VK5PAS

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Day three and the Meringur Flora and Fauna Reserve VKFF-2383.

Posted: 27 Apr 2021 08:09 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2021/04/28/day-th...rve-vkff-2383/



It was now day three of our holiday (8th April 2021). Our destination for
today was Mildura in Victoria, a drive of about 137 km from Renmark. Our
plan was to active three parks and do some sightseeing along the way. Our
first planned park activation for the day was to be the Meringur Flora
Reserve VKFF-2383 which is located about 88 km west of Mildura in
north-western Victoria.



Above:- Map showing the location of the Meringur Flora Reserve. Map c/o
Protected Planet.




Marija and I had breakfast in the motel room and then headed down to the
Renmark riverfront. Renmark is a very beautiful town and we enjoyed the
views of the mighty Murray River.




We had a quick look at the old paddle steamer Industry which is moored at
Renmark. It was built at Goolwa in 1911 and used initially for the
de-snagging of the Murray River to keep it clear for the paddle steamer
trade. By the late 1960s the Industry had become obsolete and became a
floating static museum. Between 1990 and 1995 the vessel was restored and
recommissioned as a historic passenger vessel.




Also on the riverfront is the majestic Renmark Hotel which was was
established as the first British Empire community-owned hotel in 1897.








We then headed across the Murray River to the little town of Paringa. The
town of Paringa was laid out in 1917, however it has its roots from the
property called Paringa which was established by Daniel Cudmore who had
arrived in 1837 South Australia Australia with his wife and son from
Tasmania. He was bequeathed property in Ireland and after selling it he
used the proceeds to buy land and by 1858 he had acquired a property called
Paringa.




There are various sources re the origin of the word Paringa. One is that
the name is taken from that of a large waterhole opposite the original
homestead and means whirlpool. Other sources suggest it means ;land near
or about the river, while another source states if means place at the river.




We had a look at the Black Stump at Paringa. The 600 year old River Red
Gum root stump had hung over a clay bank on the River Murray and had fallen
into the river during the 1917 flood. It was considered a navigational
hazard and permission was granted from the authorities to relocate the
stump.








Marija and I then stopped to have a look at the Paringa silos which are now
part of the Silo Art craze around Australia. The artwork features four
prominent people with local connections and is the work of artist Jack
Fran. One of those people featured is Renmark born riverboat Captain
pearl Wallace who was Australias first female riverboat captain. Also
featured is David Jones who was better known as Possum.








Marija and I then headed east out of Paringa on the Sturt Highway and we
soon reached the fruit fly roadblock at Yamba near the South
Australia/Victoria State border. When travelling west into South Australia
it is a mandatory stop at the checkpoint. It is a biosecurity checkpoint
as fruit is not permitted to be carried into South Australia. This is to
preserve the states fruit-fly-free status and has operated since 1957.
Also at this location is a large advertisement for Dunlop in the shape of a
vehicle tyre.








A little further along we stopped briefly at the South Australia/Victoria
state border.








Once in Victoria we continued east along the Sturt Highway, passing the
Murray Sunset National Park. We then turned right onto the Meringur North
Road and headed south towards the little town of Meringur which we soon
reached. It is located about 35 km east of the South Australian State
border.




The name Meringur is thought to have been derived from an Aboriginal word
describing a grey kangaroo. Meringur is located in the Millewa region of
north-western Victoria. The Millewa is a very successful grain growing
area and produces some of Australias highest quality hard grain.




The railway passing through Meringur opened in 1925 and had facilities to
handle passengers, sheep and grain. The Meringur Post Office was opened
the following year on the 2nd day of February 1926. By the 1930s Meringur
had an open air theatre, sports teams, a country rcae track, and a golf
club. In 1988 the railway line was closed.








After having a quick look around the little town of Meringur, we then
headed to the Meringur Flora Reserve which consists of various sections of
scrub around the town of Meringur.



Above:- An aerial view of the Meringur Flora Reserve. Image c/o Protected
Planet.




The Meringur Flora Reserve is about 0.97 km² in size and contains a small
block of relict semi-arid woodland.








During our visit to the park we observed a bit of birdlife including
White-winger Choughs and Apostlebirds. Both are highly social birds and
are always seen in family groups.






We set up in a small clearing on the Meringur North Road. We ran the Yaesu
FT-857d and the 20/40/80m linked dipole (inverted vee) for this
activation. We were set up and ready to go by about 2320 UTC. This was to
be a first time activation of this park for Marija and myself. This would
be the third activation for the park over the years. Nick VK3ANL activated
the park in June 2020 logging 39 QSOs, and Mike VK6MB activated the park in
September 2019 logging 45 QSOs.








First in the log for me was Peter VK3PF, followed by Rob VK2VH/VK4AAC,
followed by Daryl VK3AWA, and then Ray VK4NH. Within 7 minutes I had
contact number 10 in the log, a QSO with Robert VK2RK. The park had been
qualified for the VKFF program.




