Guildford I132 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4287

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Our next activation for Sunday 26th November 2023 was the Guildford I132 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4287. The park is located about 8 km south of Castlemaine and about 130 km northwest of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Guildford I132 Bushland Reserve. Map c/p Google Maps.

The reserve is located between Donkey Gully Road and Blanket Gully Road. The area is actually Campbells Creek, despite the park name Guildford.

Above:- An aerial view of the Guildford I132 Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.

The reserve is about 28 hectares in size and was established on the 24th day of August 1982. (CAPAD 2022)

We found a track leading into the park. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. I used the special call of VI10VKFF.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK2IO/m
  2. VK4NH
  3. VK4DXA
  4. VK3SPX
  5. VK2JCP
  6. VK7XX
  7. VK2YK/p (Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary VKFF-1880)
  8. VK5TRM
  9. VK7ALB

Marija worked the following station on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK4JM/p (Mount Petrie Road Nature Refuge VKFF-3998)

Marija worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

  1. VK3PF
  2. VK3KAI

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK2IO/m
  2. VK4NH
  3. VK4DXA
  4. VK3SPX
  5. VK2JCP
  6. VK7XX
  7. VK2YK/p (Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary VKFF-1880)
  8. VK5TRM
  9. VK7ALB

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK4JM/p (Mount Petrie Road Nature Refuge VKFF-3998)
  2. VK4NH
  3. VK4DXA

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

  1. VK3PF
  2. VK3KAI
  3. VK3ANL
  4. VK3MCK

History abounds in this area of Victoria, with lots of reminders of life in the area back in the 1800s during the gold rush period.

After leaving the park we visited the Mopoke Water Wheel on Blanket Gully Road, Campbells Creek. The water wheel was constructed in 1887, the same year that the Garfield Water Wheel at Chewton was built. The Mopoke Water Wheel was used to drive the ten-head stamp battery of the Bendigo and Fryers Goldmining Company. The wheel had a diameter of 60 feet and the gear had a diameter of 40 feet. It was in operation until c. 1900. (Gold Fields Guide 2024)

We then headed to our next park, the Guildford I133 Bushland Reserve.

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 5 Apr. 2024].‌
  2. https. (n.d.). Mopoke Gully Water Wheel. [online] Available at: https://www.goldfieldsguide.com.au/explore-location/454/mopoke-gully-water-wheel/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2024].‌

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