Daily Archives: February 21, 2024

Big Tottington Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2047

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Our second activation for Sunday 19th November 2023 was the Big Tottington Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2047. Although the park has been activated in the past, this was the first time that Marija and I had visited Big Tottington.

The park is about 26 km southwest of St Arnaud and about 255 km northwest of the city of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Big Tottington NCR. Map c/o Google Maps.

On our way, we stopped briefly at the little settlement of Beazleys Bridge. It takes its name from William Beazley, a shepherd who worked on Tottington Run and lived in a hut by the bridge. (Blake 1978)

At Beazleys Bridge you can find a monument that commemorates the pioneers who settled in the district between 1850 and 1900. You can also view the memorial gates that commemorate those who served during WWI and WWII. (Monument Australia 2024)

Royal Mail Coaches once ran from St Arnaud to Stawell, stopping at Beazleys Bridge and Tottington.

Above:- Advertisement from the St Arnaud Mercury, Wed 10 Feb 1915. Image c/o Trove

One of our reasons for travelling down to this area south of St Arnaud was to visit the Tottington Woolshed and Homestead. Sadly we found that it was not open to the public and was on private property. We could just view the woolshed at a distance from the side of the road.

The brick and weatherboard homestead was also constructed during the 1840s. The woolshed of wooden construction was built in 1845. The woolshed, homestead and stone cottage are listed on the Victorian Heritage Database. (Heritage Victoria 2024)

The homestead and shearing shed were part of Tottington Station owned by Lawrence Rostron (b. 1800. d. 1877). It takes its name from Tottington in Lancashire, England. (Blake 1978)

Above:- Lawrence Rostron. Image c/o Andress Rostron Family Tree, http://www.ancestry.com.au

There is also a small cemetery on the property which is visible from the roadway.

One of the headstones is for Sarah Pritchard aged 57 years and her daughter Annie aged 21 years. In November 1892 they were driving home from a dance in a double-seater buggy and passed a burning tree that fell and crushed them both. Also killed was Frances King. (Trove 2024)

Above:- Article from The Age, Melbourne, Fri 11 Nov 1892. Image c/o Trove.

Another headstone is for 19-year-old George William Anderson who died in 1881. Anderson and his brother were driving cattle and during a thunderstorm, they sheltered underneath a tree. The cattle broke and the boys galloped after them, their horses colliding head-on, resulting in the death of George.

Above:- Article from The Argus, Melbourne, Wed 30 Mar 1881. Image c/o Trove

Feeling a little disappointed that we couldn’t get to see the homestead or the shearing shed, we headed to the Big Tottington Nature Conservation Reserve.

Big Tottington is about 1,867 hectares in size and was established on the 26th day of February 2002. (CAPAD 2022)

Above:- An aerial view showing the boundaries of the Big Tottington NCR. Image c/o Google Earth.

We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3UAO/p (Croajingolong National Park VKFF-0119)
  2. VK3OAK
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK3KAI
  5. VK3SQ
  6. VK2BD
  7. VK2EXA
  8. VK3MCK
  9. VK3CAT
  10. VK3APC
  11. VK5FANA
  12. VK3ZPF/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)
  13. VK3JW/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3UAO/p (Croajingolong National Park VKFF-0119)
  2. VK3OAK
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK3KAI
  5. VK3SQ
  6. VK2BD
  7. VK2EXA
  8. VK3MCK
  9. VK3CAT
  10. VK3APC
  11. VK5FANA
  12. VK7XX
  13. VK1AO
  14. VK3ZPF/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)
  15. VK3JW/p (Budj Bim National Park VKFF-0345)
  16. VK2IO/m
  17. VK3ZS
  18. VK3DAC
  19. VK4FE/3
  20. VK3MCA
  21. VK1DI
  22. VK2YK
  23. VK5GA
  24. VK3SG
  25. VK5NM
  26. VK3APJ
  27. VK2DG
  28. VK7ALH
  29. VK5LEX
  30. VK3ZSC
  31. VK7HBR
  32. VK2SKI
  33. VK5IS
  34. VK3PI
  35. VK3GRX
  36. VK1CHW
  37. VK3TDX
  38. VK7EE

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK7XX
  2. VK7HBR
  3. VK1AO
  4. VK2MET
  5. VK4EMP
  6. VK4TI
  7. VK4NH
  8. VK4DXA
  9. VK7ZA
  10. VK7EE

We packed up and headed to Murtoa where we planned on visiting the Stick shed and activating a couple of silos.

Along the way, we stopped to have a look at the site for the old Lallat Plains School which operated from 1876 to 1980.

References.

