Our next park activation on 28th October 2024, was the Marong H8A Bushland Reserve VKFF-5438. The reserve is located about 15 km northwest of Bendigo and about 163 km northwest of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of Marong H8A Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.
Marong is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word, mahrung, meaning a native or Murray pine tree. Marong is situated in the Victorian gold fields region, however, it was not a town founded on gold. As it was located on Bullocks Creek, it became a gold washing place and in 1852, a commissioner’s camp. In 1859, a school was opened. A Presbyterian church was opened in 1864, followed by Anglican and Catholic churches in 1876. By 1876, the Marong railway station had opened on the railway line from Bendigo to Inglewood. (Blake 1978) (Victorianplaces.com.au, 2015)
The Marong H8A Bushland Reserve is located at the intersection of Forest Drive and Goddards Road.
Above:- An aerial view of the reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.
The reserve is about 5 hectares in size and was established on the 21st day of June 2005. (CAPAD 2022)
This was another easy park to access. We ran the Yaesu FT858, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3DL
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK2IO/M
- VK2GEZ/M
- VK3APJ
- VK3CEO
- VK3HJW
- VK3MGM
- VK5QA
- VK5HS
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-6201)
- VK1DA/P (SOTA VK3/ VC-019 & VKFF-2402)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3DL
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK2IO/M
- VK2GEZ/M
- VK3APJ
- VK3CEO
- VK3HJW
- VK3MGM
- VK5QA
- VK5HS
- VK3WSG
- VK3CJN
- VK3QHU
- VK5DW
- VK3PWG
- VK3TTK
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-6201)
- VK3BAP
- VK3HO
- VK3HU
- VK3SMW
- VK2KNV/M
- VK2XSE/M
- VK1DA/P (SOTA VK3/ VC-019 & VKFF-2402)
I worked the following stations on 40m FT8:-
- VK3CEO
- VK3APJ
- VK5WU
- VK3BAP
I worked the following stations on 20m FT8:-
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- VK4GKO
- UA6FM
- UA3GX
- DF8RU
- VK4HX
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK4DJF
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- KG5CIK
- ZL1HIM
- ZL4NVW/P (ZLP/ OT-2176)
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- VK4GKO
References.
- 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 13 Apr. 2025].
- Leslie James Blake, 1978, Place Names of Victoria.
- Victorianplaces.com.au. (2015). Marong | Victorian Places. [online] Available at: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/marong [Accessed 13 Apr. 2025].
VK5PAS 