It was now day five (Tuesday 1st November 2022) of our Tasmania trip.

After breakfast we visited the Launceston Convict Cemetery which can be accessed via Peel Street in South Launceston. The cemetery was established in 1846 and it is estimated that there about 320 convicts buried here. There are no headstones to be found here, however local primary school students have created some memorial bricks which bare the names of some of the convicts buried here.

It was such a beautiful sunny day that Marija and I decided to go for a walk along the Launceston waterfront. We admired the architectural brilliance of those who converted the Launceston silos in Peppers Silo Hotel.

We then enjoyed a very nice cooked breakfast.

We then drove into the Launceston CBD and paid a visit to the Visitor Centre. We also went for a walk around Launceston admiring some of the heritage buildings.

We then visited City Park Radio which is located in City Park Launceston. This is a non profit community radio station is located at the heritage City Park Cottage which was the park caretakers cottage. The radio station has a magnificent collection of old bakelite radios. Entry is a gold coin donation. We had a very friendly guide who took us around the facility.

https://cityparkradio.com/radio-museum/

We then went for a walk through City Park which was created during the 1820s by the Launceston Horticultural Society. The park includes a conservatory, a band stand, a duck pond, a children’s playground, and Monkey Island which is home to a group of Macaque monkeys. 

Our next stop was the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania in Launceston which has an extensive collection of classic motor vehicles and motorcycles. The museum was originally run by Geoff and Gloria Smedley from 197 to 1995 at the Waverley Woollen Mills. In 1996 the museum moved to another location in Launceston, and in 2019 moved to its current location at Invermay. We spent a number of hours here with me drooling over a number of cars which I would like in my shed at home.

We then drove down to the historic town of Perth. Not to be confused with Perth in Western Australia! Governor Lachlan Macquarie settled in Perth in 1821. At the time he was staying nearby with pastoralist David Gibson. Macquarie named the area Perth after Gibson’s home town of Perth in Scotland.

Above:- Lachlan Macquarie. Image c/o Wikipedia.

There are numerous historic buildings in Perth dating back to the early 1800s.

Our next stop was the Tasmanian Honey Company in Perth.

We then drove to the historic Perth bridge which was built by convict labour in 1836. The bridge has been destroyed by floods in 1880, 1929, and 1971, and has been rebuilt on each occasion

We then drove back into Launceston as we had a James Boags Brewery tour booked that afternoon. The brewery was founded in 1883 by James Boag and his son James.

James Boag (b. 1804. d. 1890) was born in Scotland. He arrived in Australia with his wife and four children in 1853. Boag initially spent time at the Victorian goldfield and then commenced his involvement in the brewing industry with the Cornwall Brewery, the Cataract Brewery, and then the Esk Brewery. J. Boag & Son was officially formed in 1883.

Following the brewery tour Marija and I drove out to the Tamar Conservation Area VKFF-1154 for a park activation. The park is located just to the north of Launceston.

Above:- Aerial view of the Tamar Conservation Area. Image c/o Google Earth.

The Tamar Conservation Area is about 4,633 hectares in size and is located on the Tamar River estuary.

Above:- An aerial view of the Tamar Conservation Area. Image c/o Google maps.

The park takes its name from the Tamar River which in turn was named by Colonel William Paterson in 1804 after the River Tamar in South West England. Paterson was Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant Governor and botanist.

Above:- Colonel William Paterson. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The park includes the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve and stretches along the upper part of the Tamar Estuary from St Leonards to Batman Bridge. It includes the Tamar Wetlands Important Bird Area which has been identified by BirdLife International due to its importance in supporting over 1% of the world populations of Pied Oystercatchers and Chestnut Teals.

We operated from the vehicle for this activation, in the carpark at Tamar Island. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole supported on a 7 metre heavy duty squid pole.

Above:- Aerial view showing our operating spot. Image c/o Google Earth.

In about an hour in the park we made a total of 60 QSOs. This included some nice DX into Europe on the long path on the 20m band. It was also nice to get a Park to Park contact with Matthew who was portable in the Langwarrin Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2031.

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4TJ
2. VK7DW
3. ZL3MR
4. EA4FLS
5. ZL1TM
6. VK4SMA
7. ON4VT
8. VK4ABH
9. VK4NH
10. VK4DXA
11. F1BLL

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3ARD (Langwarrin Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2031)
2. VK3PRG

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4TJ
2. VK7DW
3. ZL3MR
4. EA4FLS
5. ZL1TM
6. IK4IDF
7. VK4SMA
8. ON4VT
9. IW2BNA
10. VK4ABH
11. VK4NH
12. VK4DXA
13. F1BLL
14. IW2NXI
15. UT5PI
16. VK4EMP
17. OH1MM
18. VK5HS
19. EA1HTF

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3ZPF
2. VK5WU
3. VK4SMA
4. VK3PF
5. VK3APJ
6. VK4MGL
7. VK5KVA
8. VK5BJE
9. VK5HS
10. VK3GJG
11. VK3ACZ
12. VK3ARD/p (Langwarrin Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2031)
13. VK3PRG
14. VK1TTY
15. VK2IO
16. VK5FANA
17. VK2WOG
18. K2MET
19. VK1AO
20. VK4EMP
21. VK3LF/m
22. VK3AMO
23. VK3GRX
24. VK5KSW
25. VK3JW
26. VK2MOP
27. VK2YES
28. VK3ZK

References.

1. City Park Radio, 2022, <https://cityparkradio.com/radio-museum/>, viewed 14th December 2022.
2. Our Tasmania, 2022, <https://www.ourtasmania.com.au/launceston/perth.html>, viewed 14th December 2022.
3. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth,_Tasmania>, viewed 14th December 2022.
4. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Park,_Launceston>, viewed 14th December 2022.
5. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boag%27s_Brewery>, viewed 14th December 2022.
6. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamar_River_Conservation_Area>, viewed 14th December 2022.
7. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Paterson_(explorer)>, viewed 14th December 2022.