I went on to log a total of 31 stations on 40m from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, and
VK5, before callers dried up. This included a Park to Park contact with
Peter VK3TKK/p who was in the Boxwood Nature Conservation Reserve
VKFF-2053. Marija also logged Peter.








Marija then jumped into the operators chair. First up for Marija was Hans
VK5YX in the southern suburbs of Adelaide with an excellent 5/9 signal,
followed by David VK3DJC in Portland, and then Mark VK3PI in Melbourne.
Marijas 10th contact was with Barry VK5KBJ who was mobile with an excellent
5.9 signal.




Marija boxed on and logged a total of 40 contacts on 40m before callers
slowed. She was just 4 short of the 44 contacts required to qualify the
park for the global WWFF program. This included a Park to Park with Marty
VK4KC/p who was in the Good Night Scrub National Park VKFF-0206.








I then picked up the microphone again, hoping to push on and get 44 QSOs.
Adrian VK5FANA on the Yorke Peninsula was first to call me this time
around, followed by Ross VK7ALH and then Marty VK4KC/p in the Good Night
Scrub National Park VKFF-0206.




Contact number 44 soon came, with a QSO with Ivan VK5HS in the Riverland.
All up I logged 48 contacts on 40m, before handing the mic back to Marija
so she could pick up her final 4 and get 44 in the log. We decided to try
80m, so we lowered the squid pole and inserted the links for that band.




Marija then called CQ on 3.610 and this was answered by Ivan VK5HS,
followed by Hans VK5YX, Adrian VK5FANA, and then Craig VK3CRG who became
Marijas 44th QSO.




To conclude the activation I called CQ on 14.244 on the 20m band. First in
the log was another Park to Park with Marty VK4KC in Good Night Scrub,
followed by Dave VK4VCE, and finally Rob VK4HAT.








It was time for us to pack up and head off. We had 95 QSOs in the log,
including 3 Park to Park contacts.




Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-



VK3TKK/p (Boxwood Nature Conservation Reserve
VKFF-2053)VK5YXVK3DJCVK3PIVK5CZVK5MJCVK3AHRVK3PFVK3MKEV K5KBJ/mVK4NHVK4DXAZL4TY/VK4VK4HNSVK2HHAVK3AWAVK3MABVK4FDJLVK3EJVK3ZD/pVK3SRCVK3YSPVK3FOWLVK2KMIVK5FANAVK2IOVK5FBVK3PFVK 4KC/p
(Good Night Scrub National Park
VKFF-0206)VK5HSVK3MCKVK2VWVK2HFIVK2VKVK4VCEVK3WTXVK2XTC/pVK3OFVK3BBBVK2CCP




Marija worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-



VK5HSVK5YXVK5FANAVK3CRG




I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-



VK3PFVK2VHVK4AAC/2VK3AWAVK4NHVK4DXAZL4TY/VK4VK3TKK/p (Boxwood Nature
Conservation Reserve
VKFF-2053)VK3ARHVK2RKVK1DIVK3SQVK2IOVK4HATVK3KTTVK3PIVK 3MCKVK4HMIVK3EJVK4BXXVK4/NN3ZVK5CZVK3HBGVK4FDJLVK2HHAVK4HNSVK3CUVK5KBJ/mVK3MABVK3GBVK3APSVK5FANAVK7ALHVK4KC/p
(Good Night Scrub National Park VKFF-0206)VK3MKEVK3OFVK3SQVK2DGVK4NHV
K4DXAZL4TY/VK4VK3KBCVK2LXVK5HSVK3CRGVK5HWVK5WEVK5YX




I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-



VK4KC/p (Good Night Scrub National Park VKFF-0206)VK4VCEVK4HAT




Time was pushing on, so we packed up and headed to the Millewa Pioneer Park
at Meringur which has a very impressive collection of old Mallee
buildings. This is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area and is
only a gold coin donation. The park was established in 1986 and is run by
a voluntary committee.








We even spotted some old radios during our visit to the Pioneer Park.























References.



A Compendium of Place Names of South Australia, 2021,
https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/,
viewed 28th April 2021ABC, 2021,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-24/brush-with-fame-for-riverland-characters-on-paringa-silo-art/13183836,
viewed 28th April 2021Discover Murray, 2021,
http://www.murrayriver.com.au/meringur/millewa-pioneer-park/, viewed 28th
April 2021Protected Planet, 2021, https://www.protectedplanet.net/314742,
viewed 28th April 2021Renmark Hotel, 2021,
https://www.renmarkhotel.com.au/about/, viewed 28th April 2021.Victorian
Places Names, 2021, https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/meringur, viewed
28th April 2021Wikipedia, 2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamba,_South_Australia, viewed 28th April
2021Wikipedia, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meringur, viewed 28th
April 2021