Daily Archives: June 1, 2024

Tola Conservation Reserve VKFF-1753

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It was now day three of my trip, Friday 12th April 2024. Before heading out to activate a park I had a final look around Kimba.

My first stop was the Kimba Pioneer Memorial Arch on Buckleboo Road at the Recreation Reserve. The Kimba area was first settled in the 1870s. The memorial arch commemorates the courage and faith of the early pioneers of Kimba. (Monument Australia 2024)

At the recreation reserve, you can find some excellent murals. The first is called ‘Sharing our History’ and is dedicated to the pioneers of the Kimba district. It was pained in August 2001. The two other murals were painted by Neil Swanson and is dedicated to local wool/sheep growers. (Kimba District Council 2024)

I then drove up to Whites Knob Lookout which is an ironstone conglomerate just to the northwest of Kimba on Tola Road. There is a statue of explorer Edward John Eyre and an indigenous man at the top of the lookout. It was erected in November 2011 and was sculpted by Roland Weight and Marcus Possingham. (Kimba District Council 2024)

I then drove out to the Kimba Aerodrome and viewed the monument to honour Leslie ‘Allen’ Venning. He owned a private plane and conducted an emergency aerial service for the Kimba district for many years. In 1954 Mr Venning obtained his flight radio telephone operator licence and his full pilot licence. On that same day, he purchased an Auster plane which logged over 130 flights, several of which were used for emergency purposes. Mr Venning sold the plane and purchased another Auster followed by a Cessna. These planes logged 152 and 20 flights respectively. In the case of emergencies, Mr Venning removed the seats of his plane to accommodate a stretcher. Along with his brothers, Mr. Venning was involved in the preparation of the new aerodrome site in the 1950s. At this site Mr Venning built his own aerodrome hangar.

I then visited the Institute Memorial Gardens. The cross and Honour Roll erected in the gardens is in memory of the men and women who served Australia. The garden also features a memorial plaque erected to honour the pioneers and early settlers of the Kimba district.

Adjacent is the Kimba mosaic which showcases the eleven native Australian species found in the Kimba region. It includes the Red-capped robin, Chalky Wattle, Crested Dragon, Sandhill dunnart, Wooly-glandular daisy bush, Thorny Devil, Scarlet-chested Parrot, Galah, Major Mitchell Cockatoo, Bottlebrush hakea, and Malleefowl.

The area of Tola was named after Tola Tank on section 34, Hundred of Solomon. The Tola School opened in 1924 and closed in 1945. All that remains of the school is an old shed and some tyres used as part of a playground. (Place Names 2012)

The reserve is located on the corner of Tola Road and Balumba Hill Road.

Above:- An aerial view of the Tola Conservation Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.

The Tola Conservation Reserve is about 30 hectares in size and was proclaimed on the 28th day of January 1988. (CAPAD 2022) (Place Names 2012)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK5GY
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK3KAI
  5. VK3APJ
  6. VK5NM/p
  7. VK5TUX
  8. VK3BBB
  9. VK2CCP
  10. VK5HS
  11. VK3CEO
  12. VK2IO/p (Tallaganda National Park VKFF-0474 & SOTA VK2/ SM-049)
  13. VK3VIN
  14. VK3MTT
  15. VK5FB
  16. VK5CZ
  17. VK3YV
  18. VK3TNL
  19. VK5AAY
  20. VK5HMB
  21. VK3PWG

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK2IO/p (Tallaganda National Park VKFF-0474 & VK2/ SM-049)
  2. VK3CEO
  3. VK5MAZ
  4. VK1AO
  5. VK2MET
  6. VK4NH
  7. VK4DXA
  8. VK3BEL
  9. VK4EHI
  10. VK3PF
  11. VK3KAI
  12. VK6NU
  13. VK3PWG
  14. VK3TKK
  15. VK7XX
  16. VK2EXA
  17. VK2YW
  18. VK8RR
  19. VK4MUD
  20. VK2GSP
  21. VK4EMP
  22. VK4TI
  23. VK7HBR
  24. VK2VAR
  25. VK2GOM
  26. KG5CIK
  27. VK3EJ
  28. VK4HG
  29. VK3DL
  30. ZL1TM
  31. VK7AAE
  32. VK2COS

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.
  2. Kimba, D.C. of (2019). Kimba District Council. [online] Kimba District Council. Available at: https://www.kimba.sa.gov.au [Accessed 1 Jun. 2024].
  3. ‌monumentaustralia.org.au. (n.d.). Kimba Pioneer Memorial | Monument Australia. [online] Available at: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/landscape/settlement/display/116651-kimba-pioneer-memorial [Accessed 1 Jun. 2024].
  4. ‌published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia. [online] Available at: https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/ [Accessed 31 May 2024].‌