After leaving Murtoa (Sunday 19th November 2023), Marija and I drove south to our next activation of the day, the Barrabool Flora & Fauna Reserve VKFF-2263. The park is located about 11 km south of Murtoa and about 295 km northwest of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Barrabool Flora & Fauna Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.
The reserve is also often referred to as the Barabool Nature Conservation Reserve, the Barrabool Forest Reserve, and the Barrabool State Forest. Its northern border is Sawpit Swamp Road, the eastern border is Barrabool Road, and to the south and west is Burnt Clay Road.
Above:- An aerial view of the park. Image c/o Google Earth.
Parks Victoria has a webpage for the park but contains no information about it besides a park boundary image. The Barrabool Flora and Fauna Reserve is 1,035 hectares in size and was established on the 22nd day of September 1987. (CAPAD 2022)
Above:- An aerial view of the park looking towards Murtoa. Image c/o Google Maps.
There is also a Barrabool near Geelong. Barrabool is an aboriginal word meaning oyster. Other alternative meanings include slope down to water. (Blake 1978) Before European settlement, the land was occupied by the Jaadwa aboriginal people. In the reserve, you can find several trees which were cut by the Jaadwa people. (Aussie Towns 2024)
During our activation of the park we had an inquisitive Diamond Firetail finch. Unfortunately, it was quite nervous and would not sit still for a good photograph.
We accessed the park via Barrabool Road. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole supported on the 7-metre heavy-duty telescopic squid pole. I sued the special event callsign of VI10VKFF for this activation.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK2IO/p (Wee Jasper Nature Reserve VKFF-2017)
- VK3GJG
- VK3OAK
- VK3APJ
- VK5MRD
- VK3VIN
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK5WF
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK2IO/p (Wee Jasper Nature Reserve VKFF-2017)
- VK3GJG
- VK3OAK
- VK3APJ
- VK5MRD
- VK3VIN
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5LA
- VK5KAW
- VK3BWS
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK3SG
- VK3CEO
- VK3ANL
- VK5KLD
- VK3MLT
- VK2HHA
- VK3ZMD
- VK5NM
- VK5BMC
- VK5TQ
- VK7JDZ
- VK3BBB
- VK2CCP
- VK2DL
- VK2IMP
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK4EW
- VK8DNT
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK4HAT
- ZL2DR
- IK1GPG
- ZL4NVW/p (ZLP/ WC-0069)
- IW2NXI
- VK4SMA
- ZL3MR
- ZL2STR
- OM5TX
I worked the following station on 20m AM:-
- VK4EW
References.
- Aussie Towns. (n.d.). Murtoa, VIC. [online] Available at: https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/murtoa-vic. [Accessed 23 Feb. 2024].
- Leslie James Blake, 1978, Place Names of Victoria.
- 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 23 Feb. 2024].
VK5PAS 