au 2026)
His son Edward White was born in 1825 in New South Wales. He died on the 12th day of April 1866, at Gundagai, as a result of a drowning. (ancestry 2016)
Jeremiah O’Connor was born in c. 1834 in County Kerry, Ireland. Five Mile Creek near Gundagai. (ancestry 2016) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from the Goulburn Herald, Thu 8 May 1884. Image c/o Trove
Although the headstone states his date of death was 4th May 1884, it appears the correct date of death was 27th April 1884. (ancestry 2016)
Thomas Henderson was born on the 8th day of December 1829 in Midlothian, Scotland. After emigrating to Australia, he married Emily Martha Josephine Harricks at Tumut, NSW. They had 2 children. Thomas was a surgeon and chemist in Gundagai. He died on the 17th day of April 1874 at Gundagai, aged 44 years. (ancestry 2016)
Dr Henderson suffered from neuralgia, which is an intense stabbing or burning nerve pain. He was discovered dead in bed. A coroner’s inquest was held, and after reviewing the evidence, the Coroner and Jury returned a verdict that his death arose from natural causes. (Trove 2026)
Above: part of an article from The Gundagai Times, Sat 18 Apr 1874. Image c/o Trove
Thomas Belford was born in 1841 in Galway, Ireland. He emigrated to Australia, and in 1873, he married Ellen Ryan at Gundagai. They had four children. Thomas was a cordial manufacturer. Thomas died on the 14th day of February 1882, at Gundagai. He was attempting to cross a creek in a sprint cart when it capsized. Thomas was thrown on his head. It was reported that he was ‘removed in an insensible condition’ to Leary’s Hotel, where he was attended by Dr Ogg. Sadly, he died shortly afterwards. A boy who was in the cart at the time escaped unhurt. (ancestry 2016) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from The Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wed 15 Feb 1882. Image c/o Trove
The headstone was erected in ‘affectionate remembrance’ of his wife, Ellen.
There are so many other historical headstones in the North Gundagai Cemetery. You could wander around here for hours.
Marija and I then visited the Gundagai Visitor Centre and collected a key to enter the old Gundagai Gaol. Ironic that it was a key to enter the Gaol. I am sure there were a lot of inmates over the years who would have paid good money for that key. You can undertake a self-guided audio tour for a small fee. We can highly recommend it.
The gaol is located on the corner of First Avenue and Byron Street, Gundagai, and is surrounded by a high wall made of local slate with rendered capping.
The Gaol was originally built as a lockup in 1859. In October 1859, two prisoners who were being held at the Gundagai Lockup, awaiting their trials at the Gundagai Sessions, escaped from the lockup. They struck Constable with the butt end of a pistol and batten. The two wives of the Constables were also injured while assisting their husbands in trying to prevent the escape of the men. (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from the Wagga Wagga Express, Sat 1 Oct 1859. Image c/o Trove
It commenced operation as a Gaol in 1861. The buildings at the gaol were built in stages between 1859 and 1899, to designs by colonial architects Dawson, Barnet, and Vernon. The buildings were predominantly built from local slate.
The Gundagai Gaol held men and women who were serving short sentences, generally less than 12 months. Cattle and horse theft, and larceny were common offences for which prisoners were held at Gundagai Gaol. Other minor crimes included obscene language, absconding from hired service, and furious riding of horses. Those who had committed more serious offences were only held at Gundagai Gaol for short periods of time. They were then transferred to larger gaols. The gaol closed in 1909. However, it continued to operate as a lockup until the late 1970s.
We unlocked the door on Byron Street and entered the gaol.
The first section of the gaol we visited was the Exercise Yard. The prisoners were unable to see the outside world due to the high walls, but they could view the sky through the caged roof.
We then viewed the calls. Certainly nothing like the cells in modern-day prisons.
We then viewed the kitchen area.
Marija and I highly recommend a visit to the gaol. You are issued with a headset with a commentary on the history of the gaol and its various buildings. You are free to wander around the gaol and enter the various buildings.
The Gaoler’s residence was originally built as a single-storey building. It was later expanded using the same bricks that were used to build the Gundagai Courthouse.
We then visited the Gaol’s infirmary which was built in 1863. A new ward was added in 1899.
Inside the infirmary is an excellent display of Captain Moonlite.
Marija was keen for me to get into the prison stocks below, but I was a bit concerned I might be left there.
After leaving the old Gundagai Gaol, Marija and I headed back down the street for a walk. Our first stop was St Patrick’s Catholic Church. Mr Manfred of Goulburn was the architect. The foundation stone was laid on the 17th day of March 1885, by the Right Reverend Lannigan. About 1,200 people were present. There was a procession from the old church to the new. A Mass was celebrated by Father Hennessy, and the Very Rev Prior Butler gave an address. (Trove 2026) (UBC Web Design 2018)
Above: article from The Gundagai Times, Tue 17 Mar 1885. Image c/o Trove
The church was open, so we ventured inside. Marija, being of Catholic faith, paid her respects. The interior of this church is beautiful.
The former Commercial Banking Co of Sydney building is very impressive. The branch opened in 1877, and this building was erected in 1880. (Gundagaitouristpark.com.au 2024)
The grand old Royal Hotel on the corner of Sheridan Street and Homer Street was de-licenced in 1999. (Chirp 2026)
The old Blueheeler guesthouse was built in 1853. Over the years, it has been the Crown Inn, Tracey’s Club House Hotel and the Gresham Hotel. (Gundagaitouristpark.com.au 2024)
There is so much history in Gundagai, and fortunately, so many historic buildings have remained.
The Gundagai Courthouse was built in 1859 and opened in 1860. It was constructed after the devastating 1852 Gundagai flood. It was one of a handful of existing courthouses in New South Wales that were designed by Colonial Architect Alexander Dawson. The court held the trial of bushranger Captain Moonlite in 1879. (NSW Courts 2013( (Nsw.gov.au 2026)
The interior of the courthouse was destroyed in a fire in 1943. It was rebuilt with an opening ceremony taking place on the 25th day of March 1944. Three days later, Gundagai’s first official visit from a State Governor occurred, with a visit to the courthouse by Lord Wakehurst. (Nsw.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from the Daily Advertiser Wagga Wagga, Thu 18 Feb 1943. Image c/o Trove
The Gundagai Bakehouse is believed to be the oldest working bakery in Australia. It was built and opened by William Bibo in 1864.
