W8DFL QSL Cards - 5/23/2011
A day away from the leg! Huzzah!We go on voyage to different parts of the old British Empire. All of today's cards start with a V which is where the rest of the Commonwealth ended up. This will break up into three different areas today: Canada (more specifically Newfoundland), the Caribbean and finally Australia.
Why this one? What's not to like about the idyllic beach scene from down under? Even the name of the place sounds like some place to kick back: Shelly Beach, Queensland. I can see myself on a chair there with an umbrella reading a book watching the Pacific Ocean lapping at the shore. Now think of that in February in the winter -- when it's summer down there. :drink: :sun: :chic: You can tell why the Tourism Bureau pays for these cards!I am confused about the AX4 that's crossed out. AX4 is a special even call prefix that you can get for Australia. Actually AX is and 4 is the region code for it. There's no reference to what the special event would be. Anyone know?
I'm just including a card from Tasmania so I can link to the slightly NSFW (It's on YouTube so it's not even R-rated) song from Amanda Palmer: Map of Tasmania.
- Satellite view of Tasmania
In any case... moving on to the Caribbean. There's been a lot of political change there. Here's a place that had a lot of change in general though:
Montserrat. The little island has gone through a lot of change over the past century. Even before then it has changed hands more often than most of the places I've read about. Spain in 1493, England in 1632, France in 1782, the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1958 (under British rule), the West Indies Federation from '58-62 (still in the Commonwealth however).
When the QSL card was sent out it had recently (1962 on) rejoined as part of Great Britain again.
The political stuff is what they write articles about in dry newspapers. The next few decades brought a few big disasters: in 1995 the volcano on the south end of the island erupted destroying much of the populated areas of the island. A look at Google Maps shows roads that used to exist. The names aren't even on them any more. Ghost roads.
The last one is from someplace I spent the night a few years back:
Corner Brook, NL. That's where I spent the first night I even spent in Newfoundland. I don't recall the exact hotel at the moment, but I remember it was after a long dark ride across the Rock after I got off the ferry.
I want to go back to Newfoundland and Labrador. With a better outcome obviously. It's a beautiful place. Corner Brook is just a stone's throw from Gros Morne, one of the singularly most beautiful places I've ever seen. :-) <sigh/>
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| Call | Alt | Country | City | Post code | Date | Band | Mode | Comments | |
| VK4EF | Australia | Brisbane, QLD | Jun 19, 1969 | 20 | Fone | ||||
| AX4QM | VK4QM | Australia | Shelly Beach, QLD | 4551 | May 15, 1972 | 20 | SSB | ||
| VK5CV | Australia | Henley Beach, SA | Apr 27, 1967 | 20 | SSB | ||||
| VK5WA | Australia | North Adelaide, SA | Apr 27, 1967 | 20 | SSB | ||||
| VK6KK | Australia | Lesmurdie, WA | Apr 23, 1971 | 20 | SSB | ||||
| VK7AZ | Australia | Bellerive, TAS | Apr 10, 1969 | 20 | SSB | ||||
| VK7GC | VK0AS, VK4SI, VK9GC | Australia | Hobart, TAS | 7001 | Sep 22, 1969 | 20 | SSB | ||
| VO1BV | Canada | Harbour Grace, NL | Mar 12, 1959 | 10 | Fone | Went by there in my travels | |||
| VO1FA | Canada | Corner Brook, NL | Jan 1, 1959 | 10 | Fone | Says 10MC, but is 10M | |||
| VP1HA | Belize | El Cayo | Apr 6, 1959 | 10 | Fone | British Honduras | |||
| VP2AC | Antigua | May 29, 1968 | 20 | SSB | Ex. British West Indies | ||||
| VP2AR | Antigua | Feb 2, 1960 | 10 | AM | Ex. British West Indies | ||||
| VP2KT | St. Kitts | Feb 9, 1972 | 20 | SSB | Ex. British West Indies | ||||
| VP2LI | St. Lucia | Feb 4, 1973 | 20 | SSB | Ex. British West Indies | ||||
| VP2MY | Montserrat | Mar 5, 1972 | 10 | SSB | |||||
| VP5NB | Turks & Caicos Islands | Grand Turk Island | May 9, 1970 | 10 | SSB | ||||
| VP5WB | Jamaica | Montego Bay | Sep 29, 1959 | 10 | Fone | ||||
| VP7BE | Bahamas | San Salvador Island | Oct 31, 1959 | 10 | Fone | ||||
| WA2HUU-V01 | Canada | Argentia, NL | Jan 24, 1960 | 10 | AM | ||||
| WB8JEY-VP2S | St. Vincent | Palm Island | Jan 9, 1976 | 20 | SSB | Obs. '81, now J8 |