Our final activation for Tuesday 22nd October 2024, was the Woomelang Bushland Reserve VKFF-6135 and the Woomelang silo VK-WMG3.
Woomelang is a small town located about 363 km northwest of the city of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of Woomelang, Victoria. Map c/o Google Maps.
Woomelang is an aboriginal word for poor or miserable. It’s not a great name for a town. Perhaps they should have settled with the original name which was Cronomby Tanks. Despite the meaning of its name, Woomelang is a nice little town, well worth a visit. (Blake 1978)
Prior to European settlement, the Woomelang area was home to the Wegaiai and Wotjobaluk aboriginal people. By the 1870s Europeans had settled in the area and a settlement known as Cronomby Tanks was established. It had a hotel and a general store. Cronomby Tanks were farm water storages on the Lake Wilhelmina pastoral station. They were also used to fill visiting steam engines with water. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Victorian Places 2015)
Above:- Plan of the township of Woomelang. Image c/o State Library Victoria.
In 1897 the name of the town was changed from Cronomby Tanks to Woomelang. It has been reported that a traveller riding a horse named Melang, said ‘Whoa Melang’ and thus the township became known as Woomelang. However, this is only local folklore and there is no apparent evidence to support the claim. In fact, the town was renamed to avoid confusion with another similar-sounding railway station. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Victorian Places 20215)
On the 10th day of August 1900, the Post office opened. In 1904 the Woomelang Football Club was established. They initially competed in the Woomelang District Football Association in 1911 and in 1912 there were undefeated premiers. In 1951 Woomerlang merged with the Lascelles Football Club. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Phoenix 2022) (Wikipedia 2023)
The Woomelang bakery, c. 1914. Image c/o flickr.
Two historic buildings in the town include the old railway station and the former hotel.
In June 2020, Woomelang invited seven artists to transform mini silo bins into pieces of art. Among the artists involved were Jimmy Dvate, Andrew J Bourke, and Kaffeine. Each bin features an endangered species that is native to the Woomelang area including the Spotted tail quoll. Other painted bins feature a pygmy possum, a Heath monitor, and a Mallee Emu-Wren. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Australian Silo Art n.d.)
Below is an excellent video on the idea of the Woomelang Silo Art Trail.
Marija and I had specifically driven out to this part of Victoria to visit the old Woomelang shearing shed. It was constructed during the Second World War and due to wartime shortages of materials, the shed is constructed of compacted egg tins. (Aussie Towns 2024) (Wikipedia 2023)
We then headed to the Woomelang silos which are located on the railway line. Access via the Cronomby campground. The silos were built in 1939. (Victorian Places 2015)
We also hoped to activate the Woomelang Bushland Reserve, which showed up on our mapping site as a tiny piece of scrub off the Hopetoun-Sea Lake Road and two other sections that were just to the southeast of the Woomelang Recreation Reserve.
Above:- An aerial view of the Woomelang Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.
The three sections of the reserve are about 9 hectares in size and the reserve was established on the 8th day of May 1990. (CAPAD 2022)
We opted to operate from the section of scrub off the Hopetoun-Sea Lake Road. But it wasn’t easy. It was getting dark and there was only just enough room to string out the dipole.
Above:- the activation zone at the Woomelang silos. Image c/o SiOTA website.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK5HS
- VK3PF
- VK2IO
- VK2GEZ
- VK4HMI
- VK5WU
- VK5DW
- VK3WSG
- VK7DW
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK5HS
- VK3PF
- VK2IO
- VK2GEZ
- VK4HMI
- VK5WU
- VK5DW
- VK3WSG
- VK7DW
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK3TZT
- VK3APJ
- VK7PJM
- VK5LA
- VK5KAW
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK5FANA
- VK3GJG
- VK4XF
- KD1CT
- VK3PWG
- VK3TTK
- VK2LEE
- VK7AAE
- VK5HW
- VK3UAO
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
- VK5HS
- VK2IO
- VK2GEZ
- VK5LA
- VK5KAW
- VK3PWG
- VK3TTK
- VK3PF
- VK3WSG
- VK5MRE
- VK3KIY
- VK3VEF
- VK5MRS
- VK3CWM
- VK5LDM
- VK3APJ
We packed up and then drove back to Warracknabeal.
References.
- Aussie Towns. (2024). Woomelang, VIC – Aussie Towns. [online] Available at: https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/woomelang-vic [Accessed 5 Jan. 2025].
- 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 5 Jan. 2025].
- Leslie James Blake, 1978, Place Names of Victoria.
- Phoenixauctions.com.au. (2022). Post Office List – Phoenix. [online] Available at: https://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=. [Accessed 5 Jan. 2025].
- Victorianplaces.com.au. (2015). Woomelang | Victorian Places. [online] Available at: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/woomelang [Accessed 5 Jan. 2025].
- Wikipedia Contributors (2023). Woomelang. Wikipedia.
- http://www.australiansiloarttrail.com. (n.d.). Woomelang Mobile Silo Art. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/woomelang. [Accessed 5 Jan. 2025].
VK5PAS 