We then activated our 8th silo for the day (Monday 21st November 2022), the Kiata silo VK-KTT3.

Kiata is located on the Western Highway about 13 km east of the town of Nhill and about 362 km north west of the city of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of Kiata in western Victoria. Map c/o Google maps.

Kiata is an aboriginal word meaning summer heat. During the early 1870s the land around Kiata was taken up for farm selections. In 1876 the township of Kiata was surveyed. In 1879 the Kiata West school opened, followed by the Kiata East school in 1881. In 1884 the Kiata Anglican church was opened and used as a school. In 1887 the railway line was opened and a hotel, store and blacksmith followed.

Today little remains in Kiata. Many of the old shops and the hotel are now sadly closed.

The Kiata silo is located on the northern side of the Western Highway.

We ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 self tuning antenna for this activation, and operated from alongside of the silo.

Above:- Map showing the location of the silo and the activation zone. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3CAT
3. VK2HQ/p (Bournda National Park VKFF-0050)
4. VK2IO
5. VK4NH
6. VK4DXA

I made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3CAT
3. VK2HQ/p (Bournda National Park VKFF-0050)
4. VK2IO
5. VK4NH
6. VK4DXA
7. VK4FW
8. VK8MM
9. VK5FANA
10. VK2MET
11. VK1AO

I made the following QSOs on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4EW
2. VK2MET
3. VK1AO
4. VK4EK
5. VK4FW
6. VK8MM

I made the following QSO on 20m AM:-

1. VK4EW

References.

1. Historic trucks, 2023, <http://historictrucks.blogspot.com/2017/01/place-names-and-their-meanings-of-towns.html>, viewed 9th January 2023.
2. Victorian Places, 2023, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/kiata>, viewed 9th January 2023.