"I could easily slide my whole arm inside it, and probably even my leg," said Amber Carvan of Downer who recently discovered a "massive reptile skin" in her Downer garden shed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"It's pretty fragile but if you gently stretch it out it's about half a metre or longer but the impressive thing is its remarkable girth," she said.
Convinced it couldn't be from "just a skinny black or brown snake", Carvan "optimistically thought that the previous owner must have been a rather large blue tongue lizard".
"Based on patterns and width, the herpetologists unanimously agreed that the skin was a partial shed from a rather large specimen of the morelia species — probably a diamond or carpet python that had either escaped or been set loose by its owner."
Carvan was also referred to this column's recent exposé on the spate of recent python sightings in suburban Canberra, where native pythons have been presumed extinct for several decades.
Keen to confirm the identity of the skin, this column showed the photos of the skin to a number of snake catchers, including Gavin Smith of ACT Snake Removals and Emma Dunn of Canberra Snake Rescue, who both agreed it is highly likely from a domesticated diamond or carpet python.
"It's a relief to know that the skin's previous owner was not venomous," said Carvan, who will "spend the next few weeks keeping an eye out for a large python wearing a brand new suit".
"I really hope we're able to locate him over the next few weeks so that he can be rehomed somewhere more hospitable," said Carvan who has somewhat poignantly "noticed a lack of possums in the neighbourhood since finding the skin".
Meanwhile, earlier this week in his Ainslie backyard, regular contributor to these pages, Matthew Higgins, discovered the skin of a reptile species much more common in Canberra than a python – that of a wild shingleback. Nice one.
Mailbag: Chinese whispers
Over the summer holiday season, this column has received a number of emails from motorists perplexed as to the purpose of a strange-looking contraption located on the Kings Highway, opposite Poohs Corner on the Clyde Mountain.
Most correspondents agree with John Jones of Kambah who speculates "it looks like some sort of scientific apparatus, perhaps to measure possible earth tremors which may trigger landslides on the mountain."
The neatly written oriental-style markings add weight to this theory, "but why do we need to buy our equipment from the Japanese" asks one reader. Keen to get to the bottom of the mystery, your akubra-clad columnist contacted the good folk at NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS).
"It's an electronic rain gauge which alerts staff when there is a significant rain event," reports a spokesperson for the government agency, adding "we use this information and take any necessary action, such as carrying out inspections, for the safety of the community."
My RMS insider was also able to reveal the origins of the oriental characters. Far from being the official stamp of some hi-tech Japanese manufacturer, it's apparently just graffiti.
It certainly seems an unusual spot for a graffiti artist to leave their mark. Not wanting to inadvertently publish anything offensive, this column checked the meaning of the character with the Australian Centre on China and the World at the ANU. "The character is Wu, a common surname," advises a spokesperson. "It is also an area comprising southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and Shanghai and a name of states in Southern China at different historical periods."
Perhaps our graffiti artist with an oriental flair also has an obsession with electrical infrastructure for after putting a shout-out on social media, Meagan Blythe reports that the same "graffiti tag" appears on a padmount transformer in the Gungahlin suburb of Lawson.
Cryptic Church
The location of the church which was photographed in the mid-1960s by former National Capital Development Commission staff member, the late Oskar Pumpurs, and which featured in this column last year, remains unknown. Southwell Family Association president Ralph Southwell dismisses suggestions that it might be the old Parkwood Chapel on heritage-listed Parkwood Farm which lies just over the ACT/NSW border, north
of Belconnen. "Although the two churches are similar in size and aspect, your mystery chapel appears to have been rendered and lacks the entrance portico of the Parkwood Chapel," Southwell said. "In 2010 a major refurbishment of the Parkwood Chapel was undertaken ... and the chapel is now in good repair."
Do you recognise this building? If so, please let me know or I may have to call upon divine intervention.
Ferry Memories
An unprecedented volume of correspondence from readers reminiscing about the Nelligen ferry ("the punt") continues to flood my inbox. While Jeff Allen of Giralang recalls: "As kids the punt was the final hurdle in a four-hour drive to the coast", most readers fondly remember playing in the bush near the river while their "dad was in the pub waiting for the queue to shorten".
Carol Ann Rowe even recalls "filling old billy cans with blackberries plucked from nearby bushes while waiting for the ferry", while Neal Gowen of Kaleen reports "when we went to the coast in the '50s, the Clyde Mountain was still a dirt track without ARMCO barriers, just a flimsy chainmail fence." Gowen further reports that his "grandmother used to start tooting the horn coming down the Clyde with the aim of getting the punt driver to wait for her."
Meanwhile Eunice McCauley, who "caught the ferry across to school" was even able to identify her old house in this column's recent quiz photo. "We lived in the house on the hill, I see it had its first coat of paint," she said. "I can't believe it's still standing."
Finally, Stephen Dunne, whose grandfather built what became the eight-car Nelligen punt, dug up a photo of the same punt working at Batemans Bay circa 1925. The view is across to where the current Batemans Bay CBD is located.
"The long house is about where the Bridge Plaza [Woolworths] currently is," Dunne said. Looks a bit different now, doesn't it?
Simulacra corner
While recently stepping out along the Australian Alps Walking Track between Booroomba Rocks and Honeysuckle Creek in Namadgi National Park, David Wardle of Mawson had an animal encounter he wasn't expecting. "I was minding my own business when suddenly in front of me, looming across the track was a rampant dragon attempting to block my way," reports Wardle.
Viewed in isolation, I think Wardle's dragon looks more like a sea dragon than a real fire-breathing beast, but it pales into insignificance when compared to yet another "tree dragon", this wingless specimen with hind legs kicking which Erwin Feeken of Bywong spotted lurking in the bush near Batemans Bay. Heck!
Where in Canberra
Clue: Back to school.
Degree of difficulty: Medium
Last week: Congratulations to Mary Kingsford of Macgregor who was the first reader to correctly identify last week's photo, sent in by Brad Poile, as a cheeky sign at the Wairo Beach Holiday Park near Lake Tabourie.
The sign, which reads, "2nd Dec 1824, Hume and Hovell didn't come anywhere near here ... they wouldn't pay the camp fees", was erected by a previous owner of the tourist park who clearly had a sense of humour. Scholars of Australian history will be aware that the exploring duo were actually forging their way south into Victoria near present day Yarck in early December 1824.
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, February 3 will win a double pass to Dendy.
