Walpeup Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2471 and Walpeup silo VK-WLP3

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Our next activation for Friday 17th October 2025, was the Walpeup Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2471 and the Walpeup silo VK-WLP3.

Walpeup is a small town located about 347 km east of Adelaide and about 30 km west of Ouyen/

Walpeup is pronounced wol’pee’UP. Walpeup is derived from an Aboriginal word with several reported meanings, including a stumpy-tailed lizard, another is an indigenous acacia, while another source suggests ‘big smoke’. (Malleehighway.com.au 2025) (Victorian Places 2014) (Walpeup & Dist Comm Plan 2023)

In 1909, a store was opened at Walpeup by Ben Oke. In 1911, the Walpeup shire was proclaimed, with the administrative centre being in Ouyen. Council meetings alternated between Ouyen and Murrayville. On the 3rd day of June 1912, the Walpeup Primary School opened in the ‘Little White Hall’. In 1914, a one-room school building was built, and in 1927, a second room was added. The school was closed in 2015. The Walpeup South State School No. 3929, also known as Hungry Hut, was opened in 1912 and closed in 1951. On the 16th day of December 1912, the post office was opened. Matchett’s brick store was opened in 1918 and was also utilised as a post office. Also in 1918, the Bank of Victoria was opened, and in 1923, the Walpeup Memorial Hall was opened. (Mildura Council 2013) (Victorian Places 2014) (Wikipedia 2024)

Above:- Walpeup township, c. 1911. Image c/o Museums Victoria.

By 1920, Walpeup was a thriving community with a population of about 400 people. The town had a general store, a blacksmith, a butcher, a bank branch and several other businesses. (Victorian Places 2014)

By the early 1930s, the Mallee region was growing about 45% of Victoria’s wheat. There was a desire by local farmers to have a research farm established that was specifically devoted to Mallee conditions. The Walpeup Research Station was opened in 1932 and closed in December 2009. (Victorian Places 2014) (Walpeup & Dist Comm Plan 2023)

The Walpeup silos were painted in June 2023 by Julian Clavijo and Camilo Delgado. They depict the story of Trooper Harold Thomas Bell. (Australiansiloarttrail.com 2022)

Harold Thomas Bell was born in 1901 at Walpeup. He was just 16 years old when the First World War broke out. He travelled to Mildura and enlisted with the Light Horse Regiment, lying about his age, name and his family circumstances. He claimed to be 21 years old and gave his name as Harold Thomas Wickham. (Australiansiloarttrail.com 2022)

Above:- The attestation document of Harold Thomas Bell @ Harold Thomas Wickham. Image c/o ancestry.com.au

On the 22nd day of June 1917, he left Australia and arrived in Egypt about 6 weeks later. He was subsequently selected for the Hotchkiss machine gun section. On the 28th day of October 1917, he was involved in a battle near the town of Beersheva. He was shot in the leg and critically wounded. He died the following day and was laid to rest in the Beersheba War Cemetery. (Australiansiloarttrail.com 2022)

A telegram was dispatched to Harold’s only living uncle, recorded on the enlistment forms, to inform him of Harold’s death. 

Above:- the telegram sent to Thomas Bell. Image c/o National Archives of Australia

Upon receiving the telegram, Thomas Bell replied:

“I don’t have a nephew named Harold. I do have a son by that name, but he couldn’t be in the Army, he’s only 16.”

Tragedy was to strike the family twice. Less than a year following Harold’s death, his father received another telegram to advise of the death of his other son, Samuel. (Australiansiloarttrail.com 2022)

The Walpeup Nature Conservation Reserve is about 177 hectares in size and was established on the 1st day of May 1979. (CAPAD 2024)

Above: the boundaries of the Walpeup Nature Conservation Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth

The park consists ot typical mallee scrub.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3WSG
  2. VK3PF
  3. VK1AD
  4. VK3UP/P
  5. VK3APJ
  6. VK5WU
  7. VK3ARM/P
  8. VK5FANA
  9. VK2SVN/P
  10. VK5CZ
  11. VK5XE

