Our start for Wednesday, 29th October 2025, was breakfast at Kingston in Canberra. Marija and I had a beautiful cooked breakfast at the Bittersweet Cafe. We also revisited the nearby Durham Castle Arms Pub. Many years ago, I attended a course in Canberra with colleagues from across Australia. I phoned my great mate Tim up in Queensland to let him know that I was ‘back at the scene of the crime’ at the pub. We spent many a night there during my 6-week course in Canberra and had lots of laughs.
After breakfast, Marija and I took a brief drive around Canberra to have a look at some of the embassies. There is a Diplomatic Missions self-guided driving tour, but Marija and I just drove around admiring some of the amazing architecture and culture that the embassies represent.
We then drove south out of Canberra to Lanyon Homestead at Tharwa. We had driven past the homestead the day prior during our visit to Gigerline Nature Reserve, and we were very keen to pay a visit.
The first European to settle on the land on which Lanyon is located was Timothy Beard. He depastured cattle on the Limestone Plains from c. 1829. Beard was born in 1764 and was a carpenter. In March 1805, he was convicted at Gloucester, England, for sheep stealing and sentenced to transportation to the colony of Australia for life. (ACT 2020) (ancestry 2016)
Above:. Prison record for Timothy Beard. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
Beard arrived in the new colony in July 1806 aboard the Fortune and Alexander. He was assigned to Thomas Jamison, who was the Surgeon General for New South Wales. In 1818, Beard was conditionally pardoned. He became a squatter and ran a station called ‘Queenbeeann’. His huts were located on the Molonglo River on the site of the Lanyon homestead. In the late 1820s, he was forced out of the district and became an inkeeper. At the time of his death, the Beard family owned several acquisitions of land comprising nearly 100,00 acres. Timothy died in May 1848, aged 86 years. He is buried at the Liverpool Pioneer Cemetery. The suburb of Beard in Canberra is named after him. (ACT 2020) (ancestry 2016) (Convictrecords.com.au 2026)
Above: headstone of Timothy Beard. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
About 7 years after Beard was forced from his land, along came James Wright and John Lanyon.
James Wright was born on the 21st day of January 1797 in Derbyshire, England. James elder brother, William Wright, was born in February 1795 in Middlesex, England. James emigrated to Australia in 1820 aboard the Enchantress. James died on the 22nd day of April 1879 at Bombala, New South Wales. (ancestry 2016)
Above: James Wright. Image c/o ancestry.com.au
John Hamilton Mortimer Lanyon was born in May 1807 in Sussex, England. He emigrated to Australia in 1832, arriving in Hobart in May 1832 aboard the Medway. He then travelled to New South Wales in 1833 aboard the Susannah. (ancestry 2016) (Stuart 1999)
In April 1835, Lanyon acquired 640 acres of land along the Murrumbidgee River. Wright acquired 1,680 acres at the same location. (Davis 2021)
In 1838, James Wright married Mary June Davis in 1838 in Sydney. They had 8 children, some of whom were born at Lanyon. (ancestry 2016)
A total of 15 convicts were assigned to Wright and Lanyon. By 1837, this had increased to 30. Some of the convicts who worked for Wright on the Lanyon property included Joseph Oldfield, William Dawkins, and Thomas Warner. (Ancestry 2016) (Lanyon n.d.)
Joseph Matthew Oldfield was born in March 1805 in Norfolk, England. In 1834, he stole some turkeys and received 7 years’ transportation to the colony of Australia. He arrived in Sydney in June 1834 aboard the Hive. He was assigned to Wright at Lanyon Station. Oldfield was known as the ‘Farm Constable’ as he was responsible for the apprehension of runaway convicts and bushrangers. He died in August 1886 at Cuppacumbalong. (ancestry 2016) (Findagrave.com 2018) (Lanyon n.d.)
William Dawkins was born in 1816. He was transported to Australia in 1835 for burglary and was employed by Wright on the Lanyon property as a shepherd. He lost hundreds of Wright’s sheep. In 1839, he absconded from Lanyon’s property. He became the leader of a gang that robbed stores and outstations and was known as the ‘Harry Houdini’ of the Queanbeyan district. He was captured, and in 1840, he was tried and convicted for being at large with firearms. He was sentenced to penal settlement for Life and was transported to Norfolk Island. (Convictrecords.com.au 2026) (Lanyon n.d.)
