Many striking examples of simulacra - faces and forms in nature - have lobbed into this column's inbox over the years. Not surprisingly, given it covers such a large proportion (46 per cent) of the ACT, many are hidden away in the vast realms of Namadgi National Park.
Of these, for wow factor it's hard to beat the giant guardian in a cliff near Bendora Dam. However, while on a recent adventure into the heart of Namadgi, intrepid explorer Trevor Rix may have found a sight that tops Bendora's rocky face.
Not that he was even aware of the ghostly image staring back at him from an ice pool on an unnamed (at least officially) 1725-metre peak perched on the ACT border until he'd returned home. "I didn't even notice it until I was flicking through photos from the trip," he admits.
Of course, unlike the Bendora warrior, which isn't going anywhere in a hurry, the Namadgi ice man is only temporary, until the ice melts.
Trevor was surprised when looking at the latest (2023) edition of Rooftop's Namadgi Map to find the summit where he snapped the photo named Mt Kelly South.
"I have never seen this name on a map or heard it referred to before so I'm not sure if it's a new naming or an old name rediscovered," he says.
Equally astounded at the name is bushwalking guru John Evans who confirms "it's certainly not a local name in Canberra Bushwalking Club circles", adding "some bushwalkers refer to it as The Fortress."
In fact, last decade John led a campaign for the peak to be officially named Mt Mouat, in honour of Harry Mouat who surveyed the most rugged part of the ACT-NSW boundary line 1913-15. Unfortunately, John abandoned his quest "after wallowing in red tape and lack of responses from both ACT and NSW place name authorities".
If you look closely, in Trevor's second photo of the summit plateau of Mt Kelly South, you'll notice a line of small rocks.
"That's a lock spit and would have been placed there by Mouat and his team and forms part of the ACT boundary." reports John. "The lock spit's arms indicate the change of bearing of the border at that point."
We have lift-off!
This column's recent exposé on dung beetles prompted none other than Canberra Times gardening guru, author and ecologist extraordinaire Jackie French to spill the beans on her close connection to the introduction of the "little black nuggets of gold" to Australia.
Jackie reports her late ex father-in-law, Alan Dumaresq, first encountered dung beetles in South Africa as part of his role on the Australian Meat Board [later replaced by the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation] and that she was present at a subsequent dinner in the early 1970s to convince the head of CSIRO to consider introducing dung beetles to Australia.
According to Jackie, "the persuasion worked, and the Araluen Valley was chosen as one of the initial test sites because of the many climatic variations in the valley".
Jackie spoke to farmers at field days and helped to distribute the beetles.
Living in the relatively remote Araluen Valley meant Jackie often had mail delivered to friends at Café Altenberg in nearby Braidwood.
Jackie will never forget the day 200,000 dung beetles were left in their natural habitat - almost liquid dung - at the cafe for her to pick up.
"The phone call that early Friday evening was slightly frigid," recalls Jackie.
"We have your dung beetles. Would you mind fetching them - now!" hollered the voice at the end of the phone line.
"I hadn't thought of what medium in which they might be transferred," explains Jackie, adding "the cafe had a semi-open-plan kitchen, and customers lost their appetite at the sight and odour, even before they knew what the semi-transparent boxes held," confesses Jackie.
By the time Jackie raced into town, much to the relief of diners, the putrid packages had been dragged into a storeroom.
But an unappetising whiff wasn't the end of the stinky saga.
After loading the stationwagon with its valuable cargo, at the crack of dawn the next day Jackie set off to deliver the beetles to a demonstration day in Suggan Buggan in northern Victoria.
"All was quiet in the back of the wagon until exactly two minutes after the sun showed above the horizon [and] a buzzing began in the back," recalls Jackie, adding "it got louder and louder".
"It was the sound of 200,000 dung beetles trying to fly, and at one stage we thought they might actually get the car airborne.
"Lesson one when travelling with dung beetles, keep a tarp over them.
"Those beetles changed life beyond recognition," declares Jackie. "No more 'great Australian wave'; picnics became possible at rivers like the Cotter and the Shoalhaven, the kind where you spread food out on the rug and sip something cold, instead of grabbing a sandwich from the box and trying to protect it long enough to eat it."
Jackie will always remember that dinner when a CSIRO chief announced "Mmm. I like the idea", and the morning she "almost flew across The Snowies, borne aloft by 200,000 dung beetles".
Treasured picture with a bloody history
While this column's suggestion to name the ACT government's new street cleaning machines after much-loved workers who kept our streets ship-shape last century fell on deaf ears (they were named Eliza, Lighten-ing Larry and ARTI), it hasn't stopped further nominations from readers.
Laurie Laffan of O'Connor believes "Mr [Alwyn Frederick] La Reux who lived in Paterson Street, Ainslie ... and who travelled around Canberra in the 1950s on his big black Harley with sidecar to clean bus stops" would be a worthy recipient of such an honour.
"He'd ride around with the straps of his WWI leather flying helmet flapping in the wind, a bit like Snoopy," recalls Laurie, who as a teenager, along with his mate Brian Martin, "cleaned up the long grass in the French Canadian's garden".
"He was a real character, he taught us how to roll a cigarette and was full of war and life-well-lived yarns," recalls Laurie, adding "his collection of motorcycles would be worth a small fortune today".
Laurie treasures a remarkable painting Mr La Reux gave him in the late 1950s.
"During the war, a German soldier Mr La Reux had a hand in capturing apparently created this using a pin dipped in his own blood," explains Laurie. "He gave it to La Reux just before being carted off to a POW camp."
If you don't have a magnifying glass handy, "the tiny writing is in German and taken from Saint Matthew, beginning with the first verse of Chapter 21, up to and including verse 32 of Chapter 26. A total of 260 verses and 5463 words".
While it's difficult to confirm the authenticity of the artwork, which is presumably a copy of the original, Laurie has no doubts. "Mr La Reux was honest and genuine; he wasn't the sort of person to make things up," he attests.
WHERE IN CANBERRA?
Rating: Medium
Clue: Irish family made good
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email received after 10am Saturday August 9 wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
Last week: Congratulations to Rob Wroe of Dickson who was the first reader to correctly identify last week's photo as the entrance to a property along Macs Reef Road, Bywong. Rob just beat Roger Shelton of Spence and Neil Clarke to the prize. Jeff Wong of Gungahlin, who often visits the South Coast, reveals: "When I see these old cart wheels it means I'm almost home." Me too.
A curious cold case
While checking out the community bush library and activity area behind the Aranda early learning centre and Two Before Ten Aranda Cafe, Kumalie Walker spotted this fridge holding art supplies and sporting a faded Tim the Yowie Man sticker. Who slapped it on that fridge? I haven't seen one of those stickers for years. Time to fess up. It wasn't me!
The halo effect
Several readers were enamoured by the halo around the sun just before sunset last Sunday. Some spotted the optical phenomenon - created by ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere interacting with the sun's rays - in Namadgi, and others in The Snowy Mountains.
- CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au/ or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, GPO Box 606, Civic, ACT, 2601