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK1AO/P (VKFF-2533)
  2. VK2MET/P (VKFF-2533)
  3. VK6XL
  4. VK4SMA/P (VKFF-0471)
  5. VK4SOE/P (VKFF-0471)
  6. VK4COA (VKFF-0471)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3WSG
  2. VK3PF
  3. VK1AD
  4. VK3UP/P
  5. VK3APJ
  6. VK5WU
  7. VK3ARM/P
  8. VK5FANA
  9. VK2SVN/P
  10. VK5CZ
  11. VK5XE
  12. VK3LOC

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK4EW
  2. VK2VW
  3. VK2HFI
  4. VK2AKA
  5. VK2BUG
  6. VK1AO/P (VKFF-2533)
  7. VK2MET/P (VKFF-2533)
  8. VK4SMA/P (VKFF-0471)
  9. VK4SOE/P (VKFF-0471)
  10. VK4COA (VKFF-0471)

References.

  1. Australiansiloarttrail.com. (2022). \r\n \n Walpeup Silo Art\n \r\n. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/walpeup. [Accessed 22 Nov. 2025].
  2. ‌Malleehighway.com.au. (2025). Walpeup, Victoria. [online] Available at: https://www.malleehighway.com.au/html/walpeup.html [Accessed 22 Nov. 2025].
  3. ‌Mildura Rural City Council, 2023, Walpeup and District Community Plan 2023-2028
  4. Mildura Rural City Council, 2023, Mildura (Former Shire of Walpeup) Heritage Study Stage 2
  5. Victorianplaces.com.au. (2014). Walpeup | Victorian Places. [online] Available at: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/walpeup [Accessed 22 Nov. 2025]‌
  6. Wikipedia Contributors (2024). Walpeup. Wikipedia.‌

Lameroo silo VK-LMO5

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Our next activation for Friday, 17th October 2025, was the Lameroo silo VK-LMO5 for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program. Marija and I have previously activated this silo, but we wanted to put it on the air again, as the silo art here is amazing.

Lameroo is located in the Mallee region of South Australia, about 200 km east of the city of Adelaide, and about 40 km west of the South Australia and Victoria border.

Above:- Map showing the location of Lameroo in South Australia. Map c/o Google Maps

The first European pastoralist in the area was William Butcher, who in 1873, took out pastoral lease no. 2122. The area was then known as Winike Berick, New S.E. District. It is believed that Winike Berick is a corruption of the Aboriginal words byrlung byrleck, meaning ‘the sea’. It was reported that in 1840, a group of European settlers were travelling through the ‘Long Desert’ with their sheep, and that whilst camping, a well was sunk. Beautiful sea shells were found at the bottom of the well. An aboriginal man named Kropingeri told the settlers that during the life of his great-grandfather, Goorapee, the area was covered by the sea. (Place Names SA 2012) (s.l.s.a. n.d)

The Aboriginal name for the land in the Lameroo region was wauwauwe, meaning ‘many kangaroos.’ The Europeans called the area Wow Wow Plain or Wowell. In 1884, a well was dug at Wow Wow Plain. A monument for this can be found in Lameroo. (s.l.s.a. n.d)

The first settler in the district, following the survey, was Thomas Leckie. In 1896, he took up a block of about 450 acres, about 1 km from the current Lameroo township. Leckie was born in August 1848 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. He emigrated to Australia in 1852 with his parents and two siblings aboard the ‘Marco Polo‘. By 1874, he had arrived in South Australia. Leckie was initially employed at Coonalpyn Station before moving to Lameroo. (ancestry 2016) (s.l.s.a. n.d)

Above: Thomas Leckie. Image c/o ancestr.com.au

Leckie died in November 1919 at Lameroo. Following his death, The Advertiser reported the following:

“Mr. Leckie took up absolutely the first block in the district, an area of 450 acres, which he cleared and cultivated under extreme difficulties. He was the only dweller in the wilderness of Mallee, his nearest white neighbour being about 6 miles distant. His faith in the district as an agricultural area was unwavering, and it was never shaken up to the time of his death. It was he who blazed the trail into Pinnaroo lands, and it was through his faith and courage and his determination not to suffer defeat that the district became the producing centre it is today…” (Trove 2025)

