Our next park for Thursday 9th November 2023 was the Murrayville Bushland Reserve VKFF-4141 and the Murrayville silo VK-MRL3. 

Murrayville is located in northwest Victoria, about 268 km east of Adelaide and about 110 km west of Ouyen.

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

Murrayville is named in honour of John Murray (b. 1851. d. 1916), an Australian politician. He was the 23rd Premier of the State of Victoria (1909-1912).

Above:- John Murray. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The area around Murrayville was settled in the early 1900s following reports that the country appeared to be equal to that of Pinnarroo where farming had become successful. The town of Murrayville was surveyed in 1909-10.

Above:- Plan of the township of Murrayville. Image c/o Trove.

Murrayville became the largest of several townships west of Ouyen. The Murrayville Post office was opened on the 1st day of November 1910. The hotel was built in 1911, a mechanics institute and school in 1912, a Methodist church in 1912 and numerous stores. In 1911 Murayville’s population was 245 people. Between 1917-1939, an agricultural show was held at Murrayville.

Above:- article from the Pinnaroo and Border Times, Fri 30 Sep 1932. Image c/o Trove.

A private hospital was built in 1920, serving Murrayville until the Murrayville Bush Nursing Hospital was opened in 1954. In 1923 Lutheran and Anglican churches were built at Murrayville. By 1933 Murrayville’s population had reached 603 people. A Catholic church was built in 1937. The Murrayville Consolidated School was opened in 1944.

Above: Murrayville General store, c. 1905. Image c/o Museums Victoria.

Murrayville celebrated its centenary during Easter 2010. People from all over Australia visited Murrayville, with about 1,300 dinner meals served on Saturday night and 900 for the Sunday evening meal. The centenary included various antique machinery, a collection of old cars, an animal nursery, a bucking bull and a dual carriage small motorised train.

Above:- Murrayville Centenary. Image c/o http://www.murrayriver.com.au/

Today Murrayville has a police station, hotel, caravan park, and supermarket. The town’s main industry is cereal crops, sheep and cattle. It is also popular with tourists visiting the Murray Sunset National Park and the Wyperfeld National Park.

Murrayville’s main street has several historic shop fronts.

The Pinnaroo Railway Line was a former railway line constructed to service the agricultural districts of the Mallee in Victoria and South Australia. It closed on the 4th day of October 2007. The line between Ouyen to Murrayville was completed in 1912, with the line being extended to Pinnaroo in South Australia in 1915. 

Above:- railway workers on the line. Image c/o State Library South Australia (B1733)

The Murrayville railway station was constructed in 1912 and consists of a standard, single-storey, timber weatherboard portable station building with a ventilated double gable roof and an attached waiting area. The iron-clad goods shed also remains today. The water tower, toilet shed and store have been demolished. The station is now used as a craft and coffee shop.

There is an excellent visitor rest stop and information area at Murrayville.

Olympic basketball player Rachael Sporn was born in Murrayville.

A quirky feature of the town is the collection of old army tanks which you can see at the eastern end of the town. Numerous surplus army tanks were purchased following the war for use on the land as adapted bulldozers and chain clearers.

Before heading to the park, we booked in at the Murrayville Caravan Park. We met one of the caretaker’s Darren who kindly provided us with some oranges, a juicer, olive oil, and dukkah. We had a conversation with Darren about the hobby of amateur radio as he had previously been involved with the hobby during his time at school. Darren expressed an interest in obtaining his licence. I put him in contact with Ivan VK5HS, and I am very pleased to report that Darren now holds his Foundation amateur radio licence. Congratulations Darren.

The Murrayville Bushland Reserve is about 105 hectares in size and was established on the 8th day of May 1990. The Parks Victoria website had a page for the reserve but it contains no information other than a park boundary image. Don’t get confused with the larger Murrayville Nature Conservation Reserve.

Above:- an aerial view showing the Murrayville Bushland Reserve and the Murrayville NCR. Image c/o Google Earth.

The Murrayville silos were built in 1939. An official opening ceremony took place on 24th November 1939. Their capacity was 110,000 bushels.

Above:- article from The Advertiser, Sat 25 Nov 1939. Image c/o Trove.

The silos are located alongside the old railway line between Recreation Road and McKenzie Street.

We set up off Cemetery Road within the activation zone for the silo.

Above:- Map showing the activation zone of the Murrayville silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3BEL/p (Barmah National Park VKFF-0739)
3. VK3APJ
4. VK3SQ
5. VK2BD
6. VK3OAK
7. VK3VIN
8. VK3YV
9. VK5TN
10. VK5HS
11. VK3PWG/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)
12. VK2IO/p (Boulka I96 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4222)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3BEL/p (Barmah National Park VKFF-0739)
3. VK3APJ
4. VK3SQ
5. VK2BD
6. VK3OAK
7. VK3VIN
8. VK3YV
9. VK5TN
10. VK5HS
11. VK3DCQ
12. VK1RF
13. VK2MK
14. VK4CEE
15. VK2YK
16. VK5GA
17. VK5GY
18. VK3PWG/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)
19. VK2EXA
20. VK3MCK
21. VK2HHA
22. VK4NH
23. VK4DXA
24. VK5FANA
25. VK5KLV
26. VK1AO
27. VK2MET
28. VK3EJ
29. VK3SG
30. VK3CLD
31. VK5PET
32. VK2IO/p (Boulka I96 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4222)
33. VK3CEO
34. VK7AAE
35. VK4HMI
36. VK3UAO
37. VK3ZK
38. VK5HW
39. VK6HDY/2
40. VK3IH
41. VK5ZNP
42. VK4EHI
43. VK5HAA
44. VK7MAT
45. VK4KTW
46. VK5DJ
47. VK5CZ
48. VK5AAF
49. VK2MOE
50. VK3CWF

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4NH
2. VK4DXA
3. I4RHP
4. VK1AO
5. VK2MET

Following the activation we headed to the Murrayville Hotel for a meal.

References.

1. Victorian Places, 2023, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/murrayville>, viewed 24th December 2023.
2. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murrayville,_Victoria>, viewed 24th December 2023.
3. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_(Victorian_politician)>, viewed 24th December 2023.
4. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murrayville_railway_station>, viewed 24th December 2023.
5. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnaroo_railway_line,_Victoria>, viewed 24th December 2023.