Wendelin ‘William’ Bibo was born in June 1826 in Sachsen-Anhalt in the Kingdom of Prussia. He was a baker by trade. He married Eva Pursch in 1855, and they emigrated to Australia shortly thereafter. They had three children. William became the Mayor of Gundagai and was a Justice of the Peace. He was also the chairman of the racecourse trust. William made fame as a maker of lollies, biscuits and fancy breads. Eva died in 1999. William died in May 1910. (ancestry 2016) (Trove 2026)
The Gundagai Post Office was opened on the 1st day of April 1843. The current building was built in 1879. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.) (Wikipedia 2023)
Gundagai had the last official ‘pony express’ who delivered mail on horseback. This ended in 1984. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.)
Marija and I then had lunch at Niagara Cafe. Wow, what a place. So much history, amazing decor, great food, and very friendly staff.
The cafe was initially established in 1902 by Stratee Notara, a Kytherian Greek. An American Carbonating Fountain was installed in 1910 to serve cold drinks. In 1919, the Castrission family purchased the cafe. At that time, there were separate dining rooms for the ladies and gentlemen. In 1928, the cafe was altered and rebranded as the Niagara Cafe.
In 1938, the cafe’s Art Deco interior and exterior were created with the services of a highly qualified architect, shop fitter Frank G. O’Brien from Sydney and a professor of electronics working to present the cafe and lighting system to an incredibly high standard. The Niagara Cafe was promoted as ‘Australia’s Wonder Cafe’. It has been frequented by politicians, including Prime Minister John Curtin and his War Cabinet during the 1940s.
The cafe’s original ceiling was dome-shaped and was decorated with images of various constellations. Sadly, it was destroyed by fire in 1975.
The Castrission family operated the cafe until 1983. Since that time, the Loukissas family have operated the cafe.
After lunch, we strolled down the main street and visited the Australian Pen Museum. It is located in the old Fry’s Assembly Hall, which was built in 1881 as an entertainment venue for Fry’s Family Hotel, which is located opposite. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.)
The hall was the location of the first local council meeting after Gundagai was declared a municipality in 1889. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.)
Above: item from Australian Town and Country Journal, Sat 16 Nov 1889. Image c/o Trove
In 1932, the hall was converted to T.W. Irwin’s Garage. From 1956, it became Hume Motors, owned by Mrs E.G. Winnett. It was then used as a plumbing and appliance store owned by T & J Wells. (Gundagai Visitor Info Centre n.d.)
We spent quite some time wandering around the museum and chatting to the owner, admiring his amazing collection.
The museum also has several historic newspapers on display.
The museum includes a 1920s school.
We left the museum and continued our stroll up and down Gundagai’s main street.
The Gundagai Theatre was built in 1928. with movie screenings commencing on the 15th day of June 1929. The theatre contained a total of 524 seats. Movie screenings ceased during the 1980s. (Gundagai Theatre 2026)
Wahroonga was built for Dr Henry Morton Marshall in the 1870s. Wahroonga is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘Our Home.’ Dr Marshall and his wife had 9 children. Their youngest son, Harold, was accidentally shot in the leg in the Boer War. He died whilst undergoing surgery to amputate his leg.
Butcher Roberts Garden Gallery & Gifts store is now an antiques store. The original grant of 2 roods was sold to Robert Riley in 1845 for £134. Mr. JM Dodd who was a member of the Legislative Council of NSW conducted his ‘Centennial Stores’ on this site. In 1908 Samuel Solomon purchased the building and ran a general merchants. Various other owners have operated various stores at the site. In 1946 the buildings were purchased by Butcher Roberts Pty Ltd, with the building being used as a retail business and photographic gallery.
We then ventured down to the Gundagai Historical Museum.
The museum contains a magnificent collection of memorabilia associated with Gundagai and the district.
I even found a selection of old bakelite radios.
We drove a little further along Sheridan Lane and stopped to have a look at the old Gundagai Mill. It was built in 1848 by Mr Joseph Morley for Edward Flood and Thomas Hanley as Gundagai’s first flour mill. Joseph Dillon Morley was born on the 30th day of May 1813 in Sydney, New South Wales. He died on the 30th day of May 1886 at Gundagai. (ancestry 2016) (Service 2023)
Our next stop was the Prince Alfred Bridge Viaduct. The old town of Gundagai was built on the flats of the Murrumbidgee River where the bridge now crosses. The bridge was named in honour of Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria. He was the first member of the British Royal family to visit Australia.
Above: Prince Alfred. Image c/o Wikipedia
The bridge was completed in 1867. Its total length is 921 metres. The railway viaduct was built in 1903 and is the longest timber truss bridge ever built in Australia. It measures 809 metres.
We then visited the old Gundagai Railway Station, which was built in 1886. The branch railway line from Cootamundra to Gundagai was opened in June 1886. Unfortunately, we were limited to what we could see as the caretaker was waiting for some pest control people to arrive regarding a bee problem.
We then drove out along Oibell Drive to admire the railway viaduct.
Whilst there, we met 2 gentlemen who were on their way home from a model train show. Wow, would our grandson Flynn have loved these!
We then visited the Gundagai Rotary Lookout at the end of Luke Street.
The lookout offers magnificent views of Gundagai, the Murrumbidgee River, and surrounds.
After leaving the lookout, we had a look around Gundagai South. One of the impressive buildings is the Star Hotel in Mount Street, which is now closed. It was established in 1855 by Scotsman Euan Cameron. The internet showed that the hotel was renovated back in 2011 and that it was sold in June 2017, and then sold again in July 2021. It did have a restaurant called Fangios. (Chirp 2026) (Real commercial 2025)
It is so sad to see these historic buildings sitting vacant. If only the walls could speak.
Above: the Star Hotel, 1924. Image c/o Star Hotel Facebook page
A bit further around the corner is the Old Bridge Inn. It was built in the 1860s and was known as the Bridge Hotel. The owner was Mr Fuller. He operated a punt across the Murrumbidgee River (About Regional n.d.)
We then visited the cairn on Middleton Drive at the golf course, commemorating the site of the Murrumbidgee Inn. Now if you have visited Gundagai and visited this site and are confused, then you are not on your own. So were we, until we researched this a little deeper.