The town of Lameroo was proclaimed on the 17th day of November 1904. (s.l.s.a. n.d)

The town was named Lameroo at the suggestion of J. McL. Johnston, an Inspector in the Post and Telegraph Service. Jhnston had worked on the Overland Telegraph Line, and whilst in Darwin, he had heard of Lameroo Beach, and liked the sound of the word. Johnston attended a meeting in 1904 of local settlers, and he suggested the name and which was subsequently adopted. (Sydney Morning Herald 2004)

The railway was declared open on the 8th day of September 1906, and the first trains arrived at Lameroo with passengers and goods. Regular train services to Lameroo brought other settlers, building materials, and machinery. (Mallee Highway 2024)

Lameroo is home to singer and entertainer Julie Moncrieff Anthony AM OBE.

The bulk grain silo (wheat) opened in Lameroo for the 1959-60 grain harvest. It was the first grain silo outside of Port Adelaide in the Eastern Division. The barley silo opened in 1964. (Discover Murray 2024)

The Lameroo silos are part of the Australian silo art trail. The art on the first silo was completed in April 2024 and is the work of Sam Bates @ Smug. The second silo was completed in May 2025 and is the work of Smug. (Australiansiloarttrail.com, 2024) (Viterra.com.au 2025)

The artwork on the first silo features a Mallee Farmer.

The second silo features a young woman with a baby in her arms, looking out into a field of grain being harvested at sunset. (Viterra.com.au 2025)

Below is an excellent video from YouTube with drone footage of the two silos.

Marija and I parked alongside the first silo and operated from the 4WD. We ran the Icom IC7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 with the 1.5 metre stainless steel whip.

Above: the activation zone at Lameroo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3PF
  2. VK5WU
  3. VK3ZSC
  4. VK3CJN
  5. VK3QHU
  6. VK1AO/P (VKFF-1381)
  7. VK2MET/P (VKFF-1381)
  8. VK2VAR
  9. VK2GOM
  10. VK3WSG
  11. VK3VIN
  12. VK5AYL

Marija worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK1AO/P (VKFF-1381)
  2. VK2MET/P (VKFF-1381)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

  1. VK3PF
  2. VK5WU
  3. VK3ZSC
  4. VK3CJN
  5. VK3QHU
  6. VK1AO/P (VKFF-1381)
  7. VK2MET/P (VKFF-1381)
  8. VK2VAR
  9. VK2GOM
  10. VK3WSG
  11. VK3VIN
  12. VK3SQ
  13. VK3JT
  14. VK2BD
  15. VK2DA
  16. VK1DA
  17. VK5AYL
  18. VK3ALF/P

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

  1. VK1AO/P (VKFF-1381)
  2. VK2MET/P (VKFF-1381)
  3. VK2IO

References.

  1. ancestry (2016). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Ancestry.com.au. Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/ [accessed 17 Nov. 2025]
  2. ‌Australiansiloarttrail.com. (2024). Lameroo Silo Art. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/lameroo. [accessed 17 Nov. 2025]
  3. ‌Discover Murray, 2024, An historical look of the first 100 years of Lameroo, viewed 17th Nov. 2025.
  4. Manning, G. 2012, A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia
  5. published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia. [online] Available at: https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/ [accessed 17 Nov. 2025]
  6. ‌Southern Mallee District Council, 2024, Mallee Highway Touring Route, Lameroo S.A., [Accessed 17 Nov. 2025].
  7. The Sydney Morning Herald. (2004). Lameroo. [online] Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lameroo-20040208-gdkqjv.html [Accessed 17 Nov. 2025].
  8. ‌Trove. (2025). THE PIONEER OF LAMEROO. – DEATH OF MR. LECKIE. – The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931) – 17 Nov 1919. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5643454 [Accessed 17 Nov. 2025].
  9. Viterra.com.au. (2025). Lameroo landscape transformed with second silo art project. [online] Available at: https://www.viterra.com.au/media/news/2025/lameroo-landscape-transformed-with-second-silo-art-project [Accessed 17 Nov. 2025].
  10. ‌‌Wikipedia Contributors (2025). Lameroo. Wikipedia.‌