It was now Tuesday 7th March 2023, and time for Marija and I to head home. We had planned to activate a number of silos for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program, and also some parks and a summit.

Our first activation for the day was One Tree Hill VK3/ VS-036 for Summits On The Air (SOTA). The summit is located in the Ararat Hills Regional Park VKFF-0958.

Above:- Map showing the location of Ararat. Map c/o Google Maps.

The city of Ararat is located about 85 km west of Ballarat and about 198 km northwest of Melbourne. The city’s name originates from Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (b. 1811. d. 1861), a pastoralist/explorer, who arrived in the district in 1841. He named a rise ‘Mount Ararat’, for ‘like the arc, we rested there’. Wills established the 125,000 acre Lexington pastoral run near Moyston. The Lexington homestead was built in 1851 and is on the Australian and Victorian historic buildings registers.

The life of Wills is an interesting one. He was born in 1811 and was raised by his mother Sarah Harding who was free settler, and his stepfather, George Howe who was a convict. Wills father Edward Spencer Wills was also aconvict who had been transported to Australia in 1799 for highway robbery. He died five months before the birth of Wills.

Above:- Horatio Wills. Image c/o Wikipedia.

Wills had nine children, including Tom Wills, who was Australia’s first great cricketer, and founder of Australian Rules Football.

In 1861, Horatio Wills moved to Cullin-la-ringo, near Rockhampton in Queensland, Less than 3 weeks after his arrival, on the 17th day of October 1861, he was murdered, along with 18 other people, by local aboriginal people, at what has been referred to as the Cullin-la-ringo massacre. This event is reported to be the largest massacre of Europeans by aboriginal people in Australian history.

Above:- A painting by T.G. Moyle. The caption reads: “The arrival of the neighbouring squatters and Mon collecting and burying the dead, after the attack by the blacks on H.R. Wills ESQ. Stationed Leichhardt district, Queensland.’ Image c/o Wikipedia.

The township of Ararat arose due to the discovery of gold in 1856. As a result, there was a surge of 15,000 people to the area, including numerous persons of Chinese origin. Allotments of land were sold in 1858, and on the 24th day of September 1858 a municipality was created.

By 1857 Anglican and Catholic schools were opened, followed by a Presbyterian church in 1859. A Presbyterian church was established. In 1859 a courthouse was opened, followed by a hospital in 1860. In that same year, the Ararat gaol was established. In 1865 a mental asylum was opened.

One Tree Hill summit is 576 metres above sea level and is worth 2 points in the SOTA program.

Above:- An aerial view of the summit and park. Image c/o Google Maps.

The park is about 2,400 acres and offers sensational views of the surrounding area including Mount Cole Plateau and Mount Langi Girhan. More than 200 species of native plants have been recorded in the park, including a number of native orchids.

We drove along the 4WD track from the lookout and found a clearing in the scrub. We strung out the 20/40/80m linked dipole which was supported by the 7-metre heavy-duty telescopic squid pole. We ran the Yaesu FT-857d and 40 watts.

It was a chilly morning but fortunately no rain. We had experienced rain during the majority of the evening.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3VIN
2. VK3UAO
3. VK1AD
4. VK3QH
5. Vk4TJ
6. VK2WWV
7. VK5HAA
8. VK3OB
9. Vk1RF
10. VK2IO

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3VIN
2. VK3UAO
3. VK1AD
4. VK3QH
5. VK4TJ
6. VK2WWV
7. VK5HAA
8. VK3OB
9. VK1RF
10. VK2IO
11. VK3AWA
12. VK4EMP
13. VK4TI
14. VK3NBL
15. VK4FW
16. VK8MM
17. VK3MDC
18. VK2EXA
19. VK5AYL
20. VK1DI
21. VK2MOP
22. VK3MAB
23. VK7ID
24. VK7JFD
25. ZL3RIK
26. VK5FD
27. VK3PF
28. VK3APJ
29. VK3SQ
30. VK3CTM
31. VK5GY
32. VK5IS
33. VK3DA
34. VK3TDK
35. VK5CZ
36. VK3ANL

I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK3PF

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. F4WBN
2. ZL1TZP
3. ZL3RIK
4. VK1AO
5. VK2MET
6. VK4EMP
7. VK4TI
8. ZL3QR
9. ZL1KB
10. KG5CIK
11. BX8AAD
12. VK4TJ

I worked the following station on 20m AM:-

1. VK4TJ

References.

1. Grampians Point, 2023, <https://www.grampianspoint.com.au/attractions/ararat-hills-regional-park/>, viewed 4th May 2023.
2. Summits On The Air, 2023, <https://www.sotadata.org.uk/en/summits>, viewed 4th May 2023.
3. Victorian Places, 2023, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/ararat>, viewed 4th May 2023.
4. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Wills>, viewed 4th May 2023.
5. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullin-la-ringo_massacre>, viewed 4th May 2023.