Our next activation for Friday 1st December 2023 was the Moyston Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2404. The reserve is located about 5 km northwest of the town of Moyston and about 234 km northwest of the city of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Moyston Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.

Moyston developed following the discovery of gold in 1857 and then the rich Campbell’s Reef in 1858. By 1858 an Anglican school was opened and three years later the township of Moyston was surveyed. During the early 1860s, the name was changed from Campbell’s Reef to Moyston, named after Moystown in Country Tyrone, Ireland. This was due to the numerous Irish miners from that area. In 1865 Bailliere’s Victorian gazetteer recorded Moyston as having six quartz-crushing and pumping machines, and observed that the surrounding country was well-suited for agriculture. There were three hotels, and a Presbyterian church was built in 1865, along with a courthouse. (Victorian Places 2024)

There is a monument at Moyston for Major Thomas Mitchell who passed through the district in July 1836. The monument is also dedicated to the pioneers of Moyston and district.

There is also a monument to commemorate the life of Thomas Wentworth Wills (b. 1835. d. 1880), a talented cricketer and footballer who is credited with being a founder of Australian Rules Football. He was the Captain of the Melbourne Football Club in 1858 and was involved in forming the Geelong Football Club. He was captain of the Geelong Football Club in 1860 and played an estimated 172 games. He was Captain of an early team from Richmond. Wills lived at Lexington Station at Moyston. While playing as a child with aboriginal children in the area he developed a game that he later utilised in the formation of Australian Football.

Below is a short documentary on the life of Tom Wills.

The famous Moyston football oval is adjacent to the monument.

There are still some signs of the old gold mining history of the Moyston district.

Whilst in Moyston we saw some more hot rods towing their small caravans.

The Moyston Nature Conservation Reserve is located on the northern side of Moyston West Road.

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

The reserve is about 134 hectares in size and was established on the 22nd day of November 1983. (CAPAD 2022)

We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. I used the special call of VI10VKFF for this activation.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3PF
4. VK3KAI
5. VK2EXA

Marija worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3BEL
4. VK5TN
5. VK2EXA
6. VK1CHW

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK1AO
2. Vk2MET
3. VK2IO/m
4. ZL1HIM
5. KG5CIK
6. ZL3MR
7. VK4EMP
8. VK4TI

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3PF
4. VK3KAI
5. VK2EXA
6. VK5TN
7. Vk3BEL
8. VK2USH
9. VK1CHW
10. VK2IO/m
11. VK3CEO
12. VK3APT
13. VK5HS
14. VK1AO
15. VK2MET
16. VK3SO
17. VK7AAE
18. VK3UAO
19. VK3CJN
20. VK2YK
21. VK5GA
22. VK3AG
23. VK3MCK
24. VK5BB
25. VK3AMO
26. VK3DJC
27. VK5LA
28. VK5KAW

I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK2BD
3. VK3BEL
4. VK5TN
5. VK2EXA
6. VK1CHW
7. VK3UAO
8. VK3PF
9. VK3KAI
10. VK5HS
11. VK5LA
12. VK3KAW

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 2nd May 2024].‌
2. http://www.victorianplaces.com.au. (n.d.). Moyston | Victorian Places. [online] Available at: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/moyston [Accessed 2 May 2024].‌