vk5pas

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Totness Recreation Park VKFF-1754

Posted: 14 Mar 2017 10:17 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2017/03/15/totnes...k-vkff-1754-2/


Late yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 14th March 2017) I activated the Totness
Recreation Park VKFF-1754, with a view to logging a few Victorian (VK3)
stations for the Victorian Local Government Award Challenge, and hopefully
working a little bit of DX. Â*As it turned out, I did manage to log a number
of VK3 stations, but the DX was virtually non existant.

Totness Recreation Park is located just 2.5 km west of my home QTH and
about 35 km east of Adelaide. Â*I have activated this park twiceÂ*in the
past. Â*For information on those activations, please see my previous posts.

https://vk5pas.org/2016/08/03/totnes...ark-vkff-1754/

https://vk5pas.org/2016/08/03/totnes...ark-vkff-1754/


Above:- Map showing the location of the Totness Recreation Park in the
Adelaide Hills. Â*Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
The Totness Recreation Park is 41 hectares (101 acres) in size and was
established in 1970. Â*It is divided into two sections by the busy South
Eastern Freeway (the main highway between Adelaide and Melbourne). Â*The
northern section consists of 9 hectares (22 acres) of scrub and a dam. Â*The
southern section comprises 32 hectares (79 acres) of scrub. Â*The park is
surrounded by rural properties which are primarily used for grazing.
The park consists of Messmate Stringybark and Manna Gum woodlands, which at
one time prior to European colonisation were common throughout the Mount
Lofty Ranges. Â*More than 180 native plants species have been recorded
within the park. Â*Plant species of conservation significance recorded
within the park include the state rare Manna Gum and the regionally rare
Spider Orchid.
A variety of native animals and birds call the park home. Â*This includes
the Western Grey kangaroo, Common Ringtail Possum, Short-beaked Echidna,
and Koala. Â*Various bat species can also be found in the park. Â*A total of
36 species of native bird have been recorded in the park, including the
rare Shining Bronze cuckoo and declining woodland birds including the
white-throated treecreeper, scarlet robin and Bassian thrush.
Introduced species that can be found in the park include Fallow
deer. Â*During my previous visits to the park I have always seen deer, and
this occasion was no different, with two deer sighted on my way home.
The park takes its name from Totness in Devon in the United Kingdom. Â*The
southern section of Totness was originally granted in 1854 to John Dunn
(1802-1894), a parliamentarian, philanthropist, and a prominent citizen of
Mount Barker.
John Dunn. Â*Image courtesy of Wikipedia
The area around the dam was leased by the District Council of Mount Barker
for wood and bark harvesting. The bark of the golden wattle Acacia
pycnantha was taken for use in the Mount Barker tannery for tanning
leather. Â*While the messmate stringybark Eucalyptus obliqua trees were cut
for firewood for use in steam boilers and brick kilnds
The land that is now Totness Recreation Park was formerly the property of
the South Australian Railways and the Department of Transport. Â*On the 15th
January 1970 the land was transferred to the (former) National Parks
Commission and dedicated for reserve purposes, under the National Parks Act
1966. Â*Totness Recreation Park was constituted on 22nd January 1972 under
the new National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 to protect natural habitat and
provide recreational opportunities for the local community.
During the construction of the South Eastern Freeway during the mid 1960s,
the park was dissected into two uneven portions totalling 41 hectares. Â*The
dam in the northern section of the park was constructed in 1884 and was
used up until 1944 to supply the steam locomotives travelling to and from
Victor Harbour until 1955. Â*Water was piped to an outlet at the Mount
Barker Railway Station, approximately five kilometres away. Â*Until the
Mannum to Adelaide pipeline was completed in 1955, the dam served as a
water sourced for the township of Mount Barker. Â*Today, you can fish for
Redfin in the dam. Â*The southern section of the park was totally burnt out
during the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.

Above:- Construction of the South Eastern Freeway in the Adelaide Hills, c.
1968. Â*Image courtesy of http://www.ozroads.com.au
In 2006, the Minister for Environment and Conservation released a
discussion paper on a review of the reserve classification system in South
Australia. Â*Under the model proposed, Totness would become a Conservation
Park. Â*However, it appears that this paper has not progressed very far.


Above:- Aerial shot showing the proximity of the park to my home
QTH. Â*Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

I operated from the southern section of the park, in my normal spot off
Haines Fire Track, which runs off Liebelt Summer Track. Â*The road is
signposted that local traffic only is allowed. Â*However I have never been
quizzed by the authorities. Â*The road is dirt and is quite steep and rocky
in parts, but is passable in a conventional vehicle.


