After packing up at Red Hill on Tuesday, 28th October 2025, Marija and I drove into the suburb of Deakin for some breakfast and coffee. Deakin is named in honour of Australia’s second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin. He was born in August 1856 in Melbourne and served as Prime Minister from June 1909 to April 1910. He died in October 1919. (Wikipedia 2019)
We then drove along Mugga Way to Calthorpe’s House, which, unfortunately, was not open. The home was built in 1927 for the Calthorpe family. This was the same year that the Federal Parliament and public service were transferred to Canberra. (ACT Historic Places 2017)
For more information on this historic home, please have a look at the YouTube video below.
We then headed to our second park activation for the day, the Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve VKFF-0852.
Above: Map showing the location of Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps
The northern boundary of the reserve is Hindmarsh Drive. Its eastern boundary is Mugga Lane. To the west of the reserve is the suburb of O’Malley, which contains several embassies, including the Embassy of Nepal, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Lebanese Embassy.
Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve is about 148 hectares in size and is located on the eastern edge of the Woden Valley in Canberra. The reserve is connected with the Red Hill Nature Reserve and Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve. It was established in 1993 and was extended in 2005. (ACT Govt 2023)
Above: Aerial view of Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve. Image c/o Google Maps
The reserve is part of one of the largest areas of the critically endangered Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland remaining in Australia. Native birds found in the park include the threatened Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin, Wedge-tailed Eagle, and Speckled Warbler. (ACT Govt 2023)
Just to the south of the reserve is the Mugga Quarry, which provided material in the building of early Canberra during the 20th century. (ACT Govt 2023)
During the early 1900s, plantings were undertaken in the reserve of various species, including Argyle Apple, White Box, and Golden Wattle. These were initiated by Walter Burley Griffen and were supervised by Charles Weston. (ACT Govt 2023)
Walter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, and was the designer of Canberra. (Wikipedia 2019)
Above: Walter Burley Griffin. Image c/o Wikipedia
Thomas Charles George Weston was an Australian horticulturist and was responsible for the establishment of trees in Canberra. (Wikipedia 2026)
Above: Charles Weston. Image c/o Wikipedia
Marija and I set up our station off Mugga Lane, not far from the ACT Dog Pound. I am sure all those who worked us during the activation could hear the dogs barking in the background.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB before the UTC rollover:-
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB before the UTC rollover:-
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0773)
- VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0773)
- VK3SX
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK3KRL
- VK1DI
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB after the UTC rollover:-
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-1392 & SOTA VK2/ SW-034)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-1392 & SOTA VK2/ SW-034)
Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB before the UTC rollover:-
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK3TDK/P (VKFF-0773)
- VK3NYC/P (VKFF-0773)
- VK3SX
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK3KRL
- VK3UCD
- VK2HBR
- VK2HLM
- VK2ZRD
- VK1DI
- VK3AMO
- VK3APJ
- VK3MRT
- VK2DA
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB after the UTC rollover:-
- VK2DA
- VK1DA
- VK2NP
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
- VK3IDM
- VK2YAK
- VK4YAK
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK3APJ
- VK3CEO
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-1392 & SOTA VK2/ SW-034)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-1392 & SOTA VK2/ SW-034)
- VK1DI
- VK2ZRD
- VK3DAC
- VK2MWD
- VK5WU
- VK3ZSC
- VK2VAR
- VK2GOM
- VK4FGCW/2
- VK2MZ
- VK2AHP
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK4EMP
- VK4TI
- VK4GKO
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
- VK5WU
- VK5WY
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-3182)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-3182)
References.
- ACT Government (2023). Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve. [online] Act.gov.au. Available at: https://www.parks.act.gov.au/find-a-nature-park/canberra-nature-park/mount-mugga-mugga-nature-reserve [Accessed 8 Feb. 2026].
- ACT Historic Places. (2017). About. [online] Available at: https://www.historicplaces.com.au/calthorpes-house/about [Accessed 8 Feb. 2026].
- Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Walter Burley Griffin. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Burley_Griffin. [Accessed 8 Feb. 2026].
- Wikipedia Contributors (2026). Charles Weston (horticulturalist). Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Alfred Deakin. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Deakin. [Accessed 8 Feb. 2026].
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