Above: item from the NSW Govt Gazette, Wed 16 Nov 1836. Image c/o Trove
Thomas Warner. In 1838, Warner lost several of Wright’s bullocks and was involved in an altercation with Wright. Warner was charged and, in the Queanbeyan Magistrates Court, was found guilty and received 50 lashes. (Lanyon n.d.)
In mid 1835, Lanyon returned to England to see his dying father, John Lanyon, who died that year in June. Lanyon never returned to Australia, and he died on the 22nd day of June 1841 at Eastbourne, Sussex, England. (ancestry 2016) (Stuart 1999)
In 1836, William Wright, the elder brother of James, arrived in Australia aboard the Derwent. He purchased adjoining land. (ancestry 2016) (Stuart 1999)
On the 1st day of January 1837, William Wright was accidentally shot while duck shooting. A messenger was sent to the three nearby homesteads seeking medical help. Dr Hayley subsequently attended, but Wright died from his gunshot wound. He was buried near the Lanyon homestead. It is reported that his grave was piled with rocks to prevent dingoes from unearthing the coffin following his burial. It is believed that he was the first ‘white man’ to die in the district. (ACT Govt 2025) (Nla.gov.au 2026) (Stuart 1999)
Above: Item from The Sydney Gazette, Sat 18 Feb 1837. Image c/o Trove
In 1841, James Wright encountered financial difficulties and was forced to sell the Lanyon property to Andrew Cunningham. Wright moved to nearby Cuppaccumbalong Station. (ancestry 2016)
Andrew Cunningham was born in August 1814 in Fireshire, Scotland. He arrived in Sydney in 1845. They settled at Congwara, northwest of Lanyon. (ancestry 2016) (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: Andrew Cunningham. Photo c/o Lanyon Homestead.
In 1859, the current Lanyon homestead was built by Cunningham, using local fieldstone. (ancestry 2016)
Above: Lanyon Station, c. 1865. Image c/o State Library Victoria.
Andrew died in March 1887. At the time of his death, Lanyon had 25,000 sheep. His sons James and Andrew continued to farm at Lanyon and other properties. In 1921, James Cunningham died. His son Andy oversaw Layon until 1926, when the Lanyon property was sold to Henry ‘Harry’ Osborne of Currandooley. He was the owner of Cowl Cowl Pastoral Company. (Wikipedia 2025)
In the early 1930s, the Cowl Cowl Pastoral Company sold the property to Mr Thomas Field, who had large land holdings throughout New South Wales and Queensland. (Wikipedia 2025)
During the late 1960s, large tracts of farming land south of Canberra were resumed to make way for the development of Tuggeranong, the second of Canberra’s urban satellites. The Australian Federal Government proceeded to acquire the Lanyon property, but Field refused an offer of $1.87m. He also sought compensation of $33m, which was the amount placed on the land when assessed by a private valuer. The matter eventually went to the Australian High Court. In 1974, the Federal Government acquired Lanyon for $3.7m in an out-of-court settlement. (Wikipedia 2025)
Above: article from The Canberra Times, Sat 6 Apr 1974. Image c/o Trove
Below is an excellent video on Lanyon Homestead.
When you arrive at Lanyon Homestead, you are greeted by a beautiful tree-lined driveway that leads to the homestead.
Prior to going inside the home, Marija and I strolled around the beautiful gardens.
The interior of Lanyon is impressive to say the least.
After leaving the homestead, Marija and I visited several historic outbuildings on the property.
The old kitchen structure was built c. 1830s to 1850. It is built of rubble stone finished in limewashed roughcast with a gabled painted corrugated iron roof. (Marshall 2010)
There are several photographs on display of the Cunningham family throughout the complex.
