Station: from the Water tank

Photos taken from the Water tank

Here’s a collection of photos of Honeysuckle Creek, taken from at or near the water tank which was located on the ridge 485m SSE of the antenna. The water tank was the best place to get an overall vew of the station – so thanks to everyone who has provided photos.

(Do you have others we could add? Contact.)

The photos are in chronological order.

Other early photos can be seen in the Early Days section.

By 19 November 1965, the buildings are just beginning to take shape.

The skeletons of the Powerhouse, at left, and the Operations Building, centre-right, are in place. The circular roadway around the antenna pad can be seen at far right, but the antenna is yet to come.

This view is from the water tank on the ridge to the SSE of the station.

From the Tidbinbilla station archive. Scan and image repair by Colin Mackellar.

This photo was likely taken the same day, from a little further over.

From the Tidbinbilla station archive. Scan and image repair by Colin Mackellar.

Here, the structure of the Operations Building is looking complete, and work is about to start in the antenna. 18 March 1966.

From the Tidbinbilla station archive. Transparency scan by Colin Mackellar.

Milton Turner supplied this photo taken before the construction was complete, second half of 1966.

It is one of a series of contact prints preserved on a proof sheet. (The photo had been marked up with red texta for use, possibly in a publication. The markups have been removed.)

An unknown observer sits on a granite boulder adjacent to the area bulldozed for the water tank.

Next to the car park (where the Skylab Command Antenna would later stand), the builders offices of T H O’Connor, the Department of Works contractor, can still be seen.

The Acquisition antenna has not yet been installed at the apex of the 26 metre antenna’s quadripod.

Scan and restoration by Colin Mackellar.

Update – here is a high res scan by Glen Nagle of a larger print found in the Tidbinbilla Archives. (3.2MB)

Ian Hahn took this photo before the construction was complete, probably 1966.

The microwave relay tower at the western end of the Operations Building has not yet been constructed and the guard house (at what would be the main gate) has not yet been built. The site looks deserted – and no cars are visible. T H O’Connor’s temporary offices are gone.

The Acquisition antenna has is now in place at the apex of the 26 metre antenna.

Large, Larger. Scan: Colin Mackellar.

Hamish Lindsay took this photo about the same time as the one above by Ian Hahn.

Scan: Colin Mackellar. LE59718.

Hamish Lindsay took this telephoto view at the same time as the one above.

Scan: Colin Mackellar. LE59719.

Hamish Lindsay took this photo after the microwave tower and guard house had been added, but before before construction was finished. Most likely very early 1967 (rather than late 1966 as guessed in the PDF file below) –

Note the red truck on the antenna pad – and the builders’ huts at far left.

Large (600kb), Larger (2.1MB), Largest (6.1MB).

Photo: Hamish Lindsay. Scanned by Nevil Eyre.

Here’s an annotated version of the photo above.
Probably very early 1967.
800kb PDF file.

David Hooper (Telemetry 1967–68) took this photo.

Note the snow on the hills in the distance. The American and Australian flags are just visible. The cherrypicker stands near the base of the antenna.

Ted Barnes (who worked over the ridge at Orroral) took this photo possibly in late 1969.

Hamish Lindsay took this photo possibly late 1969.

At the far right is the temporary TV relay tower described below.

Large, Larger.

Scan by Colin Mackellar.

Hamish Lindsay took this winter photo possibly in 1969, around the time of Apollo 11, though the presence of the Near Coll Tower suggests it might have been 1970 or later.

Of special note is the tower on the far right hand side of the picture. This was the temporary guyed tower set up alongside the road to relay the Apollo 11 television from the Honeysuckle microwave tower to the AWA van parked next to the Cooma – Canberra microwave tower on Gibralter Hill, east of Williamsdale (18km away). From there, the signal went to Red Hill in Canberra, and then on to Sydney.

The Honeysuckle microwave tower didn’t have a direct view of the Williamsdale tower, hence the temporary tower was erected.

Large, Larger (2.3MB).

Hamish Lindsay took this photo sometime around 1970 or 1971.

Visible between the Operations Building and the 26 metre antenna is the Near Coll Tower.

At the far right is the temporary TV relay tower described above.

Large, Larger (1.8MB), Largest 5.6MB).

Preserved and scanned by Neil Sandford, restoration Colin Mackellar.

Here’s an annotated version of the photo above. 1.4MB PDF file.

Hamish Lindsay took this telephoto view of the 85 foot (26 metre) antenna early one cold morning in June 1972.

Note the frost on the grass at left, forming along the contours of Bill Shaw’s lawn mowing.

The Near Coll Tower is also visible at left in this photo.

Transparency by Hamish Lindsay, scan by Colin Mackellar.

In the picture below, taken a few minutes later, the antenna has moved from the stowed position.

Note the vapour rising from the airconditioning units on the side of the Operations Building and frost on the grass.

Large, Larger (2.9MB).

Transparency by Hamish Lindsay, scan by Colin Mackellar.

Another view from the same morning in June 1972.

Transparency by Hamish Lindsay, scan by Colin Mackellar.

Milton Turner provided this photo of the station showing the antennas installed for Skylab, with the Skylab Command Van was located in the car park just to the right of the Command Antenn).

Large, Larger.

See also this panorama (1.1MB) created by stitching together the above photo and another taken on the same roll of film.

Hamish Lindsay took this photo a little later – the Skylab UHF Command van is now gone.

Scan by Colin Mackellar from the 5x4 inch negative.

Hamish Lindsay took this photo of a bulldozer possibly preparing the site for the second water tank on the hill above Honeysuckle.

Scan by Colin Mackellar from the 5x4 inch negative.

Scott Hendry took this photo towards the end of the Deep Space era, around 1981.

Note how much the vegetation has grown up since the earliest photos.