On Sunday 4th April 2015, I headed out to the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park, which is located in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’, east of Adelaide.  Kenneth Stirling CP is one of the newly added parks to the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program– VKFF-781.  Although I have activated this park many times previously for the VK5 Parks award, this was the first time I would activate the park for the WWFF program.

Above: Map showing the location of the Kenneth Stirling CP.  Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

This is a very interesting park. Not only because it consists of four completely autonomous sections, but also due to its history.

The park consists of four separate sections:-

1. Wotton Scrub
2. Filsell Hill
3. White Scrub
4. Burdett Scrub

I have spoken with Bill Filsell from Filsell’s Apples, which has been a family business operated since 1903. The Filsell Hill section is named after the Filsell family.

However, the park in its entirety was named in honour of Kenneth George Stirling.

image courtesy of Graham Churchett

So who was Kenneth ‘Ken’ George Stirling? Well I have been fortunate enough to get in contact with a gentleman called Graham Churchett, who knew Ken, and this is what Graham had to say…..

The Environment Committee was a sub committee of the Town and Country Planning Association composed of the following:

Ron Caldicot, Dr John Coulter, David Strahle, Alwin Clements, Ray Holliday, Miss Erdley, Dr Peter Guldhurst, Ken Stirling, Ralph Middenway, Elise and Gordon Gardner and myself.

This committee was active across a broad spectrum of planning and environmental issues but it was not until money was given anonymously to the committee, and we employed Ron Caldicot as a Project Director, that some monumental changes occurred.

At the time the State Planning Authority was headed by Stewart Heart and sitting on the authority were developers and others who naturally pushed through every approval to further line their pockets at the expense of the environment and common good. The committee pressured the government and Ron was appointed to the Authority and in a short time the rules were changed to exclude those with vested interests. 

With the help of the Natural History Society we brought about the protection of the wedge tail eagle, and Improved planning laws.

In May 1980 tragedy occurred. David Strahle, a gentle, dedicated man and one who worked for a better world suddenly died due to a massive heart attack. We were all stunned, he was only in his 45th year.

In 1973 we were again shocked when Ken Stirling died from a heart attack when jogging by the uni bridge.  He was only 38.

Ken, and all of us for that matter, were appalled at the scarring taking place in the north Flinders by EX Oil and Ken knew more of what was going on as he was employed by two of Australia’s largest mining companies before joining Poseidon’s associate, Samin Ltd, in 1969.

 It was when Poseidon shares  went through the roof that Ken became a millionaire  and  in 1972 Ken resigned from the mining industry and sought a position in the Public Service with the Department for the Environment. A series of applications were rebuffed and some were not even answered and he was bitter at this.

While waiting for something to turn up he gave unpaid service to the Birdwood Mill Museum.

 His benefactions were not known to the Public service and his intense interest in conservation not realised.

 Those who examined his application may have noted with disapproval his association with the mining industry. The irony of it is that but for the mining boom, the entire conservation cause in South Australia would not have prospered without Ken’s personal service and financial help.

It was only after his death we found out that Ken had given money to a variety of organisations and in particular, for Ron’s full time employment as a director, $100.000 was given to set up Radio 5UV University radio employing Keith Conlon. $50,000 was given to State Archives, $200,000 to the Australian Conservation Foundation for the acquisition and establishment of a national park. This park is now rightly known as the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park.

 Through Ron we achieved so much and it was then that I came to the earnest belief that if the conservation movement was to make any meaningful headway in this cockeyed world, we had to employ key people full time.

I was privileged to have known Ron, David and Ken as friends, all be it that our time together with regard to David and Ken was short. I was saddened to hear the other day that Ron, a man I knew with a mind as sharp as a tack and a gentle manner but one who would stand his ground with great conviction, was now in a home suffering severe dementure.

What can I say other than they are fondly remembered.

Below is part of what the Advertiser columnist, Stewart Cockburn said of Ken Stirling upon his death…..

Ken Stirling was the son of a railway man. He wanted to be a boundary rider on an outback station and, for a while, he became a multimillionaire. He made his money in the mining boom, and gave most of it away. Only since he died, have the benefactions of this humble, intensely private man become known outside his family and a small circle of friends and associates.

I set up in the Wotton Scrub section of the park and ran my Yaesu FT857d and the 40m/20m linked dipole, supported by my 7 metre telescopic squid pole.

  Above: Map showing the border of the Wotton Scrub section of the park. Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Above: The Wotton Scrub Section.  Image courtesy of mapcarta.com

This was one of the best activations I had experience for a while when it came to working DX.  I started off on 40m first and worked a total of 21 stations in VK3 and VK5.  My first contact was with Nick VK3ANL who was activating the Terrick Terrick National Park, VKFF-630.  Next up I spoke with Hans VK5YX who was portable at Wombaroo in the Murray Mallee.  I then propped on 7.144 and called CQ where my first taker was Nev VK5WG, followed by Richard VK5ZRY, and then Ben VK5BB.

When things slowed down on 40m I headed off to 20m.  Unfortunately I could not get on to 14.244 as there were some European stations working close by.  So I started calling CQ on 14.241 and this was answered by Gerard VK2IO.  What followed was a huge pile up from Europe, the UK & North Ameerica.  The first European caller was Danny ON4VT, followed by Luk ON4BB, Max IK1GPG and then Luciano I5FLN.  The secret to my success was that they spotted me on the DX cluster.