The cairn has two plaques. One indicates that it is the site of the Rose Inn, while another states it is the site of the Murrumbidgee Inn. The fact is, the site is that of the latter. The lower plaque specifies that it is the site of the Murrumbidgee Inn and corrects the upper plaque, which was erected in 1988 and incorrectly stated it was the site of the Rose Inn.
The Murrumbidgee Inn was licensed on the 19th day of June 1838. It was the first hotel to be licensed in Gundagai, with the licence being issued to Joseph Andrews. It was built by Edward Bernard Green and was originally a slab construction.
At the time of the 1852 Gundagai flood, the Murrumbidgee Cottage Inn was licensed to Gerard Hemphill. He was born in June 1804 in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He married Ann Amelia Clinton. They emigrated to Australia in 1841. Sadly, Hemphill, his wife Anne and four of their five children, Jane 16, Rebecca 14, Ann 4 and James 1, all lost their lives during the flood. Their son John 16, was rescued from a tree near the Inn. The Inn, the stables and the outbuildings were all destroyed in the flood. (ancestry 2016) (Burch 2022)
It was reported in the newspapers that ‘Miss Hemphill, who on Saturday night was alive in the tree, in which on Sunday she was found dead.’ It is presumed that this was one of the daughters, Jane or Rebecca. (Trove 2026)
Above: extracts from the Geelong Advertiser, Wed 21 Jul 1852. Image c/o Trove
We also viewed more of the timber viaduct.
We then visited the actual site of the Rose Inn. On the 12th August 1841, Edward Norman purchased Section 2, Allotment 10 at a Crown land sale. He built the Rose Inn on the site and commenced trading. Four years later, in 1845, Charles Simpson purchased the Inn from Norman.
In November 1850, Thomas Lindley purchased the Rose Inn and was granted a publican’s licence. On the night of the 25th June 1852, all 11 residents of the Rose Inn lost their lives during the Gundagai flood. This included Hannah Lindley, the wife of Thomas, and their 4 children, George 6, Emma 5, Thomas 3, and Hannah 1. Thomas was away in Yass at the time of the flood. Hannah and the children initially took refuge in the loft and then on the roof of the stable, which was on higher ground, before losing their lives. Also killed were Mary Scott and her child, Lindley’s servants Ann Farrell and Mary Anne Smart, and travellers James McNamara and John McKinnon. The Rose Inn survived the floor, however the kitchens, stables, store, and fencing were destroyed.
Nearby is the cairn to commemorate Yarri, the Aboriginal man mentioned earlier in this post.
On the corner of Homer Street and Sheridan Lane, near Morley’s Creek, are flood markers which show the various flood levels at Gundagai.
Marija and I then drove to Mount Burra VK2/ SW-054 for an activation for the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program. This was our only amateur radio activity for the day. We headed north out of town along the Burra Road and then Reno Road. There were some magnificent views across the hills.
The summit is about 17 km northwest of Gundagai in the locality of Reno. Mount Burra is about 9 km (by road) west of Reno.
Up until 2016, the locality was known as Jones Creek. The locality of Reno takes its name from the old gold mining village of Reno, which was laid out in 1900. In turn, it was named after Reno in Nevada, USA. The town was proclaimed on the 28th day of August 1900. Prior to the town being gazetted, a settlement existed at Reno. In 1899, the population was about 700 people. By 1900, the population had reached 1,200 people. Reno once had a police station, a post office, a hotel, a public school, a church, and numerous dwellings (Wikipedia 2022)
Above: part of an article from The Gundagai Independent, Wed 25 Apr 1900. Image c/o Trove
The two main mines were the Prince of Wales Gold Mine and the Long Tunnel Mine. (Wikipedia 2022)
The Prince of Wales mine commenced operation in 1896 and closed in October 1902. It produced about £100,000 worth of gold. (Wikipedia 2022)
Above: The Prince of Wales mine. Image c/o Trove
The Long Tunnel mine was originally known as the Long Flat mine. Several rich patches of reef were located, including a ton of quartz that yielded £1,000 worth of gold. (Wikipedia 2022)
Above: Syndicate members at the entrance to the Long Tunnel mine, 1911. Image c/o Wikipedia
It was a beautiful drive to the summit through hilly and green countryside.
On our way to the summit, we encountered a few gates, grids, and warning signs. Marija and I knocked on 3 doors and spoke to the landowners who allowed us access up to the summit.
As we got higher in elevation, the views became even more spectacular.
The bitumen soon became dirt, and we slowly had the towers on the summit in sight.
Mount Burra is worth 4 points in the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program. It is located in the South West Slopes region for SOTA. The summit is 722 metres above sea level. (Sotadata.org.uk 2026)
Above: an aerial view of Mount Burra. Image c/o Google Maps
There are a significant number of telecommunications towers on the top of the summit.
The views from the top are quite good and not obstructed by vegetation.
There is also a trig point at the summit.
Before setting up, we took a few minutes to further admire the views from Mount Burra.
We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation. As this was a drive-up summit, we had the luxury of a deck chair and fold up table.
This was the first time that Mount Burra haad been activated for SOTA.
The band conditions were fair. We experienced very loud static crashes, which made it extremely difficult to pick up low signal stations that were calling us.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK5PE/M
VK2HLM
VK5WU
VK5CZ/P (VKFF-1159)
VK5HS
VK7EV
VK5NHG
VK1AO
VK2MET
VK5LA
VK5KAW
Marija worked the following station on 20m SSB:-
ZL1LD/P (SOTA ZL1/ AK-023)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK5PE/M
VK2HLM
VK5WU
VK5CZ/P (VKFF-1159)
VK5HS
VK7ZM/2
VK7PJM
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
VK4JT
ZL3ET
W4RBN
3D2MP
KH6KW
ZL1LD/P (SOTA ZL1/ AK-023)
VK4CK
ZL2BEJ
ZL1HIM
ZL1IM
Whilst we were on the summit, Tim, the owner of the land paid us a visit. We explained the hobby of amateur radio to him and he was extremely interested.
Following our activation, Marija and I drove back into Gundagai and went out for dinner at the Criterion Hotel.
