Sadly it was time to head home to Adelaide. Marija and I would like to thank Andrew VK6AS for his hospitality. It is always a pleasure to catch up with Andrew. We would also like to thank the organisers of PerthTech. I hope I have inspired a few more VK6 amateurs to try activating parks for VKFF.

After arriving in Adelaide Marija and I had a quick look at the new Vickers Vimy display at the Adelaide Airport. The Vickers Vimy aircraft which was flown by brothers Sir Keith and Ross Smith in the famous London to Australia air race of 1919-20, was recently moved to a new purpose built facility at the airport. 

https://www.adelaideairport.com.au/corporate/environment/aviation-heritage/

This was our last day (24th October 2022) before heading home. Marija and I headed to Freemantle and then caught the ferry over to Rottnest Island.

We were going to take some amateur radio gear over to Rottnest Island, but decided to spend the day sightseeing over there instead. Rottnest Island is a 19-square-kilometre island about 18 km west of Freemantle. The island is a popular recreational and tourist destination.

Marija and I caught the ferry back to Fremantle and whilst waiting for Hans VK6XN to pick us, we wandered around the streets of Freemantle. There are some magnificent historic buildings in ‘Freeo’.

Hans VK6XN then picked us up and we headed to the Alfred Cove Nature Reserve VKFF-1844 for an activation for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Alfred Cove Nature Reserve. Map c/o Google maps.

The park is named after the adjacent sheltered cove, Alfred Cove, in the Swan River. It was named after Alfred Waylen (b. 1805. d. 1856), an early settler, who was granted Swan Location 74, covering most of the present day Alfred Cove and Myaree. His son, Alfred Waylen was the first person born in the colony of Western Australia to qualify as a doctor.

Above:- Dr. Alfred Waylen. c/o Swan Guildford Historical Society.

The park is popular for caonoeing, kayaking, and fishing. The park contains mudflats, seagrass beds and intertidal vegetation, which provide many different habitats for a variety of animals and birds. Of these the most important are the migratory wading birds due to their international significance. These birds come to Alfred Cove from thousands of kilometres away from places as far away as Asia, Mongolia and Siberia.

The marshland is the breeding area of about 31 species of bird including the Buff-banded Rail, Spotless Crake, and Black-winged Stilt. A total of 48 species of bird have been recorded in the mud flats. The treed area of the park is home to about 36 species of bird including Galah, Striated Pardalote, and Tree Martin. Numerous raptors also call the park home including Ospreys.

Below is a view of the CBD of Perth, not far from where we were operating from.

We found a nice comfortable bench and table and ran Han’s Yaesu FT857 and end fed antenna for this activation. Both Marija and I qualified the park for the VKFF program with 10 contacts each, all on the 40m band. We had no luck this time with DX on the 20m band. It was quite a surprise to work Danny ON4ON on 40m.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK5FANA
3. VK5HS
4. VK5BJE
5. VK5CZ
6. VK3BBB
7. VK2CCP
8. VK6JQ
9. VK6GUY
10. VK6NU
11. VK2IO

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK5FANA
3. VK5HS
4. VK5BJE
5. VK6JQ
6. VK6GUY
7. VK6NU
8. VK2IO
9. VK6GC
10. VK3APJ
11. VK4SMA
12. VK4TJ
13. ON4ON

References.

1. BirdLife Western Australia, Birdwatching around Melville brouchure
2. Parks WA, 2022, <https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/alfred-cove-nature-reserve>, viewed 24th November 2022.
3. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottnest_Island>, viewed 24th November 2022.
4. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Cove,_Western_Australia>, viewed 24th November 2022.

On Sunday 23rd October 2022, Andrew VK6AS kindly loaned us his car, so after breakfast Marija and I headed up into the hills on the Toodyay Road. We wanted to have a look around Gidgegannup and also visit the old Newcastle Gaol at Toodyay.

Our first stop was the Toodyay Red Hill Convict Road Station ruins. Sadly we didn’t get to see the ruins through the scrub, but we did get to see many of the wildflowers out in bloom.

The Convict station ruins were once a substantial group of buildings made of mud bricks to house convict work crews. The Newcastle Road, later to become known as the Toodyay Road, was constructed by convicts.

We continued on to the town of Toodyay, about 85 km north-east of Perth. The town was originally known as Newcastle between 1860 to 1910. It is believed that Toodyay is derived from an aboriginal word “Dudja’ meaning ‘mist’. The town was declared a historic town by the National Trust in 1980. The Avon River flows through the town. The world’s longest white-water race is held each year on the Avon River.

We paid a visit to the Newcastle Gaol which was completed in 1864 and used as a state prison until 1909. It is one of only five remaining convict built gaols on Western Australia.

We then visited the old court house which is now used as Shire of Toodyay offices.

We then visited Pelham Reserve and lookout which overlooks the town of Toodyay. The Reserve is about 50 hectares of bushland.

