HEMA VK5/ HSE-042 (Myponga Hill)

Posted on by

During April 2025, I had the pleasure of being able to use the special event callsign of VI100IARU to celebrate the centenary of the International Amateur Radio Union. I made a significant number of QSOs from home, so I decided to head out into the field with the call and do a bit of portable work.

Screenshot

On Monday 7th April 2025, I activated HEMA summit VK5/ HSE-042, near Myponga on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide.

Above:- Map showing the location of HEMA summit VK5/ HSE-042. Map c/o Google Maps.

What is HEMA? HEMA is the acronym for HuMPs Excluding Marilyns Award. A HuMP is a summit which has at least 100 metres of prominence. A Marilyn is a summit that has 150 metres of prominence. The HEMA program commenced in the British Isles. (Hema.org.uk, 2024)

I have activated this summit previously back in May 2021. It was my very first HEMA activation.

As I drove along Pages Flat Road towards Myponga, I could see the summit off in the distance with its communications towers atop it.

The summit is located at the end of Trig Point Road. It is easily accessible. The summit is 442 metres above sea level and has 148 metres of prominence. This means that it falls short of qualifying for the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program by just 2 metres. (Hema.org.uk, 2024)

The summit is referred to as Trig Point on the HEMA website, but it is also known as Myponga Hill on several communication tower sites.

Above:- An aerial view of the summit. Image c/o Google Maps.

There are towers with communication equipment on top of the summit, but they do not cause any RF interference.

There is a trig point on the summit which has seen better days.

And despite it being a rather cold and windy day, there were some fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. The Yulte Conservation Park VKFF-1128 is clearly visible from the summit, as is the town of Myponga. Myponga is derived from an Aboriginal word, maippunga, meaning divorced wife or high cliffs. You can also see another HEMA summit, Heatherdale Hill HSE-009 (readOctober 11 and comments )

As this was an easy drive-up summit, I had the luxury of my fold-up table and deck chair. I set up on the side of the road just down from the trig point. I ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole.

During my activation, I had one of the local farmers curiously ask me what I was doing. I stopped to explain the hobby of amateur radio. He was very interested.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK3HBG
  3. VK5FANA
  4. VK5IS
  5. VK3CJN
  6. VK3QHU

I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK5ATQ

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK4IJP
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK1AO
  5. VK5HK

I worked the following stations on 20m FT8:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK4HDW
  3. YC8PAD
  4. VK2IO
  5. VK1AO
  6. VK3LV
  7. VK3JV

I worked the following stations on 40m FT8:-

  1. VK5MAZ
  2. VK1AO
  3. VK3PF
  4. VK5CZ
  5. VK2IO
  6. VK4AEF

References.

  1. Hema.org.uk. (2024). The HEMA Website. [online] Available at: http://www.hema.org.uk/. [Accessed 15 Jun 2025]‌
  2. readOctober 11, N.D. 18 min and comments )`; }); });, 2013-10:30PM/* global newscorpau */ fetch then then innerHTML = `${data} comments`; document querySelector innerHTML += ` (2013). The meanings of SA’s town names. [online] adelaidenow. Available at: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/sa-lifestyle/the-az-of-the-meanings-of-south-australia8217s-town-names/news-story/eb38a61ae5809e40516b0b207a09a61b. [Accessed 15 Jun 2025]‌‌

Leave a comment