The hotel’s history dates back to 1847, when the original township of Gundagai’s 4th hotel was built by Robert Riley and John Massey. The hotel was called the Blacksmith Arms Hotel. The hotel was then purchased outright by Riley, who changed the name of the hotel to Milton’s Head Hotel. The hotel was destroyed in the 1852 flood, and it was rebuilt by Riley, who changed the name to Riley’s Hotel. (JAM Admin 2023)
In 1871 Jeremiah Leary became the licencee of Riley’s Hotel. (JAM Admin 2023)
The hotel later became the Criterion Hotel and was owned by the Leary family for several years. The hotel was rebuilt in 1939. (JAM Admin 2023)
The hotel features some magnificent murals on its walls in the bar area. They depict the Gundagai flood and Captain Moonlite. The murals are the work of artist Arnold ‘Don’ St Claire who completed the murals during the 1960s. He was a finalist in the 1965 Sulman Prize and the Archibald Prize in 1966. (JAM Admin 2023)
Arnold ‘Don’ St Claire was born c. 1926. I have not been able to find a record of his birth on the internet. During his life, St Claire was admitted to various mental health facilities and prisons across New South Wales and Victoria, largely due to his alcoholism and depression. It was reported by his de facto wife that he drank methylated spirits. (Slattery 1990)
During his time at the Parramatta Asylum (now the Cumberland Hospital) in 1972, he painted several murals, including one in the male admission ward. Below is an excellent video on that particular mural.
St Claire was a regular cartoonist for the Campbelltown Ingleburn News. In 1966, St Claire held an art exhibition in a butcher’s shop. During the 1970s St Claire completed a 7 metre high statue of a rearing horse which stood in the forecourt of the Tourmaline Hotel. (Allen 2026)
Arnold died on the 24th day of May 1974 in the Horsnby Hospital, aged 48 years. His cause of death was recorded as pneumonia. For 8 days prior to his death, he had been subject to ‘Deep Sleep Therapy’ (DST) at Chelmsford Private Hospital. This is an infamous and discredited treatment that involved long periods of barbiturate-induced unconsciousness. It was prescribed for several conditions, including schizophrenia and depression. During the late 1980’s, the treatment was the subject of a Royal Commission when it was revealed that 24 patients had died as a result.
The Royal Commission concluded that Arnold was neglected during his last admission to Chelmsford and that they ‘were in no way equipped to care for him in his seriously ill condition’ and that he should have been transferred to a better-equipped hospital. The Royal Commission further stated that ‘he was a singularly inappropriate subject for DST’ and that ‘the treatment significantly contributed to his illness and eventually his death.’ (Slattery 1990)
Above: article from The Sydney Morning Herald, Sat Jul 30, 1988. Image c/o newspapers.com
It was still daylight when we left the hotel, so rather than heading back to the hotel, we decided to have more of a look around Gundagai.
Marija and I walked down the street to have a look at the ‘Three Sisters of Gundagai’ mural. The mural was completed in 2021 and is the work of artist Yiannia Johns. The mural depicts Melba XV, a milking cow from Darbalara, who in 1924 became the world’s champion butter-fat cow. (Mural 2022)
Melba XV, in her heyday, was able to produce 743.5 pounds of milk and 28.7 pounds of butter fat during a 7-day period.
Above: part of an article from the Mount Barker Courier, Fri 4 Jul 1924. Image c/o Trove
Marija and I then paid a visit to the site of the old National School. A campaign by local Gundagai residents for a government school resulted in the erection of the National School in 1850. The school consisted of a two-room building with a loft that included accommodation for the teachers. Joseph McKenna and his wife Elizabeth, were the first teachers appointed to the school.
Tragedy struck the school during the Gundagai flood. At the peak of the flood, the McKennas, their 5 children and two 13-year-old female boarders were marooned in the schoolhouse. On Thursday the 24th day of June 1852, the flood consumed the school building which resulted in the drowning of all those at the school.
Above: part of an item in The Sydney Morning Herald, Mon 5 Jul 1852. Image c/o Trove
Nearby is a sign indicating the centre of Old Gundagai.
There is also a cairn commemorating the explorer Captain Charles Sturt, who passed through the district in November 1829.
Our final ‘touristy’ visit that day was the War Memorial cenotaph, which was designed by Frank Rusconi to honour Gundagai’s fallen.
Marija and I then headed back to our motel and had an early night. It had been a big day.
ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 7 Mar. 2026]
Chirp Internet (2026). Hotels in Gundagai < New South Wales | Gday Pubs – Enjoy our Great Australian Pubs. [online] Gdaypubs.com.au. Available at: https://www.gdaypubs.com.au/NSW/gundagai.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2026].
‘Gundagai Theatre in Gundagai, AU – Cinema Treasures’ (2026) Cinematreasures.org. 2026 [online]. Available from: https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/54465 [Accessed 9 March 2026].
NSW Courts | New South Wales Courts. (2013). Gundagai Local Court – Lawyers for Gundagai Local Court | NSW Courts. [online] Available at: https://nswcourts.com.au/courts/gundagai-local-court/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2026].
Trove. (2026). A PIONEER GONE. – DEATH OF MR. W. BIBO. – The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 – 1928) – 7 May 1910. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/121495882 [Accessed 7 Mar. 2026].
Trove. (2026). SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. THOMAS HENDERSON. – The Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1868 – 1931) – 18 Apr 1874. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122751795 [Accessed 9 Mar. 2026].
After leaving Mount Stromlo on Thursday, 30th October 2025, Marija and I drove out towards the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. This was a beautiful drive, with our first stop being Casuarina Sands & Casuarina Pool on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.
This area has sandy riverside beaches, a playground, electric BBQs, picnic tables & shelters and toilets. It is a nice spot for a swim or to cast out a line. The area takes its name from the Casuarina trees (she-oaks) which grow along the sandy banks of the Murrumbidgee. (Environment 2021)
It was a beautiful day, so Marija and I took some time to enjoy the beautiful views of the Murrumbidgee River.
A little further along the river is another car park where you park your vehicle and take a walk along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.
There is an information sign here detailing the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach, which is a regional partnership of stakeholders who are working together to protect and improve the health of the Upper Murrumbidgee River. (We 2019)
Whilst there, we were blessed to see several Australian King Parrots. The adult male of this bird has brilliant red plumage on his head, breast and lower undersides.
Marija and I then drove south along Paddys River Road and then turned onto Discovery Drive towards the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex. We stopped for the obligatory photo of the sign for the complex.
