Tim the Yowie Man goes back to the Gundaroo Pub

One reader who vividly recalls the booze-fuelled nights at the pub, complete with courtesy buses from Canberra organised by Ron Murray of Murrays Coaches fame, is Pieter (Groucho) Noom, formerly from Canberra, and now from Bundaberg.

"Murray, who also happened to own the pub, often gave his staff tickets to the nightly entertainment," says the retired bus driver, who distinctly recalls Murray's infamous didgeridoo and emu dance performances in the 1970s.

Stephen Esdaile of Ngunnawal remembers "a big night at the pub in the early '90s", which somehow included an impromptu visit to the village's lonely cemetery.

"It was very overgrown and creepy and when we heard a strange man's voice, a couple of the girls freaked out and we hightailed it back to the pub," recalls Esdaile who suspects "it was a local giving us a scare, but it made for a memorable night and the excuse required for a few more beverages".

Meanwhile, musician and author Val Starr answered this column's plea for historic photos of the infamous Gundaroo knees-ups. For his book, Canberra Band Unplugged 1970s, Starr interviewed hundreds of Canberra musicians, including several who performed at the Gundaroo Pub. His book, sadly now out of print, features a number of photos including a roaring campfire out the back of the pub and the popular hay rides around town for the kids (for the family-friendly lunchtime events).

"The patrons at Gundaroo came from all classes of society, including bikie groups, Japanese tourists, public servants, families, individuals and varied organisations," Starr says. "It wasn't uncommon for the entertainment to cease until around 3am."

Like many correspondents, Starr, who performed at the pub in the 1970s, especially remembers the huge T-bone steaks served up. "They were free for the bands, and when I arrived home early the next morning, our dog Susie would be awake for her treat of bones. I swear she knew and heard the word 'Gundaroo' before I left for the gig and would eagerly await for the wee hours in anticipation."

Fact File

This weekend's Back to the Gundaroo Pub event has been postponed. For details on more than 100 events themed around Discovery and Rediscoveries, check out the program at http://www.environment.act.gov.au/heritage.

MAILBAG

The Case of the Curious Chert

This column's quest to uncover the origins of the naturally occurring rock wall decorated with white pebbles at Billys Beach (Billys Beach, February 27), near Narooma, is finally over.

After the wondrous wall featured in this column, it captured the imagination of several readers including Emma Ingram of Duffy who despite being aware of the wall for "as long as she can remember", confesses that "it wasn't until I recently visited it again that we realised just how beautiful it is".

During the week this column tracked down south coast geologists Anne Felton and Stewart Needham who teamed up with Canberra-based rock doctor Doug Finlayson to investigate the wall's geological origins.

The trio report that "the rock outcrop is part of a sedimentary sequence that was deposited in deep water off the margin of a much smaller Australian continent about 500 to 450 million years ago".

Further, according to Finlayson and co, "the rock outcrop is part of the Narooma Accretionary Complex and includes black siliceous mudstone transformed into slate and bedded chert, a chemical sedimentary rock largely composed of very fine-grained silica".

Apparently these sedimentary rocks are among the oldest in eastern Australia and were accreted, buckled and folded onto the continent when major tectonic events drove an oceanic plate against the continental margin.

"In this process the sediments were dragged down several kilometres causing them to be folded and recrystallised into the slate and chert," report the geologists. "Subsequent tectonic events and the opening of the Tasman Sea have enabled the uplift of the rifted east Australian margin we see today."

"Chert is very hard and thus resists erosion more than the neighbouring slate layers," says Finlayson "hence the beautiful folded and sculptured layers of black chert and slate in the cliffs at Billys Beach, decorated by beachgoers with white quartz pebbles from the seashore."

Case closed.

Giant Snowflake

Those readers, who inspired by last week's exposé on the Jindabyne's Lake Light Sculpture festival (Stunning Sculptures, p38), made the drive down the Monaro Highway weren't disappointed.

As foreshadowed by this column, it was It's in my blood, Michael Scott Lee's giant 2.4-metre-diameter snowflake made of metal, crushed glass and resin, which stole the show, wowing crowds who flocked in record numbers to the Lake Jindabyne foreshore by day and night.

Not surprisingly, It's in my blood was the winner in the People's Choice Illumination Award.

SPOTTED

Butterfly Bonanza

Prompted by this column's recent feature on butterflies (Summer Sightings, January 22), and the warmer than normal start to autumn, readers continue to fill this column's inbox with photos of butterflies fluttering about in Canberra's suburbs.

Michael Calkovics submitted a photo of the diminutive Chequered Copper (Lucia limbaria) in his Lyons backyard. "It was feeding on the flower of the common mint plant," reports Calkovics who wonders if it's the smallest butterfly in Australia.

Ecologist Suzi Bond, this column's resident butterfly expert and visiting fellow at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society, reports that although the Chequered Coppers are small, species like the Montane Heath-blue (Neolucia hobartensis) are smaller at 16 millimetres.

For the record Chequered Coppers are fairly common across the ACT, and they prefer open grassy areas such as grassy woodlands or suburban parks.

CONTACT

TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick. You can see a selection of past columns here.

WHERE IN CANBERRA?

Cryptic Clue: Room 205, Kurrajong Hotel.

Degree of difficulty: Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Helen Pizzano of Forde who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as the Director's Residence at Mt Stromlo Observatory (via Cotter Road, Weston Creek). The triumphant Pizzano beat a number of readers to the prize including Glenn Schwinghamer of Kambah, Nicholas Wagstaff of Ainslie, and Julie Nimmo of Kambah who used to work as a guide at the world-renowned observatory. There was also a higher than usual number of incorrect entries with several readers suggesting it was either the Canberra Croquet Clubhouse near the Hyatt Hotel or Old Canberra House.

On Saturday, April 9, as part of the Canberra & Region Heritage Festival, the ANU is hosting a free tour at the observatory in which you can find out the unusual role it played during World War II. Suitable for ages 10 and above, and you guessed it, the tour finishes with a game of croquet outside the restored Director's Residence. Bookings essential on 6125 8794.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, April 2, 2016, with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.