Our start for Tuesday, 4th day of November 2025, was breakfast at the BP Truckstop at Jeridlerie. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast. We also purchased a toy truck for our grandson, Flynn.
A sign that good food is served at truck stops is the number of trucks in the car park.
Marija and I finished breakfast and then drove south towards the town of Finley.
Above: Map showing the location of Finley, N.S.W. Map c/o Google Maps
The Finley area is the traditional land of the Yorta Yorta Aboriginal people. Prior to European settlement, the area was called Carawatha, meaning ‘place of pines.’ (Wikipedia 2021)
During the 1840s the district was settled by European pastoralists. Their main crop was wheat. The first permanent residence in the town of Finley was built in 1878. The Post Office opened on the 1st day of January 1881 and was called Murray Hut. It was changed to Finley in 1893. (Wikipedia 2021)
The town was surveyed in 1870 and is named in honour of the surveyor, Francis George Finley. He mapped about 1.2 million hectares of the Riverina district of New South Wales. (Grokipedia 2025)
In 1912, the Finley Agricultural & Pastoral Association was established. The first agricultural show as held on the 17th day of September 1913. (Wikipedia 2021)
Above: part of an article from the Tocumwal Guardian, Fri 19 Sept 1913. Image c/o Trove
During the 1930s, the Finley district was struck by severe drought and farmers also experienced the Great Depression. These 2 factors caused many farmers to abandon their holdings. In 1935, construction commenced of the Mulwala Canal which brought water to the district’s rich farmland in 1939. (Wikipedia 2021)
After having a quick drive around the town, Marija and I visited the Finley Railway Precinct. Unfortunately, the museum was closed. In Railway Park, you can view the old stock siding that was used to ship live sheep to market. They have been demolished now, but extensive stock pens once stood behind the stock siding embankment.
Opposite the railway siding in Endeavour Street is Boomerang Motors. On the side of the building is a magnificent mural, the work of Damien Mitchell. It is one of several murals in Finley. We even spoke with the son of the gentleman who features on the mural.
Other murals include a ram on the side of the Tuppal Hotel and Clydesdale horses at the Finley Bowling Club.
On the side of Finley School of Arts Memorial Hall is another magnificent mural, the work of Heesco and Damien Mitchell. It was painted in 2024 to celebrate the Hall’s 120th Anniversary. (Facebook 2026)
Another work of Heesco and Mitchell can be found at the Finley Bowling Club. It was completed in 2020. (Facebook 2026)
Marija and I then visited the canoe tree in Finley Memorial Park on the Newell Highway.
We had hoped to visit the Finley Historical Museum and Log Cabin, but we were a little too early, and it was closed. We were able to view the mural on the side of the museum, which is the work of Damien Mitchell, which was completed in 2022.
Alongside the museum is the Mary Lawson Wayside Rest Area, which includes a lake. I took the photograph below of a Nankeen Night Heron, a primarily nocturnal bird.
We then drove back a short distance to the Finley murals on Newell Highway.
The silos were opened in 1926. (Trove 2026)
Above: article from The Albury Banner & Wodonga Express, Fri 3 Dec 1926. Image c/o Trove
Marija and I parked opposite the murals and operated from the 4WD, running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5 metre stainless steel ship.
Above: the activation zone at Finley silo. Image c/o SiOTA website
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK2VH
- VK4AAC
- VK2EXA
- VK3UP/M
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK2VH
- VK4AAC
- VK2EXA
- VK3UP/M
- VK3CLD
- VK3HBG
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK3DAC
References.
- Grokipedia. (2025). Grokipedia. [online] Available at: https://grokipedia.com. [Acessed 26 Mar. 2026]
- Trove. (2026). The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW : 1860 – 1927; 1929 – 1931; 1933 – 1938) – 3 Dec 1926 – p7. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/10831885?searchTerm=finley%20silo [Accessed 25 Mar. 2026].
- Wikipedia. (2021). Finley. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finley. [Accessed 26 Mar. 2026]
VK5PAS 