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is part of the Deep Space Network of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
During the early 1960s, enquiries commenced for a replacement site in Australia for a Deep Space complex. It was decided that the existing Island Lagoon Tracking Station near Woomera in South Australia was not suitable. The Tidbinbilla Valley in the Australian Capital Territory was chosen. Construction at Tidbinbilla commenced in June 1963. (Wikipedia 2025) (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
Above: article from RAAF News, Wed 1 May 1963. Image c/o Trove
Operations at Tidbinbilla commenced in December 1964 to align with providing support for the Mariner 4 Mars spacecraft. The complex featured a 26-metre antenna (Deep Space Station 42). (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Wed 23 Dec 1964. Image c/o Trove
The Tidbinbilla complex was officially opened on the 19th day of March 1965 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies. (Wikipedia 2021)
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Sat 20 March 1965. Image c/o Trove
In 1969, construction commenced on a new antenna, the 64-metre (Deep Space Station 43 ‘Ballima’) antenna. Ballima is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘very far away’. It was officially opened in April 1973 by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The antenna is 73 metres in height and weighs more than 7 million kgs. It was more than 6 times as sensitive as the 26-metre antenna, allowing communication with spacecraft at greater distances from Earth. (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 1980, the 26-metre antenna was upgraded to a 34-metre antenna. (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 1986, a 34-metre antenna (Deep Space Station 45) was constructed. It provided better reception at higher frequencies and coincided with the Voyager-2 contact with the planet Uranus. Deep Space Station 45 was decommissioned in 2016. (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Fri 10 Jan 1986. Image c/o Trove
In 1987, the 64-metre antenna was upgraded to 70 metres in diameter to assist with Voyager 2’s encounter with Neptune. It is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere. (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 1996, an 11-metre antenna (Deep Space Station 33) commenced operation. It was decommissioned in 2002. In 2008 the antenna was dismantled, and the parts were sent to a Norwegian island where it was rebuilt to assist in conducting atmospheric research (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 1997, a 34-metre Beam Wave Guide antenna (Deep Space Station 34) commenced operation. It took 3 years to complete the construction of this 35 metre high antenna. (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 1998, Deep Space Station 42 was decommissioned after 35 years in use. It had been used to support the flyover of the planet Mars by NASA’s Mariner IV spacecraft. It returned close-up images of the surface of Mars (www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
In 2014 and 2016, Deep Space Station 35 and 36, two 34-metre Beam Wave Guide antennas, became operational at Tidbinbilla.(www.cdscc.nasa.gov, n.d.)
Over the years, the Tidbimbilla complex has been used to track the Apollo Lunar Module, the US Voyager 1 spacecraft, and the Mariner IV spacecraft. It is now used to communicate with and track other NASA spacecraft. (Wikipedia 2021)
Although a few years old, the video below gives a good description of the Deep Space Communication Complex.
As we drove along Discovery Drive, the complex soon came into view in the distance.
And as we got even closer, the antenna dishes became very evident.
Unfortunately, the Visitor Centre was closed.
But we were able to get up close and personal with the amazing antennas.
Marija and I left the Deep Space complex and continued south on Paddy’s River Road towards the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
We soon reached the park sign and stopped for a photo opportunity.
As we entered the car park of the Visitor Centre, we encountered mother, father and family below.
Marija and I spent a bit of time inside the Visitor Centre chatting to the Rangers. We explained the reason for our visit, and they were very interested in amateur radio, WWFF, and my blog. We paid the small fee for park entry.
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is 5,400 hectares in size and was established in 1971. It is located on the fringe of the Namadgi National Park. Tidbinbilla includes a large valley floor, Tidbinbilla Mountain and the Gibraltar Range. (Wikipedia 2021)
Above: aerial view of Tidbinbilla. Image c/o Google Maps
Tidbinbilla is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word Jedbinbilla, meaning a place where boys become men. Tidbinbilla Mountain is believed to have been used for Aboriginal initiation ceremonies. A number of significant Aboriginal sites have been located in the reserve. This includes Birragi Rock Shelter, which is the oldest known Aboriginal site in the Australian Capital Territory. Aboriginal rock paintings can be found in a cave at Gibraltar Peak. At nearby Birrigai, evidence of the use of fire has been discovered, dating back 20,000 years. The last known corroboree at Tidbibilla was held in 1904. (Wikipedia 2021)
In 1936, about 810 hectares at Tidbinbilla were set aside as a public reserve. Three years later in 1939, a koala enclosure was built by the Institute of Anatomy. In 1962, at the suggestion of the Royal Society of Canberra, the ACT Government acquired further land, and the Tidbinbilla Fauna Reserve was opened. (Wikipedia 2021)
Above: part of an article from The Canberra Times, Sat 22 Oct 1966. Image c/o Trove
In 1966, a park ranger, David Bruce Kerr, was appointed. He was instrumental in the creation of bush walking tracks, roads, picnic areas, enclosures and waterfowl areas in the reserve. A Cape Barren goose and conservation scheme was developed under his management. The first wildlife displays were established in 1969. Kerr also saw the introduction of Victorian koalas to the reserve and the creation of kangaroo enclosures. In 2023, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) by the King for service to conservation and the environment. (ancestry 2016)
Above David Kerr with kangaroos at Tidbimbilla, 1973. Image c/o Trove – The Canberra Times, Thu 1 Oct 1973.
The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve was officially gazetted in 1971. In November 2008, the reserve was added to the Australian National Heritage List. (Wikipedia 2021)
The reserve has a breeding program for the critically endangered Northern Corroboree frog, the Southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby, and the Eastern Bettong. Other native animals include kangaroos, wallabies, platypus, koalas, lyrebirds and emus. (Wikipedia 2021)
Sadly, 90% of the reserve was destroyed in the January 2003 Bendora bushfire. Of Tidbinbilla’s captive native animals, only one koala, six rock wallabies, five potoroos, four freckled ducks, and nine black swans survived the bushfire. (Wikipedia 2021)
And then in January 2021, the Orroral Valley bushfire destroyed 22% of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, equating to about 1,444 hectares. About 80% of Namadgi National Park, equating to 82,700 hectares, was destroyed. (ACT Govt n.d.)
We headed down Sheedy’s Picnic Road and set up in the picnic area. This was a beautiful spot, with a wooden table and benches.
