It was now day nine (Wednesday 14th April 2021). Our plans today were a revisit to the Merbein South Flora Reserve, a visit to Trentham EstateWinery, and an afternoon activation of the Kemendok National Park.
We started the day with breakfast again at the Langtree cafe for breakfast.
We also visited the W.B. Chaffey statue in Mildura. It was erected by his many friends in Mildura and throughout Australia.
We also had a look at the Chaffey fountain in Mildura. This is the original fountain. A replica is located in front of Rio Vista House. The fountain was turned off and remained idle following the tragic drowning of one of the Chaffey children in 1897. The fountain was later donated to the people of Mildura in 1936.
Our next stop was the Mildura Homestead cemetery which consists of two adjacent graveyards. The earliest contains the graves of Joseph Hawdon and the other where the Chaffey women are buried. One solitary grave stood in the Homestead cemetery, the first cemetery in Mildura, for nearly 40 years. In 1848, John Hawdon, a former employee at Kulnine Station, fell from his horse. He later died in a tent on the riverbank. John was the son of Joseph Hawdon who, with MC Bonney, drove 340 cattle from Melbourne to Adelaide along the Murray, passing Mildura early in 1838.
We then indulged our sweet tooth propensity and visited the Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe in Mildura. It was like stepping back in time with all different sorts of lollies and chocolates. The shop was Mildura’s original lolly shop and was first opened in 1938. The shop continues to operate with all the original fittings and magic of old fashioned stores providing over 4000 lines of confectionery from all over the world.
We then headed to Lock 11 and the Mildura Weir. The Mildura Weir was constructed between 1923 and 1927. It is a Dethridge type weir comprising 24 steel trestles, each weighing about 11 tonnes. Lock 11 is unique in that the lock was built inside a bend of the river, with the weir in the bend itself. A channel was dug to the lock, creating an island between it and the weir.
Lock 11 is a concrete chamber 61.54m long, 17.1 m wide and 7.6, deep. Each of the four steel lock gates is 9.4m, 6.9m high, and is made of 12mm steel plate and weighs 18 tonnes.
I spent quite a bit of time here birdwatching and taking some snaps. Some of my shots can be seen below, including some of Whistling Kites.
We then drove out to the Mildura cemetery to view the headstone of W.B. Chaffey, the founder of Mildura.
It was then time for us to head back to the Merbein South Flora Reserve VKFF-2383. Access was via Midgey Road.
Above:- View of Midgey Road
As I only need 13 contacts from this park (31 in the log from yesterday), we operated from the vehicle. First in the log was Rob VK2VH. Ray VK4NH was my 13th caller and 44th in total.
I ended up logging a total of 23 stations on 40m from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK5. This included a Park to Park contact with Stuart VK3UAO/p who was activating the The Spit Wildlife Reserve VKFF-2452.
To conclude the activation I put out a few quick calls on 20m and logged just the one station, Linda Vk7QP in Tasmania.
Today, day eight (Tuesday 13th April 2021) we planned on an entire day of sightseeing, and no park activating. As it turned out, we did slip in one quick park activation which you can read about a little later in this blog.
After breakfast we headed across the Murray River into New South Wales and visited the Mildura Holden Motor Museum at Buronga. We spent quite some time here admiring all of the magnificent Holden motor vehicles. It brought back a lot of memories. The museum houses a private collection of Holdens dating way back to the very first 48-215 (FJ) to the recent model Monaro and Statesman.
The museum’s website tells the very interesting story behind the collection. About 35 years ago, the owner of the now Mildura Holden Motor Museum, Ron Morello, ran an earthmoving business. He was called upon to clear his neighbour’s land and prepare the land for construction. He was ordered that ‘everything must go’. A storage shelter was crushed which contained a ‘pristine’ FX Holden.
In 1975, after realising what he had done, Ron started looking for an FX to buy. In January 1981 he purchased an original FX Holden with only 42,000 miles on the clock.
We then visited Orange World at Buronga which is a working 50 acre citrus property. We took a tractor train tour of the orchards and a commentary on the citrus industry. Fruit grown at Orange World includes various types of oranges, mandarin, grapefruit and avocados.
Orange World makes its own gourmet products including Murray marmalade which we purchased and can highly recommend.
We then headed to the town of Wentworth in New South Wales and visited the old Wenworth Gaol which is a heritage listed former gaol and school building. The gaol was designed by colonial architect James Barnet and was constructed from 1879 to 1881 by Whitcombe Brothers, Hay. It was the first of the Australian designed gaols, followed by Hay and Dubbo.