  1. ALAN MARSHALL’S…MY PEOPLE. (1955). Argus. [online] 23 Jul. Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71669456?searchTerm=tottington%20station [Accessed 21 Feb. 2024].
  2. ‌Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022 [Accessed 21 Feb. 2024].‌
  3. Leslie James Blake, 1978, Place Names of Victoria.
  4. ‌monumentaustralia.org.au. (n.d.). Pioneers of Beazleys Bridge | Monument Australia. [online] Available at: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/landscape/settlement/display/101105-pioneers-of-beazleys-bridge [Accessed 21 Feb. 2024].
  5. ‌monumentaustralia.org.au. (n.d.). Memorial Gates | Monument Australia. [online] Available at: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/multiple/display/30314-beazleys-bridge-memorial-gates [Accessed 21 Feb. 2024].‌
  6. vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au. (n.d.). VHD. [online] Available at: https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1084 [Accessed 21 Feb. 2024].‌‌

St Arnaud Regional Park VKFF-0977 and St Arnaud silo VK-STD3

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It was now Sunday 19th November 2023 and day three of our trip around Victoria. Marija and I headed down the main street of St Arnaud for some cooked breakfast and coffee.

We then visited the St Arnaud History Mosaic Wall, a large mosaic that portrays the history of St Arnaud and its community. The mosaic is the work of a local artist Sally Pritchard. The panels were completed in the St Arnaud Neighbourhood House and were transported by members of the St Arnaud Mens Shed to the wall. It took eight days for the entire mosaic to be mounted to the wall. The Wall was unveiled on the 15th day of March 2017. (St Arnaud Neighbourhood House 2024)

We then drove down to the old St Arnaud Railway Station. We were very fortunate, because as we arrived, a gentleman who is involved in the Art Gallery at the station had arrived to do some work, asked if we would like to have a look inside. It was normally closed at that time.

We then headed to our first activation for the day, the St Arnaud Regional Park VKFF-0977 and the St Arnaud silo VK-STD3.

The St Arnaud silos are located alongside the railway line between McMahon Street and Victoria Street.

The St Arnaud silos are part of the Australian Silo Art Trail. They were the 38th set of silos to be painted in Australia and are the work of Ktorney Art, aka, Kyle Torney. The images on the silo tell the story of three pioneers of St Arnaud. and are officially the 38th set of silos to be completed in Australia. (Australian Silo Art Trail 2024)

The St Arnaud Regional Park is about 957 hectares in size and consists of four township blocks within St Arnaud, along with two small cultural and historic reserves, a bushland reserve, and the Wax Garden which is 28 hectares in size. (Grampians Point 2024)

We operated from the end of Kell Road and ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole, supported by the 7-metre heavy-duty squid pole. I used the special event callsign of VI10VKFF for this activation.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3CEO
  2. VK3UAO/p (Lind National Park VKFF-0287)
  3. VK2IO/p (Micalong Swamp Flora Reserve VKFF-3067)
  4. VK5FANA
  5. VK3PF
  6. VK3KAI
  7. VK3SQ
  8. VK2BD
  9. VK3GJG
  10. VK1CHW

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3CEO
  2. VK3UAO/p (Lind National Park VKFF-0287)
  3. VK2IO/p (Micalong Swamp Flora Reserve VKFF-3067)
  4. VK5FANA
  5. VK3PF
  6. VK3KAI
  7. VK3SQ
  8. VK2BD
  9. VK3GJG
  10. VK1CHW
  11. VK3AWA
  12. VK2RK
  13. VK2ACR
  14. VK7SW

Following the activation we paid a visit to the old Francis Xavier’s boarding college run by the Sisters of Mercy at St Arnaud. The college opened in 1903 and closed in 1986. It is now a private residence. (Flickr 2024)

Our next stop was the Church of the Immaculate Conception in St Arnaud. The foundation stone was laid on the 8th day of April 1906. (Australia’s Christian Heritage 2024)

We also stopped to admire the St Arnaud Liberty Hall built in 1928.

It was then off to our next activation of the day, the Big Tottington Nature Conservation Reserve.

References.

  1. denisbin (2022). St Arnaud. Francis Xavier’s boarding college run by the Sisters of Mercy opened in 1903. Closed in 1986. Now a private residence. [online] Flickr. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/82134796@N03/51906457116 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
  2. Design, U.W. (n.d.). Immaculate Conception Catholic Church | Churches Australia. [online] http://www.churchesaustralia.org. Available at: https://www.churchesaustralia.org/list-of-churches/locations/victoria/n-s-towns/directory/22-immaculate-conception-catholic-church [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
  3. ‌‌stanhi. (n.d.). Engage Mosaic Wall 2017. [online] Available at: https://stanhi.wixsite.com/stanhi/engage-mosaic-wall-2017 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
  4. ‌Point, H. (2019). St Arnaud Regional Park – Flora, Fauna, Camping & Picnic Spots Map, VIC. [online] Grampians Point. Available at: https://www.grampianspoint.com.au/attractions/st-arnaud-regional-park/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
  5. ‌www.australiansiloarttrail.com. (n.d.). St Arnaud Silo Art. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/st-arnaud [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].‌