Marija and I ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole supported on a 7 metre heavy duty telescopic squid pole.
We had a few interested onlookers during our activation.
Marija and I found the band conditions to be pretty tough. We made all our contacts on 40m SSB and 40m AM. We did try 20m but had no takers. This wasn’t helped by the fact that we had no internet coverage, so we could not self-spot on parksnpeaks.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK3AUN/p (SOTA VK3/ VC-002 & VKFF-0556)
VK3BEL
VK3BEB
VK1AD
VK1NAM
VK2MOE/P (VKFF-0544)
VK1MO/P (VKFF-0544)
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0853)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0853)
VK2HLM
VK3PF (VKFF-0974)
VK3KAI (VKFF-0974)
VK2USH/P (VKFF-1990)
Marija worked the following station on 40m AM:-
VK2USH/P (VKFF-1990)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK3AUN/p (SOTA VK3/ VC-002 & VKFF-0556)
VK3BEL
VK3BEB
VK1AD
VK1NAM
VK2MOE/P (VKFF-0544)
VK1MO/P (VKFF-0544)
VK2IO/P (VKFF-0853)
VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0853)
VK2HLM
VK5HS
VK3YE/P
VK2NP
VK3PF (VKFF-0974)
VK3KAI (VKFF-0974)
VK3APJ
VK3SX
VK2VW
VK2HFI
VK2AKA
VK2BUG
VK3TDK
VK3NYC
VK1CHW
VK2CHW
VK3EJ
VK3CLD
VK5QA
VK2DBF
VK2AHP
VK2YAK
VK4YAK
VK7IAN
VK2LDJ
VK2USH/P (VKFF-1990)
I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-
VK3BEL
VK3BEB
VK2VW
VK2HFI
VK2AKA
VK2BUG
VK2YAK
VK4YAK
VK2USH/P (VKFF-1990)
Following the activation, Marija and I drove down to Black Flats Dam, to hopefully get some good bird photographs.
Below are some of the photographs I took during a 30 minute stroll around the Dam.
We also took a walk through one of the enclosures, which is surrounded by a predator-proof fence. Marija called me over, telling me she had seen a ‘black rat’. It turned out to be a Long-Nosed Potoroo, a small marsupial that is listed as threatened.
We then stopped off at the site of the old Tidbinbilla Eucalyptus Oil Distillery, which was established in the early 1940s by a small group of men from the former Czechoslovakia. Steam was piped from a wood-fired boiler into a tank full of leaves. The heated leaves gave off oil into the steam, which was condensed in pipes cooled by river or creek water, and the il cooled.
Our next stop was the historic Rock Valley Homestead, which was occupied by the Green family in the late 1800s.
George Green was born in November 1855 in Lincolnshire, England. He emigrated to Australia in 1884 aboard the Earl Derby. In October 1886, he married Mary Ann McCaffery Fowler. Mary Ann was born in 1865 in Lincolnshire, England. It is reported that Mary Ann had an unusual wedding breakfast consisting of a lyrebird cooked in a billycan. They lived in an isolated slab hut in the Tidbinbilla Valley. George and Mary Ann had 7 children. (ancestry 2016)
Above: George and Mary Ann Green. Images c/o ancestry.com.au
In 1895, a house was built at Rock Valley. Mary Ann died in July 1911 from rheumatic fever. She was just 46 years old. Following their mother’s death, the older girls assisted in raising their younger siblings. George died in December 1930, aged 75. Three generations of the Green family lived in the homestead at Rock Valley from 1895 to 1967. (ancestry 2016)
The homestead survived bushfires in 1920, 1938-39, and 1951-52. However, it was severely damaged in the 2003 Canberra bushfires. The homestead was partially reconstructed following community action by the Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association and the National Trust. They opposed the recommendations to demolish the older parts of the homestead. In 2008, the homestead was opened to visitors.
Marija and I soon came to the conclusion that this is one place that we need to return to. We only captured a small glimpse of Tidbinbilla. There is so much that we did not get to see.
It had been a very enjoyable 7 nights in Canberra, but it was time to leave the region and head to Gundagai where we planned to stay for 3 nights.
Along the way, we stopped off to look at the Sergeant Edmund Parry memorial at Jugiong.
On Wednesday, 16th November 1864, Sergeant Edmund Parry was escorting the Gundagai to Yass mail coach at Black Prings near Jugiong, when he was shot dead by bushranger John Gilbert.
Marija and I visited Gilbert’s grave earlier in our trip. You can read about that at the following posts….
Edmund Parry was born c. 1832. He joined the New South Wales Police Force in May 1862. This was just 2 months after its official creation. In 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Detective Third Class. In 1864, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. (ancestry 2016)
Above: Item from the NSW Govt Gazette re Parry’s promotion to Detective. Image co Trove
John Gilbert was born in c. 1842 in Hamilton, Canada West. He arrived in Australia in 1852. He joined the Ben Hall Gang. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: John Gilbert. Image c/o Wikipedia
On Wednesday, 16th November 1864, the Yass mail coach was enroute to Gundagai. Constable Roche of Yass was in the box seat next to the driver. In the coach was Police Magistrate Rose of Gundagai. Sergeant Parry was riding with Sub-Inspector O’Neill at the rear of the coach. Bushrangers John Gilbert, Benjamin Hall, and John Dunn lay in wait. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
Prior to the coach reaching the bushranger’s location, Constable McLaughlin of Gundagai police station rode up leading a pack horse. Gilbert rode up to McLaughlin and ordered him to surrender. McLaughlin did not comply and fired a shot at Gilbert, who returned fire. Hall then fired upon Constable McLaughlin, who returned fire. McLaughlin was then fired upon by Dunn, with McLaughlin eventually surrendering and taken captive. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
The mail coach then appeared, and a gunfight between the bushrangers and police ensued. Sergeant Parry refused to surrender and discharged all the bullets from his revolver before being shot dead. Upon Parry being shot, Sub-Inspector O’Neill surrendered. He was disarmed and had his ring and watchchain stolen. His horse was also taken. The bushrangers then ordered Magistrate Rose to throw out the bags, which they cut open. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
Above: part of an article from the Empire, Sydney, Mon 28 Nov 1864. Image c/o Trove
Following the shooting, Sergeant Scully from Yass, dispatched five mounted men to the area. Despite an 8-day search, the bushrangers were not located. Parry was the 14th serving New South Wales police officer to be killed in the line of duty. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
Following the shooting, a reward of £1,000 was issued for the apprehension of Gilbert and Hall. A £250 reward was offered for the arrest of Dunn.
