Paddys Ranges State Park VKFF-0772

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Our final activation for Wednesday 22nd November 2023 was the Paddys Ranges State Park VKFF-0772. The park is located about 10km south of Maryborough and about 167 km northwest of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of Paddys Ranges State Park. Map c/o Google Maps.

The Paddys Ranges State Park is about 2,014 hectares and was established on the 27th day of October 1989. (CAPAD 2022)

Above:- An aerial view of the Paddys Ranges State Park. Image c/o Google Earth.

The park owes its name to an Irish miner called Paddy who lived in the area in the 1800s.  During the 1840s the Paddys Ranges area was used for grazing, gold mining, timber harvesting, eucalyptus oil and honey production. (Parks Victoria 2024)

In 1951, the Maryborough Field Naturalists Club commenced a campaign for the protection of Paddys Range’s unique Box-Ironbark forest. It would not be until 38 years later in 1989, that Paddys Ranges State Park was gazetted. (Parks Victoria 2024)

About 230 species of wildflowers have been recorded in the park. More than 140 species of birds call the park home including the rare Swift Parrot and the threatened Peregrine Falcon. Native mammals include wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, and the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale. (Parks Victoria 2024)

It was totally dark by the time we reached the park. This was a quick activation, operating from the 4WD. We ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5 metre stainless steel whip.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK1AO
  2. VK2MET
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK3KAI
  5. VK4NH
  6. VK4DXA
  7. VK7MAT
  8. VK3YV
  9. VK3TNL
  10. VK2ADF

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK1AO
  2. VK2MET
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK3KAI
  5. VK4NH
  6. VK4DXA
  7. VK7MAT
  8. VK3YV
  9. VK3TNL
  10. VK2ADF
  11. VK3SO
  12. VK3OAK
  13. VK2OT/m

References.

  1. 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 16 Mar. 2024].‌
  2. http://www.parks.vic.gov.au. (n.d.). Paddys Ranges State Park. [online] Available at: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/Paddys-Ranges-State-Park [Accessed 16 Mar. 2024].‌‌

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