Above:- Aerial shot of the park showing my operating location. Â*Image
courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The more I go to parks, the more I come to the conclusion that the
Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, do not want people
in their parks. Â*A significant number of parks that I have been to are
often locked up by gates with multiple padlocks and no pedestrian access
other than climbing over barbed wire fences. Â*Totness does have a
pedestrian access point in the southern section. Â*But as you can see by the
photo below, it is not designed for people unless they are of skinny
build. Â*Certainly not user friendly for the frail or handicapped. Â*During
my visit to Totness, I spoke to some mountain bikers who had to carefully
lift their bikes over the gate to each other. Â*And yet Totness is declared
to be a recreation park.



I ran my normal portable set up during this activation, which consisted of
the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts output and the 20/40/80m linked dipole
supported on the 7 metre heavy duty telescopic squid pole. Â*It was a warm
afternoon, still being about 29Â*deg C at 4.15 p.m. South Australian local
time at the time of setting up. Â*There is a nice cleared area between the
fenceline and the scrub.





I put out a few CQ calls on 7.144 on 40m, and it wasnt long before these
were answered by Les VK5KLV with a very strong 5/9 plus from Port Augusta
in the north of South Australia. Â*This was followed by Trevor VK5TW in the
Adelaide Hills foothills, and then Matt VK5MLB in the southern suburbs of
Adelaide. Â*Both Trevor and Matt were 5/9, and this was a promising sign for
logging VK5 stations during the activation. Â*Conditions locally of late
have been quite poor on 40m.






I logged a total of 27 stations on 40m, from VK1, VK2, VK3, and VK5. Â*This
included 11 VK3 stations and one or two new Shires to go towards my
tally. Â*Unfortunately I had to leave 7.144 as a VK2 net started up on 7.146
and one or two of the stations there were bleeding over onto 7.144.

I then headed off to 20m hoping to log some DX, following on from my
successful activation of Mount Loft/Cleland Conservation Park on
Friday. Â*But that was not to be. Â*No DX was logged. Â*In fact I only logged
2 stations, Hans VK6XN, and Andrew VK6AS. Â*Despite numerous CQ calls I had
no further takers. Â*I tuned across the 20m band and only heard 2 or 3
European stations coming in on the long path, and they were quite
weak. Â*What a difference a few days can make.

I then called CQ on 3.610 on 80m, where I logged 5 stations from VK3 and
VK5. Â*Despite conditions being quite good on 80m my CQ calls went
unanswered, so I headed back to have one last listen on 40m before heading
home for dinner. Â*I logged a further 20 stations on 7.144 from VK2, VK3,
VK4, VK5, and VK7, including my lovely wife Marjia VK5FMAZ who was 5/9 plus
on ground wave to Totness.






Prior to going QRT I had a quick tune across the band and found Dom
E51KTAÂ*in the South Cook Islands calling CQ on 7.170. Â*Doms signal was 5/9
and I was fortunate to find him with very few callers. Â*I also heard T2AQ
from Tuvalu working split on 7.159 with a huge pile up from Japan, North
America and VK. Â*I gave half a dozen calls, but sadly could not be heard
amongst the dog pile.

After a few hours in the park I had a total of 55 contacts in the log. Â*The
highlight of the activation was to log E51KTA on 40m. Â*I also had some
interaction with a bushwalker and a couple of mountain bikers. Â*I took some
time out to explain to them the hobby of amateur radio and the parks
programs. Â*They seemed to be very interested.






I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK5KLV
VK5TW
VK5MLB
VK2HOT
VK5RM
VK4VXX/2
VK3FSPG
VK3MPR
VK3FRAB
VK3FCMC
VK3MLU
VK2IO
VK2XSE/m
VK3GGG
VK3PMG
VK5FAKV
VK3MH
VK2NEO
VK3RU
VK3MCK
VK2XXM
VK1DI
VK5NFT/m
VK3OHM
VK3SIM
VK3FOGY
VK2KDP
VK5FANA
VK3FRJD/m
VK7JON
VK4GSF
VK5FMAZ
VK7DW
VK2PEP
VK3PNF/m
VK2SR
VK3FSLG
VK3FOTO
VK2YES/p
VK3ZLD
VK2NWB
VK2FSAV
VK4HNS
VK2IFT
VK2ND
VK2QM
VK6AV/p
E51KTA


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

VK6XN
VK6AS


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK3GGG
VK3PMG
VK3VBI
VK5FANA
VK5FMWW


References.

Government of South Australia, 2007, Totness Recreation Park Management Plan

Wikipedia, 2017,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totnes...Parkgt;,viewed 15th March
2017