It was day 27 (Monday 21st November 2022) and the final day of our amazing trip. After breakfast and booking our of our motel we decided to do one more final park activation. We did plan on a number of silos on our way home.
We headed to the JJ Kingston Wildflower Sanctuary VKFF-2337, just on the edge of the town of Stawell.
Above:- Map showing the location of the JJ Kingston Wildfloweer Sanctuary. Map c/o google maps
The park is a tiny piece of remnant scrub on the northern side of Crowlands Road between Barbara Street and Oliver Road.
Above:- An aerial view of the park. Image c/o Google Earth.
The park is named in honour of Mr. J.J. Kingston, the Stawell Mayor 1951-1952.
Above:- J.J. Kingston. Image c/o victoriancollections.net.au
Unfortunately there were no wildflowers in the park during our visit.
We operated from the 4WD for this activation, running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 self tuning antenna.
Marija made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO
- VK2MET
- VK1AO
- VK2PKT
- VK5HAA
- VK5FANA
- VK5BJF
- VK5BJE
- VK3PF
- VK3AHR
Marija made the following QSOs on 20m SSB:-
- VK2MET
- VK1AO
I made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO
- VK2MET
- VK1AO
- VK2PKT
- VK5HAA
- VK5FANA
- VK5BJF
- VK5BJE
- VK3PF
- VK3AHR
I made the following QSOs on 20m SSB:-
- VK2MET
- VK1AO
- VK4MUD
- ZL1TM
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
We headed back into Stawell and despite having visited the town many times previously, we took the time to have a look at some of the historic buildings located in the town.
St Matthews Uniting Church was completed in 1868 and was opened on the 11th day of April 1869 with a special dedication service. The church was built at a cost of about £2000. The tower and spire was paid for by anonymous donor at a cost of £1352. The 40,000 bricks required were purchased for 35 shillings per 1000.
Oban was built in 1898 as a private home for Mr & Mrs. Edward Simmons (no known relation). He and his brother Walter were the main shareholders in Stawell’s Oriental gold mine.
The town of Stawell holds the annual Stawell Gift, a foot race which has been held since 1878. It is held at Central Park in Stawell.
No visit to Stawell can pass without a visit to the local bakery which has regularly been the winner of Australia’s best vanilla slice.
We then stopped at the site of the old Pleasant Creek Hospital. It was opened on the 21st day of June 1861 and replaced the tent hospital of the goldfields. It was the only hospital between Ballarat and the Murray at that time. In 1882 a Benevolent ward was opened which gave shelter to many miners and others who had come from overseas int he gold rush days and had no families in Australia to assist them.
A little further along the Western Highway at Stawell is the memorial cairn for explorer Major Mitchell who passed by the location in July 1836.
A little further down the road, not far from Deep Lead is the Doctors Hill Monument. It commemorates the establishment and erection in 1859 of the first Pleasant Creek Hospital, which served the needs of the gold miners and the rural community of western Victoria.
Just before getting into Horsham we stopped sat Green Lake where I previously went swimming as a child during my visits to Horsham to with my parents to visit relatives. Due to all of the recent rain the lake was full. Marija and I have previously seen it bone dry.
We then called in to see my Aunty Dawn and Uncle Jack at Horsham, and spent a few very enjoyable hours with them.
References.
- Aussie Towns, 2023, <https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/stawell-vic>, viewed 9th January 2023.
- Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stawell,_Victoria>, viewed 9th January 2023.
VK5PAS 