The gaol operated until 1927. Following its closure as a gaol, the building was utilised as extra classrooms for the Wentworth Central School until 1963.
There is a lot to see here, with many excellent displays, and we spent a number of hours wandering through the old gaol buildings.
We then had a look at the Ferguson Tractor Monument in Wentworth. The monument was erected by the people of Wentworth in honour of the TEA20 Harry Ferguson tractors’ part in the construction of the massive levee banks that protected the town of Wentworth against the devastating 1956 Murray River floods.
The stone cairn sits at the height which the water from the floods would have reached had it not been for the clay levee banks put in place with the use of the Ferguson tractors.
Next up we visited the Wentworth wharf and the Captain John Egge statue. Captain Egge was a Wentworth river captain and pioneer who lived from 1830 to 1901. He had arrived in Australia as a boy from China. He worked as a baker in Wentworth from 1857 for over three decades as a baker, river trader and riverboat owner.
In the early days Wentworth was the busiest inland port in New South Wales. During 1890 it was reported that some 425 paddle boats checked in at the Wentworth Customs Office. The record being 31 in just one wek. So prominent did the town become, that Wentworth was one of the last three places considered for the ‘capital’ of Australia at the time of Federation in 1901.
We then drove to the Murray River and Darling River junction and viewing tower. We climbed the tower and admired the view of the confluence of the Murray and Darling, which combined is the fourth largest river system in the world.
We then drove a short distance to have a look at Lock and Weir number 10 at Wentworth. The lock is 830 km from the river mouth and is 30.8 metres above sea level. Construction of the lock was completed in 1929.
We then drove out to Perry Sandhills, a very distinctive landmark in the flat floodplain behind the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers. The sands originated in the river beds at a time when the rivers were much deeper and faster, and carried a sandy bedload rather than suspended clay as today. When the river flows dropped, sand from the exposed riverbeds was blown into river-side dunes, known as source-bordering dunes. The lunettes a Lake Mungo are also source-bordering dunes.
The dunes have not been directly dated, but they are at least 50,000 years old given the presence of fossils of giant extinct animals, the megafauna. The older layers could be over 100,000 years, dating back prior to the last ice age.
We headed back into Wentworth and had a look at McClymont House, a Murray Pine ‘drop log construction’ building which was built as Wentworth’s first court house in 1863. In 1879 it was replaced by the present structure. Later it became part of the Andrew McClymont home which was moved to this site in 1972 to enhance is preservation.
Nearby we also viewed the Tractor monument, which is to acknowledge all tractor rallies held in Wentworth to commemorate the 1956 Murray River flood and the role the Massey Ferguson tractor ‘Fergie’ plated in saving the town.
In the same park is a statue of ‘The Possum’. David James Jones (1901-1982) was a bush recluse who was born in New Zealand. He was shunned while attempting to get work around the Wentworth area as a shearer. As a result he shunned his back on society and headed for the bush and became a recluse. He was only ever seen by members of the public a few times in the next 52 years before his death.
The Possum’s body was found in 1982 at one of his camp sites on Ned’s Corner Station, about 70km west of Mildura. He was 81 years old.
We also had a look at the P.S. Ruby, which is a historic Paddle Steamer built at Morgan in South Australia by David Milne in 1907 for use by Captain Hugh King. The Ruby carried 30 passengers in style and comfort with three decks.
During the early 1930’s Ruby was taken off the run and was tied up at her home port of Morgan. In 1938 she was purchased and brought to Mildura and used as a houseboat. By 1968 the Ruby had deteriorated substantially and was purchased by the Wentworth Rotary Club and was towed to Wentworth.
In 1996 the Wentworth Rotary Club placed the Ruby into the trusteeship of the Wentworth Shire Council. Restoration then commenced and in July 2004 the Ruby was re-commissioned.
Nearby there is also an excellent display of old tractors, machinery, and various other old equipment.
Our next stop was Junction Island Nature Reserve near the junction of the Murray and the Darling. We had hoped to do some birdwatching here, but the small pedestrian bridge to the island was closed. We viewed the old Canoe tree which was made many ??? years ago by local aboriginals.
To make the canoe, the first step the aborigines took was to make an outline of the shape of the canoe they required with cutting stones or stone tools. Once this was marked, they cut deeply into the tree to what is known as the heartwood or xylem, prying the bark off in one piece with a stick or rocks.
Feeling very disappointed that the Junction Island Nature Refuge was closed, we headed to the second option, the Thegoa Lagoon & Reserve drive. This is 4WD only with a number of marked features including canoe trees. Thegoa Lagoon was a great source of ‘bush tucker’ for aboriginals including plants like nardoo, cumbungi, and ruby salt bush, as well as kangaroos, lizards, yabbies, mussels and fish.