I went on to work a total of 135 stations on 20m in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia, France, Netherlands, Ukraine, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Romania, Poland, USA, England, Croatia, Latvia, Canary Islands, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Belarus, Austria, Denmark, Alaska, and Finland.  Thankyou to everyone who spotted me on the DX Cluster.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My last contact on 20m SSB was with Bob VK3SX.  I then headed off to 40m where I called CQ on 7.144 and worked a further 14 stations in VK2, VK3, VK4 VK5 and VK6.  Thanks to Paul VK2HV for getting the ball rolling and spotting me on the DX Cluster.  And also to Rob VK4FFAB.

One of my contacts was with Adam VK2YK who informed me that V6Z in Micronesia was up the band a little and had a great signal.  So I was pretty eager to love off and try my luck.  But Iwas still taking calls from other VK’s so I patiently waited until things slowed down and then tuned up to 7.152 and heard V6Z coming in very well, working split.  But unfortunately by this time he had a large pile up from Japan, the USA, VK & ZL.  I just couldn’t break through.

So I had a tune around the band and found the 7.1653 group and Jim WB2REM.  I called in and worked Jim and five other USA stations.  My signal report ranged from 44 to 57.  Not bad considering I was running 40 watts and a tiny dipole.

I thought I would try my luck one last time with V6Z and this time my persistence paid off.  After about 3 minutes of calling I got through.  I was very happy as this was a new DXCC entity for me on 40m whilst operating portable.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3ANL/p (Terrick Terrick NP)
2. VK5YX/p
3. VK5WG
4. VK5ZRY
5. VK5BB
6. VK3FDAP
7. VK5KLV
8. VK5FANA
9. VK3JP
10. VK5ALX
11. VK3AX
12. VK3PF/m
13. VK3DAC
14. VK3TKK
15. VK5ZAR
16. VK3VT
17. VK3FSPG
18. VK5LOL/p
19. VK5AV
20. VK3VIN
21. VK3AV
22. VK2HV
23. VK2FDJO
24. VK3PMG
25. VK5FLEX
26. VK3ETC/5
27. VK3NRG
28. VK2YK
29. VK3GFS
30. VK5KFB
31. VK4FFAB
32. VK5AAH
33. VK6HRC/P
34. VK4FAAS
35. VK3HRA
36. WB2REM
37. AH6GE
38. W1RQ
39. N7MIT
40. W6PXE
41. N7SEP
42. V6Z

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. VK2IO
2. ON4VT
3. ON4BB
4. IK1GPG
5. I5FLN
6. VK2YK
7. DK4RM
8. IK0OPS
9. DK8FS
10. RA3PCI
11. IK5ORP
12. DK0EE
13. F1BLL
14. DL5EBG
15. OP7M
16. ON5JE
17. PB5X
18. IK8FIQ
19. DJ8QP
20. IK0BGA
21. UT4EX
22. EA3MP
23. DL1EBR
24. PA3GRM
25. UW5ZM
26. HA6NF
27. EA4DTV
28. IZ8DFO
29. S52KM
30. PA3WB
31. DL2ND
32. ON7YZ
33. OM7OM
34. F2YT
35. UR7ET
36. EA3NW
37. RX9WN
38. YO3JW
39. EA1DR
40. F5TA
41. SP6KEP
42. ON6UQ
43. HA6OB
44. UX2KA
45. KK4TXZ
46. ON5SWA
47. IZ2EWR
48. DL4PT
49. EA7AK
50. F5IDJ
51. IZ5UGP
52. G0RBD
53. I3KAN
54. DL7HU
55. UA3NM
56. M1CMR
57. IZ3QHB
58. IK8BPY
59. IZ1GRH
60. OK1APV
61. S58AL
62. 9A2HQ
63. OM1AX
64. RC5F
65. DK8PJ
66. M6GHM
67. SP2MPO
68. EA2KV
69. UA6NT
70. IZ5CML
71. IK3WDI
72. YL2TQ
73. I1POR
74. DL5XU
75. EA8JK
76. G3MWV
77. EA4FZC
78. HB9TSI
79. F6BWA
80. DL6ATM
81. IZ2IHO
82. SP8GEY
83. IZ0PED
84. IZ1PLH
85. S58N
86. CT1AGS
87. DK2BS
88. W4REX
89. IZ1NBX
90. VK3PF/p (VKFF-758)
91. VK7NWT
92. DF8NY
93. HB9RDE
94. M0HDX
95. UA1AKJ
96. RN3B
97. UK2PKT
98. IZ5IOS
99. OK2BPU
100. IT9ZVL
101. S57S
102. EA3HND
103. PD1RK
104. DL4EBC
105. DG8DBW
106. IZ1JMN
107. IZ5YHD
108. IW2NXI
109. PD2AD
110. SP2GWH
111. IZ8EFD
112. LX90IARU
113. IZ8GCE
114. F4GWG
115. F6KOP
116. EU2MM
117. UR8EW
118. US2WU
119. M0WYZ
120. 9A3KS
121. OH6RP
122. IW2ETR
123. CT1DQV
124. DL1ASF
125. F8PRD
126. SP2ORL
127. DJ1SD
128. ON7LX
129. EA3HSO
130. EOE1DPS
131. EA8OT
132. OZ1W
133. LX1IQ
134. G1HPD
135. DF1YQ
136. VK2MCB
137. KL2PM
138. 2I0FLO
139. M5AEC
140. G0WKH
141. VK3SX