My third silo activation for Monday 30th January 2023 was the Alawoona silo VK-ALA5. Alawoona is about 220 km east of Adelaide and about 36 km south of the town of Loxton.
Above:- Map showing the location of Alawoona. Map c/o Google maps.
Alawoona is a corruption of the aboriginal word ngalawuna meaning ‘place of hot winds’. The town of Alawoona was proclaimed on the 9th day of July 1914.
Above:- from the Govt Gazette, 9th July 1914. Image c/o Trove.
Alawoona was established as one of the original sidings during the construction of the Barmera railway line. The Alawoona school operated from 1915 to 1967 when it was consolidated with the Browns Well Area School. During the 1930s Alawoona had three churches, a railway refreshment hall, a school, a police station, a bank, a bakery, a butcher shop, two general stores, football clubrooms and a 400-person Institute/hall which held balls and dances.
Above:- the Alawoona Institute 1932 (left) and loading mallee roots (right). Images c/o State Library SA.
Today, many of the shops in Alawoona have closed. The beautiful stone Alawoona Institute remains and is in excellent condition.
The Alawoona silos are located on the northern side of the Karoonda Highway in the middle of town.
I parked in the main street (Karoonda Highway), directly opposite the silos and operated from the 4WD for this activation. I ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 self tuning antenna.
Above:- the activation zone at the Alawoona silos. Image c/o SiOTA website.
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK3AHR
- VK5FANA
- VK3SQ
- VK2MVP
- VK2MOP
- VK2VH
- VK4AAC
- VK5BJF
- VK3GRX
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK2IO
- VK4OY
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
With 15 QSOs in the log, I headed to my fourth silo for the day, the Loxton silo in the Riverland region of South Australi.
References.
- A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia, 2023, <https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/>, viewed 2nd February 2023.
- ABC News, 2023, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-15/alawoona-ghost-town-building-looking-for-a-saviour/11788728>, viewed 2nd February 2023.
VK5PAS 