The mysterious purpose of the rusting contraption in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (Call of the Wild, December 24) has been solved.
While several readers thought the out-of-place device hidden in bush near the bottom of the Camelback Fire Trail may have been related to some obscure historic scientific research, its origins are much more pragmatic.
"During 1974-75 when I had just commenced as a ranger at Tidbinbilla the staff were talking about what we would do to alert visitors in the event of a bushfire in, or threatening, the reserve," reports Peter Hann, adding "so we came up with the idea of a battery-operated siren located out of sight near the car park."
According to Peter, "a warning sign was placed in a prominent position to advise visitors before they set off on their walk to immediately return to their vehicles if they heard the siren".
"There was no mains power, so a battery was used," reports Peter, adding, "a staff member was responsible for testing it from time to time, and swapping batteries but only during the fire season."
Thankfully the siren was never used in an emergency but Peter does recall hearing it being tested.
"It was like a fire truck siren, a very, very loud fire truck siren!" he exclaims.
So just how did it become a rusting relic?
"I was responsible for it being left off from 1983, but there were staff there who felt it was vital, so we agreed to leave the siren in place so that the decision could easily be reversed," reveals Don Fletcher, another former Tidbinbilla staffer, adding "and it seems like it is still there almost four decades later."
Meanwhile, the warning sign is long gone, possibly a casualty of the 2003 fires which ironically burnt the siren and surrounds, melting the battery that powered it.
