Here are my latest FT8 award certificates.

Our next stop for 28th February 2023 was the town of Skipton, about 183 km (by road) west of the city of Melbourne, and 48 km southeast of Ballarat.

Above:- Map showing the location of Skipton. Map c/o Google maps.

We last stopped at Skipton late last year on our way home from Geelong after visiting Tasmania.

Marija and I stopped at the Skipton cafe and had a very nice lunch and a cup of coffee. The meal was excellent and the owners were very friendly.

In 1838 a pastoral run was established in the Skipton area. A hut was built beside Mount Emu Creek which became the site of the township of Skipton which was surveyed in 1852. It is believed that Skipton was named after Skipton in Yorkshire in England. The old English Scip-tun means sheep town. In 1858 the Skipton Hotel was built.

Francis Ormond was the owner of Borriyalloak station near Skipton. In 1853 he became a territorial Magistrate and he regularly sat on the Common Bench at Skipton and other nearby towns. In 1855 he and two other prominent landowners in the area formed the Skipton Agricultural and Pastoral Association. During the mid-1850s he started a class for the children of the employees at Borriyalloak station, as they were often left to their own devices whilst their parents worked the land. In 1856 Ormond commenced lengthy talks with the Presbytery of Melbourne, with a view to the establishment of a parish in Skipton. This resulted in the opening of a small brick church in 1857 at Skipton.

In 1864 a school was built at Skipton. Between 1865-1870 a Methodist church was established, a Mechanics Institute in 1880, and a Catholic Church in 1897. Until the 1890s Skipton’s population barely exceeded 150 people, but it gained a school (1864), a Methodist church (1865-70), a mechanics’ institute (1880) and a Catholic church (1897). Following the First World War, there was a Soldier Settlement in the area.

The 1903 Australian Handbook described Skipton as follows:-

Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (b. 1908. d. 1990) served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. He spent the first 24 years of his life in Skipton and attended the Skipton Primary School. There is a bust/monument in Skipton to honour Bolte.

Melbourne Cup and Victoria Derby winning horse Skipton, is named after the little town. Skipton’s owner Myrtle Kitson was given the horse as a yearling by her husband after he had purchased the horse for 25 guineas. Kitson intended to name the horse Monaco, after visiting that country. However, relations with the British Empire were strained at the time, so she named the horse Skipton. She and her husband owned the Grand Central Hotel in Hamilton, and they would often travel through Skipton on their way to Melbourne. Mrs. Kitson is reported to have said: “This town is a pretty little place with a river and overhanging willows’.

Above:- Portion of an article from the Sporting Globe, Melbourne, Wed 10 Dec 1941. c/o Trove.

According to the sign out the front, the Skipton Hotel was built in 1856. Various websites have the construction year as 1859. Sadly this beautiful bluestone watering hole is now closed. I suspect those bar walls could tell some stories. The stables at the rear were used by Cobb & Co as a staging point.

Christ Church in Skipton stands at the top of ‘School Hill’ at the eastern entrance to Skipton. The church was built in 1924, with the first service held on Sunday the 30th day of November 1924.

There are numerous other historic buildings in Skipton, and it is certainly well worth a stop and a wander around this historic little town.

On the bridge that crosses Emu Creek, there is some artwork on the bridge pylons and information boards with history about Skipton.

We then drove to the Skipton silo on Station Street, on the southern side of the town, and activated the silo for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program. The silo is operated by Harwood Grains and Stockfeeds. We operated from within the 4WD, running the Icom IC7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK5HS
2. VK2LSB
3. VK7XX
4. VK2IO
5. VK5FANA

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK5HS
2. VK2LSB
3. VK7XX
4. VK2IO
5. VK5FANA
6. VK5WU
7. VK1AO
8. VK2MET

I worked the following station on 80m SSB:-

1. VK3PF

References.

1. Victorian Places, 2023, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/skipton>, viewed 30th March 2023.
2. Skipton Victoria Australia, 2023, <https://skiptonaustralia.org/>, viewed 30th March 2023.
3. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Ormond>, viewed 30th March 2023.
4. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Bolte>, viewed 30th March 2023.

Marija and I left the Tatyoon silo and headed to Stonleigh in Victoria where we planned to activate the Stonleigh silo VK-STH3 and the Salt Lagoon Wongon Wildlife Reserve VKFF-2433. Stoneleigh is about 187 km (by road) northwest of the city of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of Stoneleigh. Map c/o Google maps.

