My final activation for Saturday the 13th day of April 2024 was the Point Labatt Conservation Park VKFF-1081.
The park is located about 47 km south of Streaky Bay on the far west coast of South Australia.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Point Labatt Conservation Park. Map c/o Google Maps.
The park is named in honour of John Bagot Labatt, a former Deputy Chairman of the South Australian Harbour’s Board. He was born on the 9th day of January 1861 in North Adelaide, South Australia. Labatt was educated at St Peter’s College where he specialised in science. In August 1877 he commenced work in the dockyard at Glanville where he carried out practical engineering work. He was then transferred to the Engineer-in-Chief’s office and commenced work in harbour surveys. In March 1906 he was appointed Assistant Engineer for Harbours. When the Harbours Board was established in APril 1914 he was appointed one of the three Commissioners and was given the title of Deputy Chairman. He held that position until his retirement in 1927. His hobbies included gardening, carpentry and reading. He died on the 12th day of May 1928 in North Adelaide, South Australia, aged 68 years. (ancestry.com.au) (DEATH OF MR. J. B. LABATT., 1928)
Above:- Members of the South Australian Harbor’s Board sitting around a conference table, 1914. J.B. Labatt is second from the left. Image c/o State Library South Australia.
Point Labatt is located in the locality of Sceale Bay on the west side of the Calca Peninsula, also known as Freeman Peninsula. The name Calca is derived from an aboriginal word meaning stars. Its variant, the Freeman Peninsula, takes its name from the Freeman family who held land on the peninsula until the early 1980s. (Wikipedia 2024)
Above:- An aerial view of Point Labatt. Image c/o Google Earth.
The Point Labatt Conservation Park is about 51 hectares (130 acres) in size and was established on the 12th day of July 1973. It was established to protect the ‘largest colony of Australian sea lions on mainland Australia. The land was donated in 1972 by Ron, Myra, and Ellen Freeman who was concerned about illegal shooting. (Management Plan 1995)
Other than the Australian Sea Lion population, the park is also home to Southern Right Whales, Western Grey kangaroos, and numerous bird species including Cormorants, Terns, Gulls, Ospreys and Kestrels. (Management Plan 1995)
I ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation.
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK7XX
- VK3APJ
- VK3OAK
- VK3GUM
- VK2IO/p (Burrin Burrin Conservation Reserve VKFF-3035)
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- OH1MM
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK6LK
- VK6LMK
- VK3EJ
- VK5MAZ
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK4SMA
- ZL1TM
- VK2EXA
- VK3VIN
- VK4MUD
- VK1DI
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- UT5PI
- VK2MOR
- DL1EBR
- IK1GPG
- F5PYI
- SP7MW
- VK2MG
- VK4HAT
- VK2LEE
- EA5JMN
- OH6JUM
- IW2BNA
- HA4FB
- IZ2JCD
- IZ5JMZ
- SP1D
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- DK9HN
- VK3GJG
- LZ3TY
- VK2VAR
- VK2GOM
- F8CRS
- VK2BY
- PA1LX
- VK4FE/p (Mowbray National Park VKFF-0367)
- VK3CEO
- VK3GP/m
- VK3PWG
- VK3TTK
- VK7AAE
- VK3SQ
- VK2BD
- VK2TG
- DL2ND
- F5PMW
- PD2BA
- M7CBI
- F4GYM
- EA3MP
- HA0IS
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK2TER
- VK3DL
- VK3CEo
- VK5TUX
- VK5MAZ
- VK5FANA
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK5KLV
- VK2EXA
- VK3SMW
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5KVA
At the conclusion of the activation, I commenced to make my way back to Elliston, about 129 km to the south.
Along the way, I stopped briefly at the monument on the Flinders Highway to commemorate the township of Colton.
The town was named in honour of Sir John Blackler Colton (b. 1823. d. 1902). He was an Australian politician, the Premier of South Australia, and a philanthropist.
Above:- Sir John Blackler Colton. Image c/o Wikipedia.
Michael Stephen White Kenny was born in 1811 in County Clare, Ireland. In 1842 he emigrated to Australia aboard the Braken Moor with his sister and her husband. They arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) with Kenny later moving to South Australia. In 1848 he married Brigid Purtle at Morphett Vale, South Australia. He initially owned land at Shea-oak Log. By the 1870s he had moved to the Yorke Peninsula where he secured farms for his sons. In 1876 he boarded the Selector and sailed from Oyster Bay (Stansbury) to Port Lincoln. He then trekked overland to the Hundred of Colton where he established ‘Balla McKenny’ a property of about 9,000 acres. He died in May 1892 at Colton. (ancestry.com.au) (Place Names 2012)
Above:- Michael Kenny. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
On the 21st day of December 1880, Michael’s eldest son Daniel Thomas Kenny (b. 1849. d. 1934), entered into an agreement with the Department of Lands and purchased 371 acres of land in the Hundred of Colton. This included land that adjoined a junction of five roads and this was an ideal position for a hotel which opened in 1884. A school was opened in 1885 and closed in 1956. The town also had a general store, churches, and a blacksmith shop. (Place Names 2012)
Above:- Kenny’s Hotel at Colton. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
Nearby is the George North Walkway in honour of George Tramountanas, the first Greek settler in South Australia. He changed his name to George North during the 1840s. He initially lived in Adelaide before moving to the Eyre Peninsula. His son, George Henry North, who was born at Port Lincoln, was the first South Australian born Greek.
Once arriving in Elliston I headed to the local hotel where I caught up with the rest of the VK5FIL Flinders Island Team: Grant VK5GR, Andy VK5LA, Chris VK5FR, Ivan VK5HS, and Adam VK2YK.
We enjoyed some great laughs, a nice meal and of course a few beverages.
References.
- Ancestry.com.au. (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/ [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
- DEATH OF MR. J. B. LABATT. (1928). Register. [online] 14 May. Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/56633158 [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 1995, Point Labatt Conservation Park.
- 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 23 Jun. 2024].
- Wikipedia. (2019). Calca Peninsula. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calca_Peninsula [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
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