Unfortunately the Thegoa Lagoon was dry and bird watching opportunities were very limited. Thegoa Lagoon is an ephemeral (non-permanent) freshwater wetland having wet and dry cycles. Thegoa is believed to be an aboriginal word. The area was surveyed by Government Surveyor Francis McCabe and he first recorded the name Thegoa in 1850. He employed aboriginal people in order to follow the instructions of Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell to record aboriginal place names wherever possible.
The only birds that we saw which were prevalent were White winged Choughs.
We then left Thegoa Lagoon and took some 4WD tracks which followed the Murray River, stopping every now and again to enjoy the views.
We then took the Silver City Highway and stopped briefly in the little town of Curlwaa. The town takes its name from an aboriginal word meaning native peach, the Quandong tree which is indigenous to the area.
There is a small monument here to commemorate the famous explorer Major Mitchell who camped in the area in 1836 after confirming Captain Charles Sturt’s discovery of the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers.
There is also a monument re the 1956 floods. It reads:-
“Erected by the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission to commemorate the epic struggle of local residents, volunteers from surrounding districts, detachments of the armed forces and Police Department, supported by Ladies organizations against the waters of the record floos of July and August 1956. By their efforts the Curlwaa irrigation area was saved from complete inundation by the flood waters which reached and held for six consecutive days a height of 30 feet on the Curlwaa gauge’.
We then crossed over Abbortsford Bridge, over the mighty Murray River and back into the State of Victoria. We decided to do a quick activation of the Merbein South Flora Reserve VKFF-2382, from the vehicle.
We had been ‘warned’ about this little flora reserve which apparently was not the prettiest of parks.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Merbein South Flora Reserve. Map c/o Protected Planet.
Merbein South Flora Reserve is a tiny park, just 0.02 km² in size. It was established in 1990. It can be reached via Midgey Road which runs off McCarthy’s Road.
Above:- Aerial view of the Merbein South Flora Reserve. Image c/o Protected Planet.
The park is signposted and was quite easy to find once we consulted a map. The park takes its name from the town of Merbein. The settlement in the area was originally known as White Cliffs due to the white cliffs of the nearby Murray River. It was intended to be renamed “Merebin”, reputedly an Aboriginal name of a local sandhill, but it was mistakenly registered as “Merbein” instead.
It was late by the time we reached the park and we did not set up the portable gear, but rather, operated from the vehicle.
First in the log was Hans VK6XN who was activating the Blackwood River National Park VKFF-2949. Marija and I both logged Hans for a Park to Park contact.
We then moved down to 7.160 and I called CQ. This was answered by Brett VK2BDS, followed by Mark VK4SMA, and then Brian VK3BBB. After 5 minutes I had contact number 10 in the log, a QSO with Greg VK4/NN3Z.
I then swapped the mic with Marija and she soon had 10 contacts in the log, qualifying the park for VKFF. Contact number 10 was with Daryl VK3AWA.
Marija then handed me back the mic to see how many contacts I could log before we had to head back into Mildura. We did not want to miss out on a meal. I logged a total of 30 stations on 40m from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and New Zealand. This included a Park to Park QSO with Tony VK3XV/p who was activating the Bass River Mouth Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2949.
To complete the activation we quickly ducked down to the 80m band to log our good friend Ivan VK5HS who was unable to hear us on the 40m band.
With 31 contacts in the log for me, and 11 for Marija, we headed off for our evening meal.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK6XN/p (Blackwood River National Park VKFF-2949)
VK4BXX
VK4/NN3Z
VK2PBC
VK3PF
VK4FDJL
VK4SMA
VK2ABS
VK2PKT
VK3AWA
VK3YV/p (Bass River Mouth Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2181)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK6XN/p (Blackwood River National Park VKFF-2949)
VK2BDS
VK4SMA
VK3BBB
VK2CCP
VK4KC
VK4MAD
VK4DOG
VK4BXX
VK4/NN3Z
VK3AWA
VK3YV/p (Bass River Mouth Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2181)
ZL4NVW
ZL1THH
VK2PBC
VK2YK
VK5GA
VK4HNS
VK2PKT
VK2QM
VK3NCR
VK2IO
VK5SCR
VK2GMC
VK3ZK
VK3ANL
VK3MPR
VK3ARH
VK3ZPF
VK6JK
I worked the following station on 80m SSB:-
VK5HS
We headed back to our apartment and freshened up and headed out for dinner at the Seoul Korean restaurant in Mildura. What a sensational meal!
