From political "sexpionage" to intelligence reports on suburban mums, Canberra's history is rife with lesser told stories of female spies, and women being spied on.
A unique walking tour of the capital, booked to capacity every week, has been putting the spotlight on these invisible women who wielded unseen power. Apparently, one of them even got former prime minister John Curtin to stop drinking.
Combining curiosity and declassified information, avid historian Sita Sargeant introduced the Spies in the Capital tour to tell people what women in Canberra were up to during World War II right until the 1980s.
The tour highlights how underestimated women were the perfect resource for the government, and Australia's then-enemies, to get their hands on state secrets.
And the locals are loving it. Ms Sargeant is "amazed" at how many Canberrans come along to the tour.
"People are really interested to learn about the spicier side of Canberra's history, and particularly, the role that women have played in shaping it and the places where they've done that," she said.
"Canberrans want to engage with more diverse stories in the place that they live. It's really heartening."
Made possible by a grant from ACT Heritage, the tour was originally only planned to run during the Heritage Festival in April this year. But high demand has had it fully booked every week since July.
Finishing up at her old job at the Museum of Australian Democracy, Ms Sargeant has turned this side hustle, She Shapes History, into a full-time business. Other tours she runs include introductions to badass women in politics and Canberra's queer history.
Ms Sargeant said there was a lack of easily accessible women's history. While there are books on the topic, she feels they are far more academic and dry, making hard it for non-historian folks to relate to the stories.
"Sharing women's stories can be a powerful method for closing the respect gap," Ms Sargeant said.
"The tours are really popular ... and important in showing that Canberra is a city that's not just been shaped by kind of one type of person, but by many."
Big things are in store for her. In November, Ms Sargeant will be launching an ACT government-funded "queer history of Canberra" podcast. She has also been offered a book deal to develop 25 women's history walks across Australia.
While Sydney hosts true crime tours and a tour of the city's Afghan, Syrian and Persian food scenes, Ms Sargeant's spy tour adds to a relatively short list of guided tours available in Canberra.
Should there be more? Surely there's more to be known about the nation's youngest capital.
