My next silo for 26th April 2023, was the Eudunda silo VK-EDA5. Eudunda is located about 110 km north of the city of Adelaide.
Above:- Map showing the location of Eudunda. Map c/o Google Maps.
After leaving Kapunda I headed north on the Thiele Highway. The highway extends from Hewett north of Adelaide to Morgan in the Riverland region of South Australia. It was named after famous author Colin Thiele who lived the majority of his life in the towns along the route of the Highway.
Above:- Colin Thiele. Image c/o https://portal.eudunda.au/
Much of the Thiele Highway follows the route of the old Morgan railway line, also known as the North-West Bend railway. The first section of this now unused railway line opened from Gawler north of Adelaide. It was constructed to service the copper mining activities at Kapunda and was opened on the 13th day of August 1860. On the 23rd day of September 1878, it was extended to Morgan in the Riverland region to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport.
As I approached the town of Eudunda, I stopped briefly on the hill near the Curio Road intersection, to enjoy a view of the town. The painted silos were quite visible.
The town name of Eudunda is believed to originate from the name of a spring to the west of the town which still flows to this day, The spring was known by the local aboriginal people as judandakawi. which is believed to mean ‘sheltered water’. Alternative translations appear as Eudundacowi, Eudandakawi, or Eudundacowie. Local theories suggest that German pronunciation of the letter j led to the current pronunciation.
The earliest known European occupation of the Eudunda area was in the late 1830s with overlapping at Narcoota and the Narcoota Track. Pastoralists soon followed with large pastoral runs being taken up for sheep grazing. This included Lachlan McBean, Frederick Hansborough Dutton (b. 1812. d. 1890), and William Russell.
Above:- Frederick Dutton. Image c/o Wikipedia.
In March 1838, four young men, all aged in their twenties and all livestock importers, formed an exploration party in Adelaide with the intention of being the first to bring livestock from New South Wales to South Australia, following the Murray River. They were seeking to find a viable route through the Mount Lofty Ranges between Adelaide and the Murray River. These pioneers were John Hill (b. 1810. d. 1860), William Wood (b. 1813. d. 1885) and Charles Willis (b. 1815. d. 1886).
After leaving Adelaide the three men travelling on horseback with packhorses, travelled through the Barossa Valley, naming Cockatoo Calley, before continuing northeast through Nuriootpa to Eudunda. They continued through the scrub to the east of Eudunda to Morgan, and then back.
Above:- Part of an article from the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, Sat 17 Mar 1838. Image c/o Trove.
During the late 1860s, a wine store and bar was established on the site of Eudunda Hotel Motel, by a Quaker, Henry Watson. His bar serviced passing stockmen. The founder of Eudunda was John Henry Hannan, who owned the land that was surveyed and divided for sale. In 1874 the first trading general store in Eudunda, Appelt’s General Store in South Terrace, was opened by Friedrich Gotthilf Ernst Appelt. In 1878 railway services were introduced to Eudunda with the opening of the North-West Bend Railway to Morgan.
In 1895 a group of farmers and other interested parties, attended a meeting at Mann’s Hotel (the Eudunda Hotel) to discuss the sale of firewood, predominantly from the Myrray Flats. This was the foundation of the state-wide store franchise, Eudunda Farmer’s Co-Operative Society, which later formed Eudunda Farmers.
Eudunda has always had a strong German culture due to the early settlers. During the First World War, anti-German sentiment ran high through Australian society, and this resulted in a series of events in the little town of Eudunda.
In January 1915, local Lutheran Pastor, Pastor T. Nickel, was arrested for having communicated with the then Attorney-General of South Australia, Hermann Homburg, regarding matters of naturalization. On the 12th day of February 1915, Citizen’s Forces raided the homes and businesses of local German-born and Australian-born residents. Sentries were posted outside the town stopping travellers in and out.
Above:- Article from the Border Watch, Sat 16 Jan 1915. Image c/o Trove
Eudunda has a number of historic buildings and I took a few minutes to stroll up and down the main street.
World-renowned author Colin Thiele was born at Mutter Knabe’s Nursing Home in Eudunda on the 16th day of November 1920. Thiele wrote more than 100 books, which often described life in rural Australia, particularly the Eudunda, Barossa Valley, and Murray River/Coorong regions of South Australia. Several of his books have been made into films or television series, including Sun on the Stubble, The Fire in the Stone, Blue Fin and Storm Boy.
Eudunda once had a thriving railway station which was located on the Morgan railway line from 1878 until it closed. From 1914, it was the junction station for a branch running north past Point Pass to Robertstown. Today the beautiful old Eudunda railway station remains intact sitting behind a wire fence, opposite the silos.
Below is a great video on the old railway line from Eudunda to Robertstown.
The Eudunda silos were painted by artist Sam Brooks and were completed in September 2021. The murals feature children reading Colin Thiele’s book including a young Ngadjuri aboriginal child. Brooks said that his work “tells a story about two children, sharing stories about their past and their culture. These two children use these local books as a way to teach each other about their history, culture and connections to the area.”
More information on the silos can be found on the Australian Silo Art Trail website.
Below is a great video of the silos as seen by air in a drone.
I set up in the car park adjacent to the silos and operated from the 4WD, running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 (1.5 m stainless steel whip). It was great to get four World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) park activators in the log.
Above:- Map showing the activation zone at the Eudunda silo. Map c/o SiOTA website.
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK5MAZ
- VK3FLAK
- VK4EMP/p (Dthinna Dthinnawan National Park VKFF-0587)
- VK3PF
- VK4MUD/p (Warrumbungle National Park VKFF-0520)
- Vk3ZSC
- VK5FANA
- VK2MOE/p (Wollemi National Park VKFF-0544)
- VK5GY
- VK5HS
- VK3APJ
- VK5YP
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK7XX
- VK1MAL
- VK4MUD/p (Warrumbungle National Park VKFF-0520)
References.
- Aussie Towns, 2023, <https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/eudunda-sa>, viewed 16th May 2023.
- Australian Silo Art Trail, 2023, <https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/eudunda>, viewed 16th May 2023.
- Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiele_Highway>, viewed 16th May 2023.
- Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_railway_line>, viewed 16th May 2023.
- Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudunda>, viewed 16th May 2023.
- Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Thiele>, viewed 16th May 2023.
VK5PAS 