Today was day seven of our trip (12th April 2021) and after 2 days of lots of radio we decided to spend most of the day sightseeing in and around Mildura in north-western Victoria. We also had a commitment in the evening at the home of Cam VK2DG.
We again headed down the street to get breakfast and then drove across the Murray River into New South Wales and visited the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens at Mourquong. This is the southern hemisphere’s first semi-arid botanical gardens and was established in 1989.
We could have spent hours here, but we needed to be back in Mildura at about 10.00 a.m. for a cruise along the Murray River. There is a lot to see at the Botanicl Gardens.
We undertook one walk in the park, The Nature Trail. This little area of native shrubs, bushes, and trees was absolutely alive with birdlife. I spent quite a bit of time here taking snaps, some of which can be seen below.
Another interesting spot in the park which looked at was the Sturt Desert Pea bed. Swainsona formosa, or the Sturt Desert Pea is South Australia’s floral emblem. It is famous for its distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers. The common name of the plant is named in honour of explorer Charles Sturt who recorded seeing large quantities of the flowers while exploring central Australia during 1844. The scientific name honours the naturalist Isaac Swainson
One of the Botanic Garden staff pointed us to an area behind a large bush where there were pink Sturt Desert Pea growing.
We also visited the rose garden which contains over 1,600 rose bushes.
It was then back across the Murray and back into the State of Victoria. We had a Murray River cruise booked aboard the historic PS Rothbury which was built in 1881 at Gunbower in Victoria. It was constructed as a large and powerful two boat and was used to tow barges for the wool and logging trade.
More information on the Rothbury can be found at ……
It was an absolutely glorious sunny day and an excellent way to spend 2 hours, cruising downstream long the Murray.
Part of the cruise took us through Lock 11. We had seen a number of the locks along the Murray during our trip, but it was incredibly interesting to pass through one and see how they work.
The Murray River is Australia’s longest river at 2,508 km. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps and meanders northwest across Australia’s inland plains and forms the State Border between New South Wales and Victoria. It then flows into South Australia before emptying into the Great Australian Bight near Goolwa South.
The cruise along the river took us passed some pretty impressive homes.
And there was plenty of birdlife.
Once we arrived back on dry land we headed into Mildura city central and grabbed a bite to eat. I could not get through all of my meal.
After lunch we visited the magnificent Rio Vista historic house which was first occupied by William Benjamin (W.B.) Chaffey and his family in 1892. W.B. Chaffey was a Canadian engineer and irrigiation planner who with his older brother George Chaffey developed the town of Mildura.
The name of the house Rio Vista is Spanish meaning ‘River View’. The house was designed as a large family home in domestic Queen Anne style and remained a family home until the 1950s. It was built during the height of the Chaffey’s success, however the Chaffey Brothers Ltd Company went into liquidation in December 1895. The Chaffeys suffered financial ruin and this resulted in Rio Vista falling into a state of disrepair.
W.B. Chaffey lived in the house until his death in 1926. His second wife Heather ‘Hattie’ lived in the house until her death in 1950 at which time the house was purchased by the Mildura City Council for conversion into an art gallery.
Much of the original decor has been restored to its original condition.
We then visited the Mildura Station Homestead. The building on the site is a recreation of the Mildura Homestead which was constructed by brothers Hugh and Bushby Jamieson about 1850.
The area now known as Mildura was first settled on the 1st day of March 1847 when Francis Jenkins swam 900 cattle and 10 horses across the Murray River from New South Wales to the site of the Mildura Station Homestead. Jenkins believed he had settled in South Australia and he travelled to Adelaide ro register his selection. Meanwhile the Jamiesons obtained Departuring Licence for leasehold from Melbourne and named the property ‘Yerre Yerre. In 1858 the name was changed to Mildura.
There were some great views of the Murray River from the Homestead and we were able to see the Rothbury cruise passed on her afternoon journey down the river.
We then travelled south out of Mildura on the Calder Highway and headed to the Yatpool Flora Reserve VKFF-2501 for our one and only park activation of the day.
Yatpool is located about 19 km south of Mildura and about 523 km north-west of the city of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Yatpool Flora Reserve in north-western Victoria. Map c/o Protected Planet
The Yatpool Flora Reserve is about 0.33 km² in size and was established in 2006. The park is located on the eastern side of the Calder Highway and either side of Yatpool West Road.
Above:- The Yatpool Flora Reserve, just off the Calder Highway. Map c/o Protected Planet.
