No. Assuming by "untouched" you mean unmodified 4w am or 12w ssb it may have not been a fluke at all. I think you are misunderstanding Warren. What he was commenting on was the following incorrect statement by JDailey1981. Fact is, if the maximum usable frequency is less than 27 MHz, one can transmit megawatts, but will still only be heard line of sight. The skywave will be absorbed by the ionosphere. once the MUF reaches 27-28 MHz, THAT is when the skywave for 11 & 10 meters will reflect off the ionosphere back to earth. In the "skip zone" (the range between the end of a station's ground wave and where its signal returns to earth via skywave) that station is still not heard.
I once worked a station in New Zealand on 11m ssb on 12 watts in the mid '80's. It was so brief I heard the CQ, replied, copied name and location and was GONE in less than a minute at 0300 local. Since getting my ham ticket in 1989 I have worked Austrailia with 50 watts and Japan on 25 watts on 10m ssb. These were worked during the height of the solar cycle (cycle 22, I believe) which depending on when in the '90's you worked that aussie station would coincide. I would even hazard to guess that you may have "grey line" propagation helping you out a bit. Grey line is the enhanced propagation along the terminator between night and day.
Hope that clears things up for you.