It was time to get some lunch so we headed to the Cola Cafe Museum in Toodyay. The cafe is a 1950’s style Cafe which features a collection of Coca Cola memorabilla.

We then had a look at Connor’s Mill, a steam driven flour mill which was built in 1870 by local builder George Hassel for Dan Connor, a store owner.

Marija and I then drove back into Gidgegannup as we had planned to take a number of amateurs out into the field to activate parks, with Hans VK6XN and Phil VK6ADF. Sadly from around lunchtime the heavens absolutely opened up and it poured down with rain. Along the way we stopped briefly to admire the wildflowers.

As it was so wet and continually raining, we decided to cancel the park activations. The rain had also kept a lot of people away who had planned to meet us on Sunday afternoon. Instead of heading out, Hans and I showed a small group our portable setups.

We then decided to brave the weather and we visited the small but beautiful Noble Falls.

Our next stop was a very wet Lake Leschenaultia which is a former railway dam which is now a recreational lake.

We then drove back into the town of Gidgegannup, whose name originates from an aboriginal Noongar word meaning ‘place where spears are made’.

We then visited the Peter Brock memorial in honour of the motor racing legend. He was killed in 2006 whilst competing in the Targa West rally, about 3 km from the finish of the second stage of the race at Gidgegannup.

The rain had subside slightly, so Marija and I decided to activate the Walyunga National Park VKFF-0516, about 35 km north-east of Perth. The park was established in 1970 and covers an area of about 4,480 acres. Walyunga is an aboriginal word meaning ‘happy place’.

We used Hans end fed antenna and Yaesu FT857 for this activation. However, we had real problems with VSWR and could not operate on the 20m band. The VSWR was alo quite high on 40m, but we ‘boxed on’ and managed to qualify the park for VKFF with 10 contacts.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2VH
3. VK4AAC
4. VK6TB
5. VK2YK
6. VK5GA
7. VK5HS
8. VK3KAI
9. VK3GV
10. Vk5DW
11. VK5FANA

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2VH
3. VK4AAC
4. VK6TB
5. VK2YK
6. VK5GA
7. VK5HS
8. VK3KAI
9. VK3GV
10. VK5DW
11. VK5FANA
12. VK5CZ
13. VK3ZPF

We then headed back into Perth for a hot shower and headed out for tea with a number of amateurs and their wives.

References.

1. Monument Australia, 2022, <https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/sport/display/93139-peter-brock>, viewed 24th November 2022.
2. Shire of Toodyay, 2022, <https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/council/about-our-shire.aspx>, viewed 24th November 2022.
3. Western Australia.com, 2022, <https://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Attraction/Newcastle_Gaol_Museum_Toodyay>, viewed 24th November 2022.
4. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toodyay,_Western_Australia>, viewed 24th November 2022.
5. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Leschenaultia>, viewed 24th November 202.

Saturday 22nd October 2022 was the first day of PerthTech, held at the Gidgegannup Recreation Centre, Western Australia.

I delivered a presentation on the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. There were about 70 people in attendance.

It was now day three of our trip, Friday 21st October 2022. Following breakfast Mike VK6KMS picked us up from Andrew’s house and took Marija and I to the Motor Museum of Western Australia at Whiteman Park. With over 200 vehicles on display, we spent a number of hours here drooling over some of the magnificent vehicles.

We then headed back to Andrew’s house where we met up with Hans VK6XN who took Marija and I out to activate the Swan River Management Area VKFF-3007 and then the Helena River Management Area VKFF-2975.

The Swan River runs through the metropolitan area of Perth. The river was originally named Swarte Swaene-Revier by Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh in 1697, after the famous black swans of the area. 

The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River. It rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp.

We used Hans equipment for these activations, a Yaesu FT857 and an end fed antenna which was supported by a telescopic squid pole.

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB at VKFF-3007:-

1. VK2VAR
2. IZ5JMZ
3. VK2HV
4. KG5CIK
5. IK4IDF
6. VK3CAT
7. VK6KMS
8. OH1MM
9. IK1GPG
10. VK5IS
11. VK4NH
12. VK4DXA
13. VK2MET
14. VK1ADO
15. VK5HS
16. VK5PE
17. VK5BJE
18. VK6JK

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB at VKFF-3007:-

1. VK6MOA
2. VK6NAD
3. VK6VE
4. VK6MB
5. VK6TWJ/p
6. VK6JQ
7. VK3BUF
8. VK2APA

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB at VKFF-3007:-

1. VK1ACE
2. IZ5JLF
3. VK2VAR
4. IZ5JMZ
5. IW2BNA
6. VK2HV
7. KG5CIK
8. IK4IDF
9. VK3CAT
10. F1BLL
11. VK6KMS
12. OH1MM
13. IK1GPG
14. VK5IS
15. UT5PI
16. ON4VT
17. VK4NH
18. VK4DXA
19. VK2MET
20. VK1AO
21. VK5HS
22. VK5PE
23. VK5BJE
24. VK6JK
25. VK4MGL
26. ZL1TM
27. VK3ZPF
28. IW1GGR
29. VK4TJ
30. ON4ON
31. VK3APJ
32. VK4EW
33. HB9BQR
34. ZL3MR
35. VK3PF/p (VKFF-2465)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB at VKFF-3007:-

