Justice Robert Hope Nature Reserve VKFF-3181

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After leaving Mount Majura on Monday, 27th October 2025, Marija and I visited the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra. What a brilliant place this is! The website states it is one of Canberra’s premier tourist attractions, and Marija and I certainly agree.

The museum was established in 1993, and since being acquired by a group of directors in 2011, it has undergone major upgrades. (Wikipedia 2025)

At the entrance, you can find ‘Stan’, Canberra’s Tyrannosaurus Rex, who stands at 6 metres tall. (National Dinosaur Museum n.d.)

We spent a few hours inside wandering around the indoor displays of dinosaurs and prehistoric fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

The museum doesn’t just have an excellent dinosaur display. It also has a magnificent fossil collection, which is believed to be the largest fossil display in the southern hemisphere. There are also several skeletons. (Travers 2017)

You can also find a selection of meteorites.

And skulls and other information relating to prehistoric man.

There is also an excellent Ice Age display.

And Marija fitted into the astronaut suit.

The museum also houses an extensive collection of crystals, gemstones, and minerals.

Outside, you can find the Dinosaur Garden. The landscaped gardens contain lifelike fibreglass dinosaur models.

After a very enjoyable few hours at the museum, we headed to the Justice Robert Hope Nature Reserve VKFF-3181.

The reserve is named in honour of Robert Marsden Hope, AC CMG QC. He was born in July 1919. He was a Justice of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and Royal Commissioner on 3 occasions, including the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security. He was also the first Chairman of the Heritage Council of New South Wales. It was Justice Hope’s Committee of Inquiry into the National Estate that led to the acknowledgment of the concept of a National Estate. He died in 1999 at the age of 80. (ACT Government, 2023) (Wikipedia 2025)

If you would like more detailed information about Justice Robert Hope’s life, please feel free to watch the YouTube video below.

Justice Robert Hope Nature Reserve is located in the suburb of Watson, which is named after the third Prime Minister of Australia, John Christian Watson.

Above: John Christian Watson. Image c/o Wikipedia

The reserve is located adjacent to the Mount Majura Nature Reserve and alongside a green space known as The Runway (which was never a real runway).

Above: An aerial view of Justice Robert Hope Nature Park. Image c/o Google Maps

The reserve is 19 hectares in size and was established in 2016.

Above: an aerial view of the park showing its boundaries. Image c/o Protected Planet.

The reserve comprises low-lying woodland and protects the critically endangered Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum. The reserve also contains several 200-400 year old hollow bearing tree which provide nesting hollows for native birds. (ACT Government, 2023)

Just inside the park you can find an excellent information board with detailed information about the park.

This was an easy park to access. We parked on Antill Street and went through the pedestrian gate, and set up along the walking path. We ran the Yaesu FTY857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation.

Unfortunately, right in the middle of a very large pile-up on 40m, the heavens absolutely opened up, and we were totally rained out for the activation. Marija and I apologise to all those who were calling.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3HJW
  2. VK1AO
  3. VK2MET
  4. VK5WU
  5. VK1CHW
  6. VK2CHW
  7. VK5AYL
  8. VK2IO/P (VKFF-0847)
  9. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0847)
  10. VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0980)
  11. VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0980)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3HJW
  2. VK1AO
  3. VK2MET
  4. VK5WU
  5. VK1CHW
  6. VK2CHW
  7. VK5AYL
  8. VK2IO/P (VKFF-0847)
  9. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0847)
  10. VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0980)
  11. VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0980)
  12. VK2BW
  13. VK3NCR
  14. VK2MOE
  15. VK1MO

Absolutely saturated, Marija and I headed back to our motel room for a warm shower. We then headed to the Kingston Hotel for a meal with Andy VK5LA and his wife Liz, Walter VK2XGB, Gerard VK2IO, and Tony VK3YV. The meal was brilliant, and this was a VERY FUNNY night with lots of laughs.

References.

  1. ACT Government (2023). Justice Robert Hope Park. [online] Act.gov.au. Available at: https://www.parks.act.gov.au/find-a-nature-park/canberra-nature-park/justice-robert-hope-park [Accessed 28 Jan. 2026].
  2. ‌The National Dinosaur Museum. (n.d.). The National Dinosaur Museum | Visit the Dinosaurs – Canberra, Australia. [online] Available at: https://nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au/. [Accessed 28 Jan. 2026]
  3. ‌Travers, P. (2017). National Dinosaur Museum’s collection of fossils, bones and models fascinates young and old. [online] Abc.net.au. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-06/national-dinosaur-museum-fascinating-young-and-old/8874030. [Accessed 28 Jan. 2026]
  4. ‌Wikipedia Contributors (2025). National Dinosaur Museum. Wikipedia.‌
  5. Wikipedia Contributors (2025). Robert Marsden Hope. Wikipedia.‌

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