Marija and I packed up at Rossbridge Wildlife Reserve and drove a short distance to the little town to Tatyoon where we planned to activate the Tatyoon silo VK-TTN3 for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program.
Above:- Map showing the location of Tatyoon. Map c/o Google maps.
Tatyoon is located about 28 kilometres south of the town of Ararat, and about 180 kilometres northwest of the city of Melbourne. It is believed that Tatyoon is an aboriginal word describing water or a water catchment.
The first Tatyoon settlement was established near Fiery Creek and by 1872 contained a school, a Presbyterian church, and various other buildings.
In 1913 a railway reached Tatyoon. Tatyoon’s population increased following a Soldier Settlement scheme that was introduced following the Second World War.
Nowadays, Tatyoon is a small settlement with a rural supplies store, an old church, and an oval. There is also an Avenue of Honour to honour those from Tatyoon who served in the First World War.
The silos at Tatyoon were constructed in the town adjacent to the railway station due to the expansion of wheat growing in the district.
We operated from the 4WD alongside the silos. We ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna. We found the band conditions to be extremely poor. In fact some of the worst conditions that we have ever experienced whilst out in the field. We squeezed in 4 contacts each, qualifying the silo, before we headed off for another activation.
Marija worked the following station on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO
Marija worked the following station on 80m SSB:-
- VK3PF
Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
I worked the following station on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO
I worked the following station on 80m SSB:-
- VK3PF
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
Marija and I then briefly visited the Tayoon cemetery where many of the pioneers of the district are buried.
References.
- Victorian Places, 2023, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/tatyoon>, viewed 27th March 2023.
VK5PAS 