History

Once upon a time in 2007 a relatively small group of eight primarily contest minded hams - all of them members of the „Bavarian Contest Club“ - (DJ7EO, DJ9RR, DL1MGB, DL3DXX, DL5LYM, DL6FBL,DL8OH and DL8WPX) decided to leave good old Germany for a while and operate from faraway places. The plane took us to Norfolk Island where we not only were able to make over 61,000 QSOs but also to meet Jim (VK9NS) and Kirsti Smith (VK9NL).

Inspired by the stories of their past DXpeditions we soon had our next target: Willis Island. In October 2008 we made over 95,000 QSOs from this little remote spot in the Coral Sea. Two years later ZL8X to Kermadec Islands followed.

Meanwhile we did not only gather some equipment but also a reputation. So we decided to form the LAGUNARIA DX GROUP to give it all a name.

The flower Lagunaria

Lagunaria is a monotypic genus in the family Malvaceae. It is an Australian plant endemic to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and parts of coastal Queensland. It has been introduced to many parts of the world. The genus was named in honour of Andrés Laguna, a Spanish botanist and a physician to Pope Julius III. It now consists of the single species Lagunaria patersonia, commonly known as the pyramid tree, Norfolk Island hibiscus, or Queensland white oak. It is however not a true Hibiscus, but does belong to the same plant family, Malvaceae. Its seed capsules are filled with irritating hairs giving rise to another common name, "Cow Itch Tree". The "cow" part however appears to be a misnomer (from Wikipedia.org).