The dairy was built c. 1830s to 1850. It is timber framed with the gabled bark roof still visible underneath the corrugated iron. (Marshall 2010)
The slab hut was built c. 1830s-1850 and is a single-roomed timber structure with a hipped corrugated iron roof. (Marshall 2010)
We then walked down to the convict barn, which was built c. 1830s-1850. It is constructed of limewashed coursed rubble walls and a gabled hardwood shake roof. It was initially used as a barn and later used as a wool store and for other storage. (Marshall 2010)
Unfortunately, we did not get to visit the Layon cemetery as it was not open to the public. The first recorded burial was that of William Wright in January 1837. The second burial was that of John Smith, aged 7 months, in December 1840. The last recorded burial was Mary Dumlop in May 1978, aged 85 years. (ACT Govt 2014)
After leaving Lanyon, Marija and I headed to the Namadgi Visitor Centre just off Naas Road, south of Tharwa. We spoke to some of the rangers, obtained some maps, and had a look at the displays at the centre.
We then travelled south on Naas Road and turned onto Apollo Road heading towards the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, which I will talk about shortly.
It was a beautiful drive along Apollo Road, which follows Honeysuckle Creek and Booroomba Creek. After about 4 km, we reached the Namadgi National Park.
Namadgi National Park is about 106,095 hectares in size and was established in 1984. It is on the Australian National Heritage List. The park was expanded to its current size in 1991. Namadgi is the Aboriginal word for the mountains in the park. (and 2025) (Wikipedia 2022)
Above: The boundaries of the Namadgi National Park. Image c/o Protected Planet.
The park is about 40 km southwest of Canberra and borders the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. Namadgi occupies about 46% of the land area of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The highest peak in the ACT, Bimben Peak at 1,911 metres, is located in the park. (Wikipedia 2022)
Above: an aerial view of the Namadgi National Park. Image c/o Google Maps
Unfortunately, about 80% of the park (86.562 hectares) was burnt during the Orroral Valley bushfire in January 2020. The 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, which became known as Black Summer, was one of the most catastrophic fire seasons on record in Australia. The Orroral Valley fire was started by the landing light on an Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter while it was conducting routine aerial reconnaissance and ground clearance work, assisting local firefighters (and 2025) (Wikipedia 2020) (Wikipedia 2022)
And then in January 2003, another devastating fire ripped through Namadgi National Park, burning more than 90% of the park and destroying several historic heritage sites in the park, including Mt Franklin Chalet, Tennent Homestead and Read’s Hut.. About 70% of the ACT’s pastures, pine plantations and nature parks were severely damaged in the fire. More than 500 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, four people died, and 490 were injured. (ACT 2010) (Wikipedia 2020)
Namadgi National Park is home to a variety of native animals, birds, and reptiles. This includes Eastern Grey kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats. A total of 222 species of vertebrate animals, including 15 threatened species and 40 rare species, have been recorded in the park. The endangered Northern Corroboree frog can be found in the park. (and 2025) (Wikipedia 2022)
Marija and I continued along Apollo Road and soon reached the Honeysuckle campground.
What an amazing place this is!
The Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station was a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth station that played a crucial role in the Apollo program, which led to the first humans landing on the moon in 1969. Honeysuckle Creek received and relayed to the world the first televised footage of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon in July 1969. Honeysuckle Creek and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla also had communication and telemetry contact with both the Eagle lunar and Columbia command modules. (Wikipedia 2024)
The 2000 Australian movie, The Dish, dramatised these events as occurring at the Parkes Observatory. The pictures received at Parkes only came into play later in the moon landing. The Parkes antenna was more powerful than Honeysuckle Creek, however its angle and wind gusts did not allow it to receive signals for the first 7 minutes of the moon landing. (Wikipedia 2024)
Honeysuckle Creek opened in 1967 and had a 26-metre dish. It was built and run by NASA, but was staffed by Australians. The station closed in December 1981. The dish was removed, and the buildings were demolished. (Wikipedia 2024)
On the small hill above the interpretive signs, you can find the remains of the tracking station.
Below is an excellent video about the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station.
Our operating spot was very picturesque, although we did have intermittent drizzly rain and fog covering some of the higher points in the park.
