A week ago I received the QSL card below from Trans World Radio, Guam, for my reception of their station on 22nd July 2024 on 17700 kHz.

I activated a VKFF reference during 2024 National Bird Week and as such I became eligible for a special certificate.

The certificate features a photograph I took of a Singing Honeyeater during a park activation on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

My second activation for Thursday 22nd August 2024 was the Ouyen I245 Bushland Reserve VKFF-4207.

But prior to heading to the park I had a look around the town of Ouyen.

My first stop was the Big Mallee Stump at Blackburn Park. The mallee stump is estimated to be hundreds of years old and is believed to be the largest mallee stump in Australia. This particular stump was dug up by a gentleman called Bert Holland whilst he was grading roads for the former Shire of Walpeup.

Adjacent is the unique clock with wheat sheafs.

There is also an information board detailing all the facts about the Malleefowl, a ground dwelling bird about the size of a domestic chicken. Their conservation status is listed as vulnerable due to the clearing of land for farming and the introduced fox.

I then took a drive around Ouyen to look at some of the town’s historic buildings. This includes the former Savings Bank of Victoria building that was built in 1926 in Neo-Georgian style. The Victoria Hotel was built in 1918 and laid claim to being the best hotel between Adelaide and Melbourne. Sadly the old Ouyen RSL Memorial Club Rooms stands derelict. (Flickr)

Virtually every town I go to has a ‘Bills’ horse trough. They were manufactured in Australia and were installed to provide relief for working horses during the early 1900s. They were financed by a trust fund that was established through the will of George Bills. About 700 of these troughs were distributed around Australia and about 50 in several other countries around the world. (Wikipedia 2024)

George Bills was born in Brighton Sussex England in 1859. With his family, he emigrated to New Zealand and in 1873 he emigrated to Australia. By 1882 he was operated a bird dealers shop in Brisbane Queensland. In 1885 George married Annis Elizabeth Swann and soon after they moved to Sydney where George opened a wire mattress manufacturing company with his brothers. In 1908 George retired. His wife Annis died in 1910 while the couple wrestled visiting England. In 1924 George became a Life Governor of the RSPCA. (Wikipedia)

Above:- George Bills. Image c/o Billswatertroughs.wordpress.com

George died in 1927. Following his death a Trust fund was established valued at about £70-80,000 One of the purposes of the trust, as set out in the will of George Bill’s was:

“construct and erect and pay for horse troughs wherever they may be of the opinion that such horse troughs are desirable for the relief of horses and other dumb animals either in Australasia, in the British Islands or in any other part of the world subject to the consent of the proper authorities being obtained.“

Above:- Article from The Advertiser, Fri 12 Oct 1928. Image c/o Trove.

Each Bill’s horse trough cost £13 including transport and installation. They were initially indivually designed and constructed. By the early 1930s, J.B. Phillips who was a relative of George and Annis, became the head contractor. He produced the troughs in Hawthorn Victoria to a standard design. The troughs were precast concrete and had the inscription of “Donated by Annis & George Bills Australia”. (Wikipedia)

Ouyen also has an excellent mural. It was undertaken by local artist Kevin Jones and represents the history, people and activities that have shaped Ouyen.

I then left Ouyen and headed to the Ouyen I245A Bushland Reserve. On the way I passed the Ouyen State Forest.

The reserve is located on the western side of Dunkley Road, in between the Ouyen Cemetery and the Ouyen Landfill site.

Above:- An aerial view of the Ouyen I245A Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.

The reserve is about 4 hectares in size and was established on the 29th day of January 1992. (CAPAD 2022)

I ran the Yaesu FT857d, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this atcivation.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3MTT
2. VK5WU
3. VK3SQ
4. VK2BD
5. VK3VIN
6. VK1DI
7. VK5MAZ
8. VK2HRX/P (SOTA VK7/ SC-001)
9. VK5IS
10. VK3WSG
11. VK3CEO
12. VK3KRL
13. VK5ADB
14. VK3CA
15. VK3HM
16. VK2EXA
17. VK2IO
18. VK2GEZ
19. VK3PF
20. VK5GY
21. VK3EJ
22. VK3BAP
23. VK3ANL
24. VK3APJ
25. VK2YW
26. VK2VW
27. VK2HFI
28. VK2AKA
29. VK2BUG
30. VK4HNS
31. VK1AAF

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4EMP
2. VK4TI
3. VK4GKO
4. VK4HNS
5. VK1DI
6. VK1AD/P 9VKFF-0845)
7. VK2VW
8. VK2HFI
9. VK2AKA
10. VK2BUG
11. VK1ARQ
12. VK6LK
13. VK6LMK
14. VK2HRX/P (SOTA VK7/ SC-001)

At the conclusion of the activation I paid a quick visit to the Ouyen cemetery.

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 17 Nov. 2024].‌
2. Flickr. (2024). Ouyen. The former Savings Bank of Victoria building. Erected 1926 in Neo-Georgian style. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/82134796@N03/39463418854 [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].
3. ‌Wikipedia Contributors (2024). Bills horse troughs. Wikipedia.‌