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:-
- VK3CEO
- VK3UAO/p (Lind National Park VKFF-0287)
- VK2IO/p (Micalong Swamp Flora Reserve VKFF-3067)
- VK5FANA
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK3SQ
- VK2BD
- VK3GJG
- VK1CHW
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3CEO
- VK3UAO/p (Lind National Park VKFF-0287)
- VK2IO/p (Micalong Swamp Flora Reserve VKFF-3067)
- VK5FANA
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK3SQ
- VK2BD
- VK3GJG
- VK1CHW
- VK3AWA
- VK2RK
- VK2ACR
- 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.
- 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].
- 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].
- stanhi. (n.d.). Engage Mosaic Wall 2017. [online] Available at: https://stanhi.wixsite.com/stanhi/engage-mosaic-wall-2017 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
- 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].
- www.australiansiloarttrail.com. (n.d.). St Arnaud Silo Art. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/st-arnaud [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].
VK5PAS 