The park was well signposted and found without any difficulty. Make sure you are in the correct section of scrub. The Yatpool Tank Bushland Reserve is located opposite on the eastern side of the Calder Highway.
Yatpool is a piece of remnant mallee scrub. The land surrounding the park has been cleared for agricultural purposes.
This was to be a first time activation of this park by myself and Marija. The park had been previously activated on four occasions by Nick VK3ANL, Mike VK6MB, Liz VK2XSE, and Peter VK2KNV.
Once we had set up we headed to 7.144 and found Nik VK3ZK/p calling CQ from the Cape Liptrap Coastal Park VKFF-0745. We each logged Nik for a Park to Park contact and then moved up the band to 7.152 where I called CQ. Adrian VK5FANA was the first to respond with an excellent 5/9 signal. Contact number 10 was with Marty VK4KC in Queensland.
I pushed on and logged a total of 54 stations. Contact number 44 was with Glen VK4HMI. Contacts were made to VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK7, and New Zealand. This included two Park to Park QSOs: Ben VK2AGB/p in the Brisbane Waters National Park VKFF-0056; and Stuart VK3UAO/p in the Lerderderg State Park VKFF-0763.
I had qualified the park for both VKFF and the global WWF program, so it was Marija’s turn to jump into the operator’s chair. Marija soon had 10 contacts in the log, with QSO number 10 being with Greg VK4BXX.
Marija soon developed a mini pile-up and within quick time she had 44 contacts in the log, qualifying the park for the global WWFF program. Contact number 44 was with Colin VK3ZLT.
We finished off the activation with some quick calls on 3.610 on the 80m band. Just one contact was logged there, but an excellent one, a Park to Park with John VK5HAA/p in the Simpson Conservation Park VKFF-1098 on Kangaroo Island.
We were pushing a bit for time, so we packed up and headed back to Mildura. We had a total of 101 QSOs in the log, including 9 Park to Park contacts.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK3ZK/p (Cape Liptrap Coastal Park VKFF-0745)
VK3UAO/p (Lerderderg State Park VKFF-0763)
VK4KC
VK4MAD
VK4DOG
VK3PF
VK5FANA
VK3MCK
VK4BXX
VK4/NN3Z
VK7QP
VK2PET/5
VK5CZ/m
VK3LF
VK4HNS
VK3EJ
VK3FI
VK5FDMG
VK4KLA
VK4FDJL
VK5HAA/p (SImpson Conservation Park VKFF-1098)
VK5VGC
VK3MPR
VK2VOO
VK3CWF
VK2VH
VK4AAC/2
VK3MTT
VK5WG
VK5YX
ZL4NVW
VK2AGB/p (Brisbane Waters National Park VKFF-0056)
VK3BBB
VK2CCP
VK5IS
VK5HMB
VK7JFD
VK5KLV
VK3ACZ
VK5PTL
VK7MFI
VK5NRG
VK3TKK/m
VK3ZLT
Marija worked the following station on 80m SSB:-
VK5HAA/p (Simpson Conservation Park VKFF-1098)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
VK3ZK/p (Cape Liptrap Coastal Park VKFF-0745)
VK5FANA
VK7QP
VK3CWF
VK2VH
VK4AAC/2
VK3EJ
VK3BBB
VK2CCP
VK4KC
VK4MAD
VK4DOG
VK2QK
VK4HAT
VK2IO/m
VK3PF
VK3DEM
VK3SRC
VK4FDJL
VK5FDMG
VK3AWA
VK2AGB/p (Brisbane Waters National Park VKFF-0056)
VK2DG
VK7DM
VK5LA
VK3UAO/p (Lerderderg State Park VKFF-0763)
ZL1TM
VK3ANL
VK3AHR
VK2HMV
VK3MPR
VK3LF
VK5BW
VK4KLA
VK2PKT
VK1MIC
VK2PET/5
VK5HRZ
VK5CZ/m
VK3LK
VK5VST
VK2LEE
VK5JP
VK4HMI
VK2PBC
VK100AF
VK4BXX
VK4/NN3Z
VK1DI
VK2AIF
VK2XXL
VK2HRX
VK7ZGK
VK2ABS
VK5HAA/p (Simpson Conservation Park VKFF-1098)
I worked the following station on 80m SSB:-
VK5HAA/p (Simpson Conservation Park VKFF-1098)
We freshened up at our apartment and then headed out to the home of Cam VK2DG and enjoyed a really enjoyable evening with Cam and his wife, also Greg VK3MTV and his partner. This was a really great catch up. Cam even convinced Marija into buying a Yaesu FTDX101MP. Well done Cam!
VK5PAS 