Cummins silo VK-CMS5

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My next activation for Monday 22nd April 2024 was the Cummins silo VK-CMS5. Cummins is located on the Eyre Peninsula about 641 km from Adelaide.

Above:- Map showing the location of Cummins, South Australia.

Prior to European occupation, the Cummins district was the traditional home of the Nauo aboriginal people.

Above:- Map showing the traditional lands of the Nao people. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The town of Cummins is named in honour of William Patrick Cummins (b. 1855. d. 1907) who was an Australian politician. He represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Stanley from 1896 to 1906. From 1902 to 1906 he represented the Australasian National League. From 1906 to 1907 he represented the Liberal and Democratic Union. He was born at Virginia in 1855 and died at Redhill in 1907. Cummins was part of the parliamentary inspection team in the Cummins district prior to the 1901 survey. (Flickr 2024) (Place Names 2012) (Wikipedia 2024)

Above:- William P Cummins. Image c/o Wikipedia.

One of the earliest European settlers in the district was James Anderson who took up seven occupation licences from September 1846. Anderson arrived in South Australia in September 1838 aboard the ‘Winchester’. Anderson collected sheep from the Barossa Valley and drove them to the Eyre Peninsula via Port Augusta. He became the occupier of runs near current-day Wanilla with his land extending from White River to Yallunda. His sheep grazed over what is current-day Cummins. Anderson imported rams and ewes from the famous ‘Steiger’ breed in Germany. He achieved a reputation as a very reputable breeder. (Place Names 2012) (State Library 2024)

Above:- James Anderson. Image c/o State Library South Australia.

In 1903 pastoral leases around Cummins were purchased by the government and surveyed for farming settlement. The Hundred of Cummins was proclaimed in 1903 with the sale of land commencing in 1904. Grain farmers commenced purchasing sections of land in the district. By November 1907 the railway had reached Cummins. A local landowner, Mr. Durdin and his partner called Atkinson, subdivided some of his land to create a town at the junction of several roads beside the railway line. He subdivided 13 town blocks in 1907 and a further 28 blocks in 1911. In 1912 a farmer called Mr. Farr on the eastern side of the railway line, subdivided 27 blocks. In 1918 he subdivided a further 5 blocks. Two private towns were created and eventually they merged into one town. (Flickr 2024) (Place Names 2012)

Above:- the mains street of Cummins, c. 1928. Image c/o State Library South Australia.

Today the main industries in the Cummins district are sheep farming and cereal grain growing. (Wikipedia 2024)

The last train to run to Cummins was in 2019. Today not a lot remains of the railway. The old railway workers’ accommodation barracks can be viewed, along with an old crane and the water tank.

Cummins Milling is one of the oldest flour mills in Australia. It has been producing wheat for over 89 years. It was established in 1930 during the Depression by Aubrey Heidenreich. In 1933 the original mill burnt down and the mill was rebuilt in 1934. Cummins Milling 2024)

The foundation stone of the Cummins Uniting Church was laid on the 8th day of May 1912 by Mr. C.H. Potter.

The former Commercial Bank of Sydney building was built in 1932. (Flickr 2024)

In the town centre at Cummins Railway Park Triangle, you can find toilets and picnic facilities. There are also various monuments including one for the Eyre Peninsula Railways, a monument for the Barwell Scheme, a statue of the wheat lumper, and an old tabletop trolley.

The wheat lumper statue is for all of the Eyre Peninsula men who lugged bags of wheat into piles for transport to the ports via rail. The bronze statue was created by Sydney sculptors Gillie and Marc.

The Table Top Trolley was donated by L.K. Jerico. It was owned by Clark Ridgeway, S.G. Illman and F.J. Jerico. It was restored by secondary students of Cummins Area School and Joe Cooper.

The Barwell Scheme monument commemorates the 1922-1924 initiative by the South Australian Premier Sir Henry Barwell, that brought more than 1,400 British teenage boys to South Australia to be apprenticed to farmers. It helped solve a rural labour shortage following the First World War. They became known as the ‘Barwell Boys’.

The Cummins silos are located on the eastern side of Tod Highway. They are operated by Viterra.

The Cummins silos were constructed in late 1961. This saw the commencement of bulk handling taking over from the labour-intensive process of grain being bagged and lumped into stacks. (Cummins 2024)

Above:- Article from the Port Lincoln Times, Thu 2 Nov 1961. Image c/o Trove.

I set up alongside the silos and I ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5 metre stainless steel whip.

Above:- Map showing the activation zone of the Cummins silo. Map c/o SiOTA website.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK5TUX
  3. VK5HS
  4. VK3PF
  5. VK5GY
  6. VK3UCD
  7. VK3AXH
  8. VK5FIVE
  9. VK5AAF
  10. VK3NBL

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK7XX
  2. VK3PF
  3. VK4HNS
  4. VK4ALE
  5. VK4NH
  6. VK3NBL
  7. VK2IO
  8. VK3CEO

References.

  1. Cummins Mill South Australia. (2019). Cummins Milling Flour in Cummins on the Eyre Peninsula South Australia. [online] Available at: https://cumminsmill.com.au/ [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].
  2. ‌Explorecummins.com.au. (2016). Discover – Explore Cummins. [online] Available at: https://explorecummins.com.au/discover/ [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].
  3. ‌Flickr. (2024). Flickr. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/82134796@N03/50670795757 [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].
  4. ‌State Library of South Australia. (2024). [Early settlers, Port Lincoln and Western Districts – series 3] : James Anderson. [online] Available at: https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+8505/2A [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].
  5. ‌Wikipedia Contributors (2023). William Patrick Cummins. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Patrick_Cummins [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].‌
  6. Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Cummins. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummins [Accessed 8 Aug. 2024].‌‌

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