Sheep Hills silo VK-SHS3

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On Monday 21st October 2024, Marija and I headed down the main street of Warracknabeal to one of the local cafes for a cooked breakfast and some coffee.

After breakfast, we decided to have a good look around Warracknabeal before doing any park or silo activations.

Our first stop was the old Warracknabeal Court House which was constructed in 1889/1890. The building of the Court House followed a population boom in northwest Victoria during the 1870s to 1880s. The building has stepped brickwork in the principal gable, a transverse verandah, an elaborate frieze, and gabled end pavilions. The Court House commenced its life as a Court of Petty Sessions. It continued to function as a courthouse until 1989. Since that time the building has been used by the Lands and Survey Department, an Infant Welfare service, and the Warracknabeal Historical Society. It is currently occupied by Working Heritage. (Vic.gov.au 2017) (Working Heritage 2022)

Our next stop was the old Warracknabeal log lockup in Devereux Street. On the 22nd day of December 1871, the Government Gazette gave approval of a contract for erecting a log lockup at Warracknabeal. The price was 140 pounds with the contractor being Thomas Crerar. On the 16th day of June 1871, a log hut for the police costing 142 pounds 10 shillings was approved. The builder was Frederick Dann. The block on which it is located was 12 chains by 5 chains and was reserved as a site for police purposes on the 14th day of October 1872. The lock-up was used until 1960.

We then visited the old Warracknabeal railway station. The railway arrived at Warracknabeal in 1885. It was part of the Patchewollock railway line, also known as the Hopetoun railway line. The line was opened in stages from Murtoa to Warracknabeal in May 1886, and reached Patchewollock in May 1925. It was one of two-grain lines that were changed from broad gauge to standard gauge simultaneously as the main line into South Australia. During the 1980s the line was truncated to Hopetoun, with the tracks beyond Hoeptoun removed. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Vicsig.net 2023) (Vicrailstations.com 2024)

We then visited the Dog on the Wheat Bag sculpture. It was constructed in 2001 to commemorate Federation and features a Kelpie sitting on some wheatbags.

We then took a stroll around the Warracknabeal Fauna Park. The park was created and is maintained by the local Lions Club. During our visit there were some volunteers present feeding the birds. The park is located on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek and has a picnic area, BBQ facilities and a children’s playground. The Fauna Park features kangaroos, emus, and various other native birds.

Marija and I then strolled up and down the main street of Warracknabeal. Many of the surviving historic buildings have information signs detailing their history.

The old State Savings Bank was constructed in two stages. The ground floor was built in 1909 while the second storey was added in 1921. The State Bank of Victoria vacated the building in 1969.

Coopers Palace Hotel commenced as a coffee palace in 1885. By 1895, George Cooper had acquired a liquor licence and the Palace Hotel was opened. The hotel was run by members of the Cooper family until 1953.

In Federation Place there was another sculpture featuring a Kelpie dog and sheep.

Adjacent to the Post Office is the War monument, a tribute to all those from Warracknabeal and the surrounding district who fought during the First World War.

The current Post Office was constructed in 1906 by local contractors Dally & Co. It replaced the Post Office built on the site in 1890.

During the 1920s many Rest Rooms were established to provide community facilities for women. They became part of the social fabric of regional Victoria. The Warracknabeal Ladies Rest Rooms were built in 1928 by Andrew Taylor and Sons for 680 pounds.

Dal Monte was built in 1927 as a two-storey shopping complex and theatre for Joseph Vasquez. The building was named after Italian opera singer Toti Dal Monte. The theatre closed in 1941.

The two-storey brick building, Royal Mail Hotel, was built following a fire in September 1893. The original hotel was built as a Temperance Hotel for Robert Chisholm in 1883.

The Warracknabeal Hotel was built in 1891. Extensions were added in 1928. It had been purchased in September 1890 by John ‘Poppa’ O’Dea. Three generations of the O’Dea family ran the hotel until 1978.

Dally & Company followed Hutchinsons to Warracknabeal. Their general store specialised in clothing, hardware and building. The building was originally one storey with the second storey being added in 1911. In 1955 the business was sold. Following the death of the major partners, supermarkets have occupied the site.

Les ‘Digger’ Winsall’s barber shop is particularly interesting. In March 1946 he commenced working after school for Fred Callaway in his barber shop. In July that year, he commenced a 5 year apprenticeship. Callaway passed away in 1954 and the barber shop was run by the brother of Les, Alber Winsall. In 1956 Les purchased the business from the Callaway family. He operated as a barber until his retirement in 2002.

