Exploring Chiltern, Vic

Saturn Antennas visit Chiltern and enjoy the view from the brewery

Saturn Antennas visit Chiltern and enjoy the view from the brewery

by Peter and Margaret Grant, Saturn Antennas

When we began the year with our theme of ‘History’, I never imagined it would be so hard to pick a town to write about. It’s hard only in the way of “which one do we choose”? Do I tell you of our great time discovering the past in Croydon or Mareeba or Chiltern? I tossed a coin and decided on Chiltern in Victoria. I suppose next month will be the same.

The settlement of Chiltern on the banks of the Black Dog Creek was proclaimed a town in 1862 with grazing being their chief industry. As with many other towns in Victoria in that era, gold mining boosted the population to around 20,000 in the early 1900s.

On our ramblings up the main street, we meandered in and out of the beautifully-kept old buildings – Dow’s Pharmacy, Chiltern Garage, Gilmour’s Corner Store, the Athenaeum Museum to name a few.

We could see why Chiltern had been used as a movie set for a number of major films such as Walt Disney’s “Ride a Wild Pony”. We loved our quiet investigation of all the memorabilia in  the Athenaeum Museum.

When we watched the local volunteer polish the beautiful timber floor with a 1950s polisher in good working order, we were transported back in time to the weekly task done by our mums. Wow! And the knowledge she had of the town was amazing.

Yes, Chiltern is right in the heart of the wine region. We are not wine drinkers, so when we found a brochure on the Black Dog Brewery, Peter’s eyes lit up. While sipping our beer and enjoying the view, we decided that we just had to share our memorable step back in time.

If you have a chance, venture off the Hume highway and enjoy the delights of Chiltern.

LTE filter

While on the subject of travelling in northern Victoria, let me touch on one very important aspect of TV reception in this area – TV interference from phone towers.

In 2015, the phone towers that were turned on, using the frequency that used to be TV frequency, interfered greatly with all antennas that had an amplifier boosting that same frequency. All caravan antennas made prior to this date will most likely be affected by the phone tower in Chiltern. But all the Saturn Antennas made after December 2014 have the proper amplifier built into them.

We pride ourselves on keeping up with changing technology. There is a solution to the dilemma for older Saturn Antennas and any other caravan antenna on the market today. The LTE filter stops the TV getting the frequency that is now ‘phone frequency’.

If you need more information on this, go to www.saturnantennas.com.au or call us on 07 5486 3471.

 

Safe travelling!

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