Our first activation for Monday 13th November 2023 was the Tutye Bushland Reserve VKFF-4162 and the Tutye silo VK-TTE3. Tutye is located halfway between Murrayville and Underbool in northwestern Victoria.
Tutye is a former town and locality in north-western Victoria. The old town is located on the Mallee Highway, about 12 km northwest of Cowangie and about 9 km southeast of Boinka.
Above:- the locality of Tutye. Image c/o maps.land.vic.gov.au
Tutye is an aboriginal word meaning rest. (Blake 1977)
Tutye was proclaimed a township in 1920 with the proclamation appearing in the Victorian Government Gazette on the 1st day of December 1920. The proclamation was partly rescinded on two occasions in November and December 1922, to exclude areas on the edge of the township as it was established that the town would be smaller than first thought. (Context 2013)
Above: Plan of the township of Tutye. Image c/o Trove.
Settlement in the area however dated before 1920. The area was first settled in about 1912. (Context 2013) The Tutye Post office was opened on the 15th day of July 1912. A regular mail service was provided by the opening of the railway line from Ouyen to Murrayville in June 1912. It was closed in 1980. (Phoenix 2024) The Tutye General Store opened in 1912, and the Tutye Hall was built in 1913. (Context 2013)
In 1920 a bore was sunk at Tutye. (Context 2013) In that same year, the Tutye State School was also opened. (1920 Tutye State School)
Above: Article from the Sunraysia Daily, Mildura, Fri 29 Oct 1920. Image c/o Trove
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Above:- part of an article from the Pinnaroo and Border Times, Fri 11 Jun 1920. Image c/o Trove.
In 1954 the Tutye Gypsum Factory commenced trading as Australian Plaster Industries. Gypsum was brought through Tutye by rail in 1953-1956. A minor industrial boom was planned. However, only two of the anticipated 50 houses were constructed. The factory’s main product was Plaster of Paris. A cookhouse was constructed near the factory which operated for three years. (Context 2013)
The only remaining structure from the township of Tutye is the remains of a house on Stock Route Road
The row of sugar gums on Stock Route Road marks the township site. They were planted in honour of those who served in World War One. (Context 2013)
The Tutye cemetery is located on Tyalla Road. The first recorded burial at the cemetery was in 1915. One of the earliest burials was that of Roland Hendy who died in 1915, aged just 16 years. Unfortunately, a fire in 1934 destroyed all of the Tutye cemetery records. (Context 2013)
Sadly very little remains today of what was once a thriving settlement.
The Tutye Bushland Reserve is about 232 hectares in size and was declared on the 1st day of May 1979. It comprises 22 different sections of land located on the northern and southern sides of the Mallee Highway. (CAPAD 2022)
The Parks Victoria website has a page for the reserve but contains no information other than a boundary map of the reserve.
Above:- The Tutye Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.
The bushland reserve is a good example of remnant mallee scrub in northwestern Victoria. The reserve is surrounded by cleared farming land.
The Tutye silos were built in 1968. (Context 2013)
We operated on Old Stock Route Road within the silo activation zone.
Above:- the activation zone at the Tutye silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.
Marija made the following QSOs on 80m SSB:-
- VK5WE
- VK5IS
- VK5FANA
Marija made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-
- VK3SQ
- VK2BD
- VK3MCK
- VK2HHA
- VK2NP
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK2IO/p (Green Lake Regional Park VKFF-0967)
I made the following QSOs on 80m SSB:-
- VK5WE
- VK5IS
- VK5FANA
I made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-
- VK3SQ
- VK2BD
- VK3MCK
- VK2HHA
- VK2NP
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK3DAC
- VK6HDY/2
- VK2HRX
- VK4EHI
- VK2RK
- VK2ACR
- VK2CAR
- VK2GOM
- VK3FABS/p (Alpine National Park VKFF-0618)
- VK3VIN
- VK3CEO
- VK2EXA
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
- VK1DI
- VK5KLV
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- VK3MIJ
- VK3AMO
- VK2SLB
- VK3QH
- VK2IO/p (Green Lake Regional Park VKFF-0967)
- VK7AN
- VK5GY
- VK1RF
- VK2MK
- VK4CEE
- VK7JFD
- VK2KEV/m
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK2NP
References.
- Australian Government, 2024, CAPAD 2022, viewed 19th January 2024, <https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad>
- Blake, L, 1977, Place Names of Victoria, Rigby Limited, Melbourne.
- Context Pty Ltd, 2013, Mildura (Former Shire of Walpeup) Heritage Study
- 1920 ‘TUTYE STATE SCHOOL’, Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Vic. : 1920 – 1950), 29 October, p. 2. , viewed 19 Jan 2024, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article258568705>
- Phoenix Actions, 2024, Post Office List, viewed 19th January 2024, <https://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Tutye*>
VK5PAS 