Joseph Discaciati was from New Zealand. He opened his studio in a site close fo the present building which was built in 1910 following a fire. In 1901 James McColl joined the firm and became a partner in 1921. In 1944 Disaciati died, followed by McColl in 1964.

Stan and Sylvia Vaughan’s old Milk Bar can be found at 74 Scott Street.

Mr. H.H. Mercer arrived in Warracknabeal in 1899. In 1902 he commenced making and selling ‘Mallee’ cycles. He sold the first motor car in Warracknabeal. For 60 years he sold Ford, Morris and other motor vehicles along with the bicycles. His son Alvis carried on the business. The Mercer family sold the business in 1982.

We then called into the Warracknabeal Visitor Information Centre. There are a number of information boards outside the centre which contain interesting facts and history about Warracknabeal.

Marija and I left Warracknabeal and headed to the Nullan I104 Bushland Reserve VKFF-5669. Unfortunately, we encountered a sign which read ‘Danger. Unsafe Excavation. Entry Prohibited’. A check of Mapshare Victoria also showed that access was not allowed.

So it was off to option two, the Sheep Hills silo.

Sheep Hills takes its name from the Sheep Hills pastoral run in 1847 owned by Archibald McMillan. By 1866 a large homestead had been built on the property. By the 1870s the area had been divided into smaller holdings of land, several of which were taken up by Prussian Lutherans who had moved to Victoria from South Australia. (Aussie Towns 2024)

The most impressive building at Sheep Hills is the old hotel that was built in 1884 and was originally owned by Mr. D.Jenkins and was known as Jenkins Hotel. By 1903 it was known as the Railway Hotel. From 1915 it became the Commercial Hotel and was owned by Mr. John Vaughan. (Trove 2014) (Victorian Collections n.d.)

The old hotel at Sheep Hills, c. 1900. Image c/o Flickr.

In 1950 the hotel was sold for 11,000 ponds to Mr and Mrs. Ronald Cain of Portland. It was the second time in 12 months that the hotel had changed hands.

Above:- Article from The Age Melbourne, Fri 27 Oct 1950. Image c/o Trove

Today this impressive old building is a private residence.

Other than the old hotel, not much remains at Sheep Hills. There is the Sheep Hills Mechanics Insitute which was established in 1888 and the Sheep Hills War Memorial.

We then activated the Sheep Hills silo VK-SHS3. This was the second time that Marija and I had activated the silo for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program.

We parked in the silo carpark and operated from the 4WD, running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5-metre stainless steel whip.

Above:- The activation zone at the Sheep Hills silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3MCA
  2. VK3APJ
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK5IS

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK4NH
  2. VK2IO
  3. VK5HS

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3MCA
  2. VK3APJ
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK5IS

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK4NH
  2. VK2IO
  3. VK5HS

References.

  1. Aussie Towns. (2024). Warracknabeal. Available at: https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/warracknabeal [Accessed 28 Dec 2024]
  2. Aussie Towns. (n.d.). Sheep Hills, VIC. [online] Available at: https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/sheep-hills-vic [Accessed 28 Dec 2024]
  3. ‌Trove. (2014). Sheep Hills. – Minyip Guardian and Sheep Hills Advocate (Vic. : 1915 – 1918) – 22 May 1917. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154363050?searchTerm=sheep%20hills%20commercial%20hotel [Accessed 28 Dec. 2024].
  4. ‌Vic.gov.au. (2017). VHD. [online] Available at: https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/ [Accessed 28 Dec 2024]‌
  5. Vicrailstations.com. (2024). Patchewollock Line. [online] Available at: https://www.vicrailstations.com/Patchewollock/Patchewollock.html [Accessed 28 Dec. 2024].
  6. ‌Vicsig.net. (2023). VICSIG. [online] Available at: https://vicsig.net/infrastructure/line/Hopetoun [Accessed 28 Dec. 2024].
  7. ‌Victorian Collections. (n.d.). Photograph, Clare Gervasoni, Commercial Hotel, Sheep Hills, 2017, 08/10/2017. [online] Available at: https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/64afd7d1b721f73a0ad902eb [Accessed 28 Dec. 2024].
  8. ‌Working Heritage. (2022). Warracknabeal Court House. [online] Available at: https://workingheritage.com.au/places/warracknabeal-court-house-2 [Accessed 28 Dec. 2024].
  9. ‌

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