Above: Reward posted in the NSW Govt Gazette, November 1864. Image c/o Trove
Six months later, Gilbert was shot dead by police at Binalong, New South Wales, in May 1865, aged just 23 years. Ben Hall was also shot dead by police in May 1865 at Goobang Creek, New South Wales. He was 27 years old. John Dunn was hanged in Darlinghurst Gaol in March 1866 for the murder of another police officer, Constable Nelson. Dunn was 19 years old.
We were pressed a bit for time, so we only had a brief look around Jugiong. The Sir George Hotel at Jugiong was built in the 1850s and is a very impressive building. We only wished we had more time to stop off for a meal and a few drinks.
We continued along the Hume Highway, passing spectacular countryside.
After arriving in Gundagai, we booked into our accommodation at The Garden Motor Inn.
We then headed out to Shell Roadhouse, which we had passed on our way into Gundagai. Marija and I wanted to get some photos of the big rigs for our grandson, Flynn.
Marija and I then headed out for dinner to one of the local hotels.
References.
ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 26 Feb 2026]
On Thursday, 30th October 2025, Marija and I headed out to breakfast at a cafe in Griffith. After breakfast, we visited Parliament House.
It was incredibly busy, with several busloads of tourists, including a school group, so we decided not to conduct the tour of the building (which we had done previously).
The construction of Parliament House commenced in January 1981. The building opened in May 1988 after 7 years of construction at $1.1 billion. Parliament House contains more than 4,500 rooms. (Wikipedia 2019)
There are some nice views across the lawns back to the old Parliament House and across the Molonglo River to the Australian War Memorial.
Mount Stromlo was part of Yarraluma Station, owned by Frederick Campbell, in the 1880s. It is believed that he named Mount Stromlo from the Poems of Ossian, an 18th-century literary work. (Wikipedia 2024)
Above: Osian Singing. Image c/o Wikipedia
Mount Stromlo is 770 metres above sea level. There are some very nice views to be enjoyed. (Wikipedia 2024)
Walter Geoffrey Duffield was born in 1879 in Gawler, South Australia. He graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1900. During 1905 in Oxford, England, and 1907 in Paris, France, Duffield attended meetings of the International Union for Solar Research. He became aware of the lack of solar observatories in eastern Australia and commenced promoting the idea of such an observatory. (Allen 1981)
Duffield’s enthusiasm attracted the attention and support of leading scientists and others interested in the physics of the sun. In October 1909, Duffield advised the Government that the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science at the Brisbane congress had unanimously passed a resolution approving of the proposed solar observatory as ‘a matter of national and international importance.’ (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: part of an article from The Argus, Melbourne, Sat 9 Oct 1909. Image c/o Trove
In 1909, Ballarat businessman James Oddie offered to the Commonwealth Government one 9-inch reflector telescope, one micrometer, one clock, and timber for an 18-foot dome to house the package. The Australian Prime Minister Alfred Deakin accepted what he described as a ‘splendid gift’.
Above: Alfred Deakin. Image c/o Wikipedia
The estate of Lord Farnham also made a promise of a valuable telescope. (Nla.gov.au 2026)
It was estimated that the minimum cost of the observatory would be £10,000, and its maintenance would mean an expenditure of £1,500 per year. (Nla.gov.au 2026)
In March 1910, the Government Astronomer of Victoria, Pietro Baracchi and the Commonwealth Principal Surveyor, Charles Scriverner were tasked with determining the best location for Oddie’s telescope in the Canberra and Yass region. Mount Stromlo was chosen as the site. I will talk more about James Oddie and the Oddie telescope shortly.
Above: Pietro Baracchi (left) & Charles Scrivener (right). Image c/o Wikipedia
Below is a short YouTube video on Mount Stromlo produced by the Australian National University.
Below is an interesting video made by the Commonwealth Film Unit in 1958 entitled ‘Reaching for the Stars.’
The Ngunawal Aboriginal people are reported to have used the southern night sky and the position of the stars as a calendar, indicating the seasons and availability of particular food sources.
The Oddie telescope was installed at Mount Stromlo in 1911, with the Oddie Dome becoming the first building on Mount Stromlo and the very first Commonwealth building in Canberra. The building had four wings and accommodated a caretaker and astronomers. It included a small kitchen and a photographic room. The building can be found at the northern end of Oddie Way. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Trove 2026)
Above: An aerial view of Mount Stromlo showing the location of the Oddie Telescope. Image c/o Google Maps
James Oddie was born in March 1824 in Lancashire, England. He died on the 5th day of March 1911 in Ballarat, Victoria. (ancestry 2016)
Above: James Oddie. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
The Oddie telescope was initially used to test the suitability of Mount Stromlo as a site as an observatory. The Oddie dome was restored in the 1990s, but sadly, it was destroyed in the 2003 Canberra bushfire. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
Below is an excellent video from the ABC on the life of James Oddie and the Oddie telescope at Mount Stromlo.
Adjacent to the Oddie telescope is the Mount Stromlo Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Facility. The SLR is used to accurately determine the orbits of satellites. It is one of forty SLR stations around the world. Six of those are located in the Southern Hemisphere. A short laser pulse is transmitted through the ranging telescope to passing satellites which are specifically equipped with retro-reflectors. The time of flight of the pulse to the satellite and back to a detector, gives a measure through a processor of the distance to the satellite with a precision of one centimetre.
The Yale Columbia 26-inch telescope was first used as Yale University’s Southern Station in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1952, the telescope was moved to Mount Stromlo and commenced operation in 1956. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: Article from The Sydney Herald, Sun 27 Aug 1950. Image c/o Trove
The refractor assisted in the preparation of NASA’s Voyager missions to the outer planets by taking photographs of Jupiter and Saturn’s moons. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: The Yale-Columbia telescope. Image c/o National Library of Australia.
Sadly, it was destroyed in the Canberra 2003 bushfire. All that is left is the scarred shell of the dome.
