Daily Archives: November 6, 2023

Karoonda silo VK-KRA-5

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Our next planned stop on our journey to Renmark on Thursday 26th October 2023, was the town of Karoonda, about 146 km east of Adelaide in the Mallee region of South Australia.

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

On our way to Karoonda we logged Gerard VK2IO was activating Mildura I14 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4137. Signal reports were 5/9 both ways.

Karoonda is a Ngarkat aboriginal word meaning ‘winter camp’. Prior to European occupation, the area was inhabited by the Ngarkat aboriginal people. The town of Karoonda was founded during the early 1900s due to wheat growing in the region. The town was served in 1910, but was not proclaimed until the 11th day of December 1913. In 1922 the District Council of Karoonda was established.

Above:- proclamation of the town of Karoonda in the SA Govt Gazette. Image c/o Wikipedia.

Prior to the establishment of the town, land in the Mallee region of South Australia was taken up for sheep grazing on large pastoral leases during the 1850s. This included Chucka Bend (Bowhill) Station which was established in 1859. The station included where Karoonda is located today.

The Karoonda region is an important wheat and sheep production area. Each year the Karoonda Farm Fair is held, a two-day event attracting over 10,000 visitors to the town.

The video below gives you a good impression of the town of Karoonda.

Karoonda also has its own Pioneer Park which can be found in East Terrace. The park contains a collection of early Mallee memorabilia including buildings, railway information, and farming machinery.

A memorial to Senior Constable Harold Rae Pannell can be found in the park in the main street. Senior Constable Pannell was shot dead by John Fischer in March 1957, at Bow Hill, whilst executing a warrant to seize property from Fishcer who had failed to pay damages awarded against him in a court case. Fischer was found not guilty of murder in the Supreme Court on the grounds of insanity. Justice Reed ordered Fischer into strict custody in a mental health institution at the Governor’s pleasure. Fischer died in 1988, aged 67 years.

Senior Constable Pannell was buried with full police honours at Centennial Park Cemetery on the 14th day of March 1957. He had served the South Australian community as a police officer for almost 20 years.

Above:- Senior Constable Pannell. Image c/o SA Police Association Facebook page.

In 1997, the Karoonda Development Group constructed a Merino ram sculpture in the park in the main street of Karoonda to commemorate the importance of the Merino sheep industry in the region.

Also in the park in the main street, you can find a monument to commemorate the Karoonda meteorite. The town of Karoonda achieved brief international fame in 1930 when a meteorite fell to earth about 3.6 km east of the town on the 25th day of November 1930. You can view a piece of the actual meteorite at the Council Chambers, which Marija and I have done in the past. The inscription on the case in which the meteorite piece is contained, reads: “On November 25th 1930 South Australians were started by the appearance of a brilliant Fire Ball”.

Following reports of the ‘brilliant fireball’, a University party led by Professor Kerr Grant and Mr G.F. Dodwell, conducted a search of the Karoonda area. On the 9th day of December 1930, some 15 days after the meteorite’s sighting, the meteorite site was located. The meteorite shattered on impact, however the surviving material consisted of two large pieces and several smaller fragments, all up weighing about 92 lbs. It was reported that the Karoonda meteorite was of the Stony Type and was of very unusual composition.

The University reported: “The dark greyish interior of the meteorite consists of a dull ground-mass relieved by numerous black chondrules and spangles of a brassy mineral which is probably troilite (ferrous sulphide). The chondrules are very hard and compact and may quite easily be rubbed away from the friable ground-mass by the fingers. Undoubted metallic nickel-iron is present in such small ammount as to be indistinguishable in the hand specimen. A rough microscopical examination reveals that olivine is by far the most important mineral in the ground-mass. Some hypersthene is also present.”

Above:- Part of an article from the Murray Pioneer, Fri 19 Dec 1930. Image c/o Trove

The Karoonda silo art is the work of renowned Australian artist Heesco. He has painted a number of Australian silos. It took Heesco about 38 days to paint the Karoonda silo, which was completed on the 26th day of July 2019.

At night the silo is lit up by an ever-changing display of art from South Australian artists. The Karoonda silo is the first of its kind in Australia to offer Silo Art by day and Cinema Art by night.

The video below shows the Karoonda silo art in time-lapse.

We parked alongside the silo and surprisingly had very little noise. We operated from the vehicle, running the Icom IC7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 930 antenna mounted on the rear of the Toyota Hi- Lux.

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

Hans qualified the silo, this being his second ever SiOTA activation.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK5IS
  2. VK3GRX
  3. VK3WMD
  4. VK5HS
  5. VK3PWG
  6. VK3OAK
  7. VK3PF

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK5IS
  2. VK3GRX
  3. VK3WMD
  4. VK5HS
  5. VK3PWG
  6. VK3OAK
  7. VK3PF
  8. VK3CJN
  9. VK5GY
  10. VK2EXA

References.

  1. Aussie Towns, 2023, <https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/karoonda-sa>, viewed 6th November 2023.
  2. Australian Silo Art Trail, 2023, <https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/karoonda>, viewed 6th November 2023.
  3. District Council of Karoonda East Murray, 2023, <https://www.dckem.sa.gov.au/discover/community-history>, viewed 6th November 2023.
  4. Mallee Touring Route, 2023, <https://www.malleehighway.com.au/html/karoonda.html>, viewed 6th November 2023.
  5. Monument Australia, 2023, <https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/crime/display/50966-senior-constable-harold-rae-pannell>, viewed 6th November 2023.
  6. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoonda,_South_Australia>, viewed 6th November 2023.