Our next activation for Friday 10th November 2023 was the Linga Bushland Reserve VKFF-4166 and the Linga silo VK-LNA3. Linga is about 60 km west of Ouyen in northwestern Victoria.

This was to be the first activation of this park for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.

Above:- Map showing the location of Linga in northwest Victoria. Map c/o Google Maps.

It is believed that Linga is a derivative of the traditional aboriginal word Lar-gni which means ‘camp’ or ‘home’.

Above:- Plan of the township of Linga. Image c/o State Library Victoria.

The Post Office opened on the 15th day of July 1912 following the opening of the railway from Ouyen to Murrayville. It was known as Manpy until 1913 and was closed in 1975. The Linga State School (No. 3798) opened on the 31st day of March 1913 in the local hall, with a permanent building erected in 1916. The school closed on the 17th day of December 1970. The Linga South State School (No. 4460) opened on the 30th day of January 1930 and closed in 1949. At its peak, Linga had a general store, billiard saloon and coffee palace, Post office telephone exchange and a Commonwealth Bank Agency.

Above:- K. Jones Company Proprietary Limited General Merchant. Image c/o Museums Victoria

Linga once had a branch of the Victorian Farmers Union, a football club formed in 1913, a tennis club, a basketball club, and a branch of the Catholic Young Mens Society.

In an issue of the 1929 minutes of the Linga Football Club it was moved that ‘a bottle of sherry be procured for the players and officials at half-time.’

Today very little remains of Linga to indicate that it was once a thriving town.

The Linga Bushland Reserve is located on the northern side of Mitchells Road.

The Linga Bushland Reserve is about 25 hectares in size and was established on the 8th day of May 1990.

The Linga silo is located on Mitchell Road, alongside the old railway line, on the northern side of the Mallee Highway. 

The Linga silo was constructed in the late 1930s.

Above:- Article from the Horsham Times, Tues 21 Nov 1939. Image c/o Trove.

We operated within the activation zone of the silo for this activation. We ran the Yaesu FTR857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole.

All of our contacts were on the 40m band. We tried 20m but had no takers.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3VIN
4. VK3APJ
5. VK3PF
6. VK3BEL/p (Barmah National Park VKFF-0739)
7. VK1DI
8. VK2DG
9. VK5CZ
10. VK5FANA
11. VK3CLD
12. VK2IO/p (Dering Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2307)
13. VK3PI/p (Wangaratta Common Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2223)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3VIN
4. VK3APJ
5. VK3PF
6. VK3BEL/p (Barmah National Park VKFF-0739)
7. VK1DI
8. VK2DG
9. VK5CZ
10. VK5FANA
11. VK3CLD
12. VK1AO
13. VK2MET
14. VK3DAC
15. VK2IO/p (Dering Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2307)
16. VK3PI/p (Wangaratta Common Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2223)
17. VK3SG
18. VK2EXA
19. VK2NP
20. VK7STO
21. VK5PL
22. VK5TN
23. VK3GRX
24. VK5KVA
25. VK3DAI
26. VK7FLI
27. VK7MFI
28. VK1RF
29. VK2MK
30. VK4CEE
31. VK3BBB
32. VK2CCP
33. VK5KKT
34. VK3ANL
35. VK3BWS
36. VK1CHW
37. VK3SO
38. VK3CEO
39. VK3BAP
40. VK4FE/3
41. VK5IS

I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

1. VK3DAC
2. VK3ANL

I worked the following stations on 40m FM:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD

References.

1. Blake; L, 1977, Places Names of Victoria.
2. CAPAD 2022.
3. Mallee Highway Touring Route, 2023, <https://www.malleehighway.com.au/html/linga.html>, viewed 29th December 2023.
4. Nickolls; j & Angel, A, 2002, Mallee Tracks.
5. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linga,_Victoria>, viewed 29th December 2023.

After packing up at the Cowangie silo on Friday 10th November 2023, we headed east on the Mallee Highway to Tutye. Tutye is a locality situated about 80km west of Ouyen in northwest Victoria.

Above:- Map showing the location of Tutye in northwest Victoria. Map c/o Google Maps.

Along the way, we stopped to look at the gravesite of a railway worker. The grave is located about 2.3 km east of Cowangie and is on the northern side of the Mallee Highway. The name of the person is not known but the headstone states that they died in 1913.

We continued east and soon reached Tutye.  Tutye is an aboriginal word meaning ‘rest’.

The Tutye district was opened for selection in 1911. Tutye was once a thriving township, but today very little remains. The Post Office was opened on the 15th day of July 1912 following the opening of the railway line from Ouyen to Murrayville. The Post office closed in 1980. The Tutye General Store opened in 1914 and closed in 1970. The Tutye State School opened in 1920. The town once had several businesses including a blacksmith shop, boot repairer, bank agency, boarding house and telephone exchange.

Above:- Plan of the township of Tutye. Image c/o State Library Victoria.

Tutye once had a football club, a tennis club, a croquet club, a golf club, a racecourse, and a dramatic society.

Above:- the 1928 Tutye football club team. Image c/o Cowangie Danyo Tutye and district Facebook page.

The Tutye Hall hosted numerous events.

Above:- article from the Ouyen Mail, Wed 17th August 1938. Image c/o Trove.

In 1953-54 a processing plant for cruse plaster of Paris was established at Tutye by Associated Plaster and Gypsum. All that remains today are some ramps and sidings which were used for unloading/loading of gypsum on the old railway line/

You can also find a plaque commemorating the Tutye Avenue of Honour which was planted on the 24th day of July 1919 by the Tutye Progress Association as a mark of honour to the men from Tutye who served abroad in the war 1914-1918.

The Tutye silos are located on the southern side of the Mallee Highway on Old Stock Route Road.

Above:- the Tutye silo, c. 1960s. Image c/o Cowangie Danyo Tutye and district Facebook page.

This was a quick activation from the vehicle, running the Icom IC7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1/5 mere stainless steel whip.

Above:- aerial view of the Tutye silos. Image c/o Google Maps.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2IO/p (Dering Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2307)
3. VK2TRL
4. VK1CHW/p (Dunlop Grasslands Nature Reserve VKFF-0839)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2IO/p (Dering Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2307)
3. VK2TRL
4. VK1CHW/p (Dunlop Grasslands Nature Reserve VKFF-0839)

Following our activation of the silo we drove out to the Tutye cemetery to hopefully view some of the graves of the early settlers. Sadly there were not many historic headstones visible in the cemetery.

We then headed east along the Mallee Highway to Linga for our next activation.

References.

1. Australian Cemeteries, 2023, <https://www.australiancemeteries.com.au/vic/mildura/cowangielone.htm>, viewed 29th December 2023.
2. Blake, L, 1977, Places Names of Victoria.
3. Mildura Rural City Council, 2013, Mildura (Former Shire of Walpeup) Heritage Study Stage 2
4. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutye,_Victoria>, viewed 29th December 2023.