The Salt Lagoon Wongon Wildlife Reserve is not to be confused with Lake Wongan Wildlife Reserve. Salt Lagoon WR is located on Mount William Road, while Lake Wongan WR is located a little further to the south on the eastern side of Eurambeen – Streatham Road. The Lake Wongan WR currently is not listed with the VKFF program.

The Salt Lake Wongon Wildlife Reserve is 24 acres in size and was gazetted on the 22nd day of November 1983.

The park is located within the activation zone of the Stoneleigh silo.

Above:- the activation zone at the Stoneleigh silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

The park appears to be surrounded by farming land. However, there is a small section accessible on the western side of Mount William Road.

Above:- An aerial view of the park and the silo complex, showing our operating spot. Image c/o Google Earth.

The Stoneleigh silo is a working silo and is run by CHS Broadbent, a grain marketing, logistics, storage, and export company.

The park is located in a district called Yalla-Y-Poora, while the silo across the road is located in the district of Stonleigh.

Yalla-Y-Poora is believed to be aboriginal for trees by water. The land was taken up by squatters Thompson and Stevens in 1841. They had made a five-month journey from Yass in New South Wales to overland their sheep on the banks of Fiery Creek. By 1854 the property had been sold to James Austin. In 1856 he sold the property to Jeremiah Ware. Jeremiah and his brothers John and Joseph had moved from Tasmania to establish their sheep property. Yalla-Y-Poora consisted of 66,493 acres.

The original Yalla-Y-Poora homestead was built in 1857. The property at its peak ran 60,000 sheep. It took the shearing team in the 20-stand shed a total of 2 months to complete the annual clip. The station buildings included a Manager’s cottage, and a Coach house and Stables.

Above:- Yalla-Y-Poora homestead. Image c/o State Library Victoria

After our activation, we drove to have a look at the Yalla-Y-Poora homestead, but it is set a long way off the road so we were unable to get a glimpse of this magnificent homestead.

Austrian-born artist Eugene von Guerard was a friend of the Ware family and frequently visited Yalla-Y-Poora station, and painted many works during his visits. One of those paintings was completed in 1864 and shows the Yalla-Y-Poora homestead and the shearing shed.

Above:- Yalla-Y-Poora, 1864. Image c/o https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/

The Yalla-Y-Poora property holding diminished in size over the years due to the Lands Act of 1862, land taxes in the 1890s, and soldier settlement following both the First and Second World Wars. In 1924 a world record was set from wool from the Yalla-Y-Poora flock. During the 1950s and 1960s, the last descendant of the Ware family declared bankruptcy and the Yalla-Y-Poora property was sold.

Stoneleigh also has a homestead. It commenced its life as a flat-roofed weatherboard cottage during the 1840s. In about 1864 the cottage was incorporated into a house for William Lewis, and in 18876 a two-storey addition was added to the rear of the home. The original 1840s cottage is the entrance to the homestead.

Above:- Stoneleigh homestead. Image c/o State Library Victoria.

Marija and I pulled off the side of the road and ran out the 20/40/80m linked dipole. As it was a cold day we decided to operate from within the 4WD. We used the Yaesu FT-857 and 40 watts output.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSN:-

1. VK4SMA/p (Conondale Conservation Park VKFF-1513)
2. VK7XX
3. VK2EXA
4. VK5HS
5. VK4TJ
6. VK2IO
7. VK3CM
8. VK3SQ
9. VK3AHR
10. VK4HAT
11. VK5DW

Marija worked the following station on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4TJ

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK4SMA/p (Conondale Conservation Park VKFF-1513)
2. VK7XX
3. VK2EXA
4. VK5HS
5. VK4TJ
6. VK2IO
7. VK3CM
8. VK3SQ
9. VK3AHR
10. VK4HAT
11. VK5DW
12. VK5FANA
13. VK7HBR
14. VK2PKT
15. VK5BJE
16. VK5KBJ

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5BJE
2. VK5HS
3. VK5KBJ
4. VK5DW
5. VK3PF
6. VK3SQ
7. VK3OF

I worked the following station on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4TJ

References.

1. Australian Country Magazine, 2023, <https://www.australiancountry.com.au/homes-gardens/homes-interiors/bluestone-benchmark/>, viewed 30th March 2023.
2. CAPAD 2022.
3. Heritage Council Victoria, 2023, <https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/67333>, viewed 30th March 2023.
4. Western Districts Families Facebook page, 2023, <https://www.facebook.com/WesternDistrictFamilies>, viewed 30th March 2023.