We set up in a small shelter shed, which afforded us some protection from the drizzly rain. Marija and I ran the Yaseu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK2OZO/P (VKFF-0991)
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK2HBR
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-0849)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0849)
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
- VK5HS
- VK3SX
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK5WU
- VK3AKO
- VK3SQ
- VK3JT
- VK2BD
- VK3CEO
- VK2MOE/M
- VK1MO/M
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-2532)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-2532
- VK1CHW
- VK2CHW
- VK2FALL
- VK2ETI
- VK2AIT
- VK2AIQ
- VK2AIX
- VK2AIZ
- VK1RX/3
- VK7PJM
- VK3BWS
- VK2AIH
- VK3UH
- VK2MG
- VK7AN/P (VKFF-0028)
- VK7ZPE/P (VKFF-0028)
- VK7HAM/P (VKFF-0028)
Marija worked the following stations on 40m AM:-
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-2532)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-2532
- VK3BWS
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK2OZO/P (VKFF-0991)
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK2HBR
- VK2IO/P (VKFF-0849)
- VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-0849)
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
- VK5HS
- VK3SX
- VK2VW
- VK2HFI
- VK2AKA
- VK2BUG
- VK5WU
- VK3AKO
- VK3SQ
- VK3JT
- VK2BD
- VK3CEO
- VK2MOE/M
- VK1MO/M
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-2532)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-2532
- VK1CHW
- VK2CHW
- VK2FALL
- VK2ETI
- VK2AIT
- VK2AIQ
- VK2AIX
- VK2AIZ
- VK1RX/3
- VK7PJM
- VK3BWS
- VK2AIH
- VK3UH
- VK2MG
- VK7AN/P (VKFF-0028)
- VK7ZPE/P (VKFF-0028)
- VK7HAM/P (VKFF-0028)
I worked the following stations on 40m AM:-
- VK3PF/P (VKFF-2532)
- VK3KAI/P (VKFF-2532
- VK3BWS
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK1AD
- VK1NAM
References.
- ACT Government, 2010, Namadgi National Park Plan of Management 2010
- ACT Government (2014). Previous find of the month – 11/2011 – ArchivesACT. [online] Act.gov.au. Available at: https://www.archives.act.gov.au/find_of_the_month/2011/november/find_of_the_month [Accessed 14 Feb. 2026].
- ACT Government (2025). Tharwa: Lanyon, Onyong and De Salis – Canberra Tracks. [online] Act.gov.au. Available at: https://www.canberratracks.act.gov.au/heritage-trails/track-4-act-pioneers-cemetery/tharwa-lanyon-onyong-and-de-salis [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- ACT Heritage Council, 2020, Background Information Timothy Beard’s Station Site
- ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/. [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- and, P. (2025). Namadgi National Park. [online] Act.gov.au. Available at: https://www.parks.act.gov.au/find-a-nature-park/namadgi-national-park. [Accessed 14 Feb. 2026]
- Convictrecords.com.au. (2026). Available at: https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/dawkins/william/16487 [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- Convictrecords.com.au. (2026). Available at: https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/beard/timothy/108372 [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- Davis, J, 2021, Politics in Queanbeyan – From the Counties to Federation
- Findagrave.com. (2018). Joseph Matthew Oldfield Sr. (1805-1886) – Find a… [online] Available at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118998233/joseph-matthew-oldfield?_gl=1 [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- Lanyon Homestead Education Program, n.d., Convicts and Who were the Convicts?
- Nla.gov.au. (2026). Making sure you’re not a bot! [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12859651?searchTerm=wright%20%2B%20lanyon [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- Nla.gov.au. (2026). Making sure you’re not a bot! [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31398152?searchTerm=lanyon%20%2B%20wright [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026].
- Wikipedia. (2022). Namadgi National Park. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namadgi_National_Park. [Accessed 13 Feb. 2026]
- Wikipedia Contributors (2020). 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Australian_bushfire_season. [Accessed 14 Feb. 2026]
- Wikipedia Contributors (2024). Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia Contributors (2025). Lanyon Homestead. Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia. (2020). 2003 Canberra bushfires. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires. [Accessed 14 Feb. 2026]
VK5PAS 