Tim the Yowie Man: Mountain mysteries

“Before I could safely stop, I ran over two of them,” laments the wildlife warrior who was able to examine the two remaining prints and photograph them alongside the print left by his size 14 boot and a set of keys for size comparison.

“They had a distinct ‘heel’ shape to them which unfortunately due to the light didn’t show up well in the photos,” reports the ranger, who adds, “the distance between the prints were quite uniform and would be consistent with a tall man running at full tilt.”

My snow-bound confidant also reports that “there were no clear ‘toe’ markings, but this could be due from impact at speed on a slippery surface.There were signs of a ‘landing’ of two prints side-by-side at the bottom of the steep hill but it was too dangerous to get down there to investigate.

“We are always looking out for prints in the snow or in the mud as it tells us if there are feral animals such pigs, deer, and wild dogs around, but I never expected to see prints this large - look how wide they are,'' says the ranger, who also ruled out any obvious native animal leaving the mysterious markings.

While the possibility that the prints were those of a lone hiker in snowshoes cannot be dismissed, “the location wasn’t near any human infrastructure, [tracks, picnic grounds or cleared areas], was in thick forest, and along a very steep slope, and the park’s gates had been closed and locked to traffic'', says the ranger. “The prints didn’t look like the result of human-made footwear.”

What do you think made the prints? There has to be a plausible explanation, doesn’t there? If you have any theories, please let me know - it could save me from a week of traipsing around the Brindies in sub-zero temperatures wielding a set of binoculars and hauling a bag of plaster of paris.

Interestingly, the ranger’s report isn’t the only case of a mystery animal roaming in our mountains to cross my desk during the last week. While driving with his kids up Blue Range Road near Mount Coree last Sunday about 11am Jezza Nator was surprised to see “a large black cat cross the road”.

“It had a fat long heavy tail and was easily six-foot nose to tail tip,” reports Jezza, an experienced hunter who has camped regularly in the ACT high country for more than 30 years.

“It was bigger than domestic cat and I’d never seen anything like it before,” recalls my startled correspondent, who by the time he reached for his camera says “the creature had disappeared” and that a subsequent search “failed to yield any foot or paw prints”.

While sightings of large black cats or so-called ‘'panthers’' in the Brindabellas stretch back for several decades, most reports turn out to be an extra large feral cat or wild dog. However, without photos, prints or other physical evidence, it’s too hard to determine.

This column continues to receive many striking images (please keep them coming) of our high country coated in the most extensive blanket of snow in a generation. Despite the avalanche of images, I’m yet to receive any featuring snow caves or snow tunnels to rival this one taken in January 1981 on the Guthega River by Canberra mountain man, Klaus Hueneke. Simply stunning.

Final piece of the puzzle

This column’s recent quest to publish photos of all the eight cafes/restaurants/pubs identified from around the world named after our fair city (May 17) is now complete - for this week, a photo lobbed into my inbox from Damaris Wilson whose parents ran a coffee shop named Canberra in Ross-on-Wye, in England, some 40 years ago. The photo of Damaris’ mother, Joan Harding (nee Staemmler) was taken outside the cafe in the 1970s. Unlike the seven other establishments, the Ross-on-Wye eatery no longer carries our city’s name, having operated under the name The Canberra Coffee House until 1995 and then The Canberra Restaurant until about 2004.

Mick Jagger’s pantihose

This column’s recent musings (Bread, Bullets and the Big Hole, July 19) regarding the filming of Mick Jagger’s Ned Kelly in 1969 around Braidwood continues to bring back memories for many readers.

Jackie Bierzonski of Malua Bay, who as a schoolgirl helped her mum clean at the administrative office for the film crew (upstairs in the Dudley’s Chambers in Monaro Street, Queanbeyan), recalls “disposing of lots of wastepaper bins piled high and overflowing with empty liquor bottles.”

“It was heavy work for a young thin girl to carry all those bottles to the bins downstairs,” reports my south coast correspondent, who adds, “the pubs sure made a mint while the filming was on.”

Further, Jackie reveals that “it was so bitterly cold that Jagger apparently wore pantihose under his trousers to keep warm.” Intrigued, on a cold night during the week, I watched the film (available from the National Film and Sound Archives, and well worth a watch, even if just to try and pick out local scenes) in its entirety for the first time, but didn’t spot the offending pantihose. I guess they were well-concealed.

William Hovell ghost

Liz Stergiou’s recent report of a ghostly figure crossing William Hovell Drive near Holt (May 17) has flushed out at least one other report of a strange spectre dashing across the Belconnen highway under the cover of darkness.

Margaret McLeod reports, “last year I was driving home along William Hovell [Drive] towards Holt'“ at around 10pm and just as I got towards the bend in the road with a stand of big trees on left, I saw the figure of someone start to loom.”

Unlike Liz who “caught a fleeting glimpse of the apparition of an old slim tall man”, Margaret reports that “he appeared to be in a big black coat with a hat and didn’t appear old or slim''. Concerned that “whoever it was could be hit by a car”, Margaret promptly rang the police who said they had received quite a number of similar calls.

Perhaps our mystery man is a late night visitor to (or from!) the nearby historic Weetangera Methodist Cemetery?

Margo Wade of Holt asks “have you ever noticed the sleeping giant who guards the turnoff to the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex?” I haven’t, but on my next trip out along Paddys River Road towards Tidbinbilla, I’ll be sure to look out for this rocky stargazer.

CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter @TimYowie or write to me c/o The Canberra Times 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick. A selection of past columns is available at canberratimes.com.au/travel/blog/yowie-man

Cryptic Clue: Not a low place of learning.

Degree of difficulty: Medium - hard

INSET:

Last week: Congratulations to 11-year-old Ben Hobson of Campbell who was first to correctly identify last week’s photo (inset) sent in by Maryann Mussared as part of the old Yarralumla Brickworks (originally known as the Commonwealth Brickworks).

My observant young correspondent just beat a number of other attentive readers to the prize, including Sue Leach of Kaleen, who only discovered the Canberra landmark, which opened in 1913 and closed in 1976, “for the first time last week during a drive” around the leafy streets of Yarralumla with her husband.

The brickworks produced many of the distinctive red bricks for Canberra’s early buildings. In fact, so many bricks were needed for the construction of Old Parliament House and the Kingston Power House the bricks were hauled to those sites along a purpose-built narrow-gauge railway line direct from the brickworks. The original kilns were built to Walter Burley Griffin’s design and hidden among the surrounding pine trees. However, in the 1950s an increase in demand for bricks resulted in a taller 46-metre natural-draft chimney being constructed, which today towers above the pines and is visible from many locations around central Canberra.

The historic site was listed on the ACT Heritage Register in 2001, and earlier this year the ACT Government announced plans to restore the brickworks and redevelop the land around the site into housing for up to 4000 people. The first step in protecting its heritage value was the recent installation of a security fence around the site, which according to one unnamed correspondent, “already has a number of holes and spots where you can crawl underneath”.

Meanwhile, according to paranormal aficionados the old brickworks are haunted, although it’s not clear by whom. “Perhaps an unfortunate worker fell into the kiln,” speculates Paul Langdon of Wanniassa. Vicki Scipione of Monash who lived as a child in Yarralumla and played in the nearby pine forest recalls, “I never knew it was haunted but it certainly seemed spooky - our scariest encounter was of a male nudist and we ran like the wind to get away. I think that kept us out of the forest forever!” says Vicki.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am on July 26 with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.