1. VK6JQ/m
2. VK6MOA
3. VK5HAA
4. VK6WCA
5. VK6NAD
6. VK6VE
7. VK6MB
8. VK6TMJ/p
9. VK3BUF
10. VK2APA/p

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB at VKFF-2975:-

1. VK6MB
2. VK4TJ
3. VK2YW
4. VK2MET
5. VK1AO
6. KG5CIK
7. ZL3MR
8. F4HZR
9. VK5HS
10. VK2YK
11. VK5GA

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB at VKFF-2975:-

1. VK6PYN
2. VK2MET
3. VK1AO

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB at VKFF-2975:-

1. VK6MB
2. VK4TJ
3. VK2YW
4. VK2MET
5. VK1AO
6. KG5CIK
7. ZL3MR
8. F4HZR
9. VK5HS
10. JF7RJM
11. VK3BBB
12. VK2CCP
13. VK2YK
14. VK5GA
15. UT5PI
16. VK3CAT
17. VK3APC
18. IZ8DFO
19. ZL1SKL
20. IW2NXI
21. F6EOC
22. VK3GJG

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB at VKFF-2975:-

1. VK6GUY
2. VK5BJE
3. VK6JDW
4. VK6MB
5. VK5HS
6. VK6LX
7. VK5FANA
8. VK6ZMS
9. VK3GJG
10. VK6GD
11. VK3PF
12. VK6IMG
13. VK2YK
14. VK5GA
15. VK6MOA
16. VK4HAT
17. VK6KHZ
18. VK2MET
19. VK1AO
20. VK3MTT
21. VK6VOX
22. VK3ZPF
23. VK6PYN
24. VK2PKT

References.

1. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_River>, viewed 23rd November 2022.
2. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_River_(Western_Australia)>, viewed 23rd November 2022.

On 20th October 2022, after breakfast, Andrew took Marija and I to a rural location near Perth where he and three other amateurs have set up a remote station. A very interesting visit.

We then headed back to Perth where we visited the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek. We spent the majority of the afternoon there enjoying the many exhibits including 35 different aircraft. The highlight was the Avro Lancaster. Of the 7,377 Avro Lancasters built, 3,736 were lost during the War. Today 17 remain in complete form. Two can be found in Australia. One in Perth, and the other at the War Memorial in Canberra.

Andrew then took us to Wireless Hill which is a 40 hectare park in the suburb of Ardross. It is the location of the former Applecross Wireless Station. The West Australian VHF Group have a clubrooms at Wireless Hill.

We then headed to the local hotel for some dinner.

References.

1. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Hill_Park>, viewed 23rd November 2022.

On the 19th October 2022, Marija and I headed to the Adelaide Airport and flew out to Perth, Western Australia, to attend PerthTech. I had a few quiet ales and some tucker in the Qantas club before boarding.

Andrew VK6AS kindly picked us up from the airport and took us to his house where we stayed for 7 nights. Many thanks Andrew for your hospitality.

Marija and I flew to Perth, Western Australia last Wednesday and spent 6 very enjoyable nights at the home of Andrew VK6AS.

On Saturday 22nd October we attended PerthTech where I delivered a presentation on the World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) program. There were about 65-70 people in attendance.

Scott VK3KJ, the President of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) and Paul VK2APA, the President of the Radio Amateur Society of Australia (RASA) were in attendance and spoke with the group. It was terrific to speak with both of these gentlemen.

On the Sunday we had planned on taking amateurs out into the field to activate some VKFF parks. Unfortunately the heavens absolutely opened up and it bucketed down with rain. It was impossible to activate. Instead, Hans VK6XN set up his portable station, and we spoke to a small group about VKFF and operating portable.

Marija and I are back home from our 6 nights in Perth. We had a brilliant time.

We attended PerthTech and delivered a presentation on WWFF/VKFF.

We stayed with Andrew VK6AS and would like to thank him very much for his hospitality.

We activated four parks:-

• Swan River Management Area VKFF-3007 – 70 QSOs
• Helena River Management Area VKFF-2975 – 60 QSOs
• Walyunga National Park VKFF-0516 – 24 QSOs
• Alfred Cove Nature Reserve VKFF-1844 – 24 QSOs
  

Thank you very much to Hans VK6XN who took us out to three parks.

In the mail in the past few days I received some QSL cards from KNLS in Alaska, re my reception of their station back in February 2022.

9715 kHz – 21st February 2022.

9540 kHz – 21st February 2022.