The Great Melbourne 50-inch telescope was built in 1868 by Grubb Parsons in Dublin, Ireland, a historic manufacturer of telescopes. The company was founded in 1833 by Thomas Grubb. The telescope was specifically manufactured for the Melbourne Observatory in 1868. The telescope had a mirror made of speculu, which is a heavy alloy of copper and tin. This made the telescope cumbersome to balance. Another interesting feature was that the telescope was used without a dome, which made it vulnerable to vibrations from the wind. In 1944, the telescope was purchased by Mount Stromlo following the closure of the Melbourne Observatory. The telescope had been offered for sale as scrap. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026)(Wikipedia 2025)
Above: Installation of the Great Melbourne Telescope, 1869. Image c/o Wikipedia
Several significant modifications were undertaken on the telescope at Mount Stromlo in the workshops. A special mirror was ordered from Great Britain. The telescope was put into use at Mount Stromlo in the 1950s. It joined the MACHO project during the 1990s to investigate ‘dark matter.’ This telescope was also destroyed during the 2003 Canberra bushfire. Just prior to its destruction, the telescope had been automated and was used in the ‘Skymapper’ project to create a digital map of the southern sky. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Unfortunately, the Visitor Centre was not open at the time of our visit. There is a mural of a Star Wars stormtrooper on the building.
The Mount Stromlo Visitor Centre was officially opened in 1995.
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Tue 13 Jun 1995. Image c/o Trove
The 74-inch reflector was Mount Stromlo’s primary telescope following its completion in 1955. It was Mount Stromlo’s largest and most advanced telescope, and was capable of deep-space viewing. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
The 74-inch telescope was built by Grubb Parsons in Dublin, Ireland. In 1947, the telescope was ordered by Mount Stromlo’s Director, Richard van der Riet Woolley. At the time, it was the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. The telescope weighed 70 tons and cost £100,00. (Exhibitions 2024) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Just prior to the telescope being shipped to Australia, Woolley stated:
“The new telescope, combined with other equipment we are setting up, will mean that instead of being able to study, say, only the 20 brightest stars in the southern skies, we will be able to see and, more important still, photograph the next brightest hundred stars.” (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from The Sun, Thu 25 Oct 1951. Image c/o Trove
Prior to being sent to Australia, the telescope was on display in 1951 at the Festival of Britain in London’s South Bank, in the ‘Dome of Discovery.’ (Exhibitions 2024)
Above: The interior of the Dome of Discovery, showing the 74-inch telescope. Image c/o Wikipedia
The telescope was destroyed in the 2003 bushfire. Only the dome and the adjoining burnt-out building remain.
The Heliostat is a Sun telescope. It was completed in 1931 and used two flat mirrors that tracked the sun and passed the sun’s light down the tower through a 12-inch lens. This was then reflected into a camera or a 3-prism spectrograph. Amongst other uses, the Mount Stromlo Heliostat was used to monitor solar flares and sunspots. With an emphasis on stellar astronomy at Mount Stromlo after World War II, the Heliostat began to fall into disuse. The last observations were taken in 1957. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
Renowned astronomer Clabon ‘Cla’ Allen visited Mount Stromlo and used the Heliostat to measure and photograph the spectrum of the sun.
The Heliostat was destroyed in 2003 during the Canberra bushfire. The Visitor Centre now has a similar Heliostat. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
The Commonwealth Solar Observatory building was built between 1924 and 1926 and was designed by John Smith Murdoch, the government architect who also designed Old Parliament House in Canberra. (Anu.edu.au 2025)
The 6-inch Farnham telescope was built in 1886 by Grubb Parsons in Ireland and was donated by the estate of Lord Farnham in 1907 to the Commonwealth. The Rt Hon. Somerset Henry Maxwell, 10th Baron Farnham ‘Lord Farnham’ was a keen astronomer. The telescope was installed in 1928. In 1965, the Farnham telescope was used to track and photograph the Ikeya-Seki comet. (Anu.edu.au 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026)
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Tue 30 Aug 1927. Image c/o Trove
The Administration Building was severely damaged in the 2003 Canberra bushfire. The Farnham telescope was the only telescope to survive the 2003 Canberra bushfire.
Above: the Farnham telescope and the Commonwealth Solar Observatory building, c. 1951. Image c/o National Library of Australia
The Director’s residence was originally known as ‘Observatory House.’ It was built in 1928 to accommodate the Mount Stromlo Director and his family. The building was described as one of Canberra’s grandest homes. It was occupied by the founding Director of Mount Stromlo, Walter Geoffrey Duffield. The Director’s residence was destroyed in the 2003 Canberra bushfire and reopened in 2015. (Wikipedia 2025).
As mentioned previously in this post, Canberra was devastated by a fire on the 18th January 2003. Four people were killed, and over 500 homes were destroyed. Mount Stromlo was severely impacted by the fire. But this was not the first time that Mount Stromlo had faced the challenge of fire.
Above: part of an article from the Central Western Daily, Wed 6 Feb 1952. Image c/o Trove
The 2003 fire, which impacted Mount Stromlo, destroyed five telescopes, the administration building, various workshops, and seven homes. The surviving telescope was the 1886 Farnham telescope. If you visit the National Museum of Australia, you can view remnants of the fire at Mount Stromlo, including a melted telescope mirror and a piece of melted optical glass that has pieces of charcoal and wire fused into it from the heat of the fire. (Wikipedia 2025)
Below is a video produced by ANU TV on the impact of the Canberra bushfire on Mount Stromlo.
Below is a view up to the telecommunications equipment and the trig point.
Below is a photograph of me at the trig point at Mount Stromlo.
Mount Stromlo is worth 1 point in the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program. It has been activated a total of 422 times. The first activation was back in February 2013 by Matt VK1MA. (Sotadata.org.uk 2026)
We set up in a clearing. Unfortunately, we had a strength 7 noise on the 40m band, and this made it extremely difficult to copy the weaker stations that were calling us. Marija and I apologise to those who were calling who we were unable to log. Yes, we should have listened to Andrew VK1DA’s advice about the noise and where to set up. However, there was zero noise floor on the 20m band.
Above: an aerial view of Mount Stromlo showing our operating spot. Image c/o Google Maps
As this was a drive-up summit, we had the luxury of a fold-up table and deck chair. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. It was a beautiful morning, and the view was quite amazing.
ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 21 Feb. 2026]
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