While many readers like Jill Smith of Palmerston fondly pointed out "that after a few years so many people knew about the door that it was no longer secret", Richard England of Rivett's memories of the door at East Block, which now leads to a kitchenette in the National Archives of Australia, are much more mixed.

One morning in 1964 while working as a technician at the Barton Telephone Exchange, on Kings Avenue, across from East Block, England recalls being given what, on first appearance, was a standard job.

"I was given the task to remove unused 50 volt power, ring and ringtone feeds from the exchange in and around the Barton Offices, known locally as The Woolsheds," says England.

However, while diligently going about his task, England reports he "came across a group of these feeds going straight to the Central Trunk Exchange in East Block".

Thinking there was no need to send 50 volt power and associated feeds to another exchange, England "proceeded to remove them unaware they were for the ASIO main switchboard and the remote electric lock on their secret green door".

"Upon my actions, all telephone calls within, as well as to and from, ASIO dropped out and could not be re-established, and their switchboard died," England says. Worst of all "the green door lock was also rendered unoperational".

According to England, "it took at least half an hour before ASIO realised World War III had not been declared and what the real reason for the chaos was".

England was severely reprimanded and his actions were the subject of several senior government memos.

"Let's just say, I couldn't sit down for a few days!" England says.

On a related note, I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Leicester Donoghoe who between 1962 and the mid-1990s operated the pie cart which did the rounds of many Canberra government offices including East Block. I recall buying many a sausage roll with sauce from the affable pie man while his van was parked outside the Edmund Barton Building in the 1990s.

Leicester bought the original pie van, a 1936 Chevrolet from the Parliamentary Triangle's original pie man Tom Wilkinson in 1962 and later replaced it with a Toyota HiAce. If you have any anecdotes relating to the pie cart from either Leicester's or Tom's era, I'd love to hear from you.

The room with no doors or windows

The mystery of what once lay in the large room with no windows, doors, or other signs of entry or exit, at the back of an Ainslie bus stop (Where in Canberra, September 5) has been solved.

Also intrigued as to the original layout of the bus stop, Julian Hamstead, a public transport enthusiast who tweets as @Bus400, dug up the original plans from the ACT Heritage Library.

Close inspection of the 1936 plans reveals there was a toilet and urinal, which supports anecdotal reports sent to this column by readers that it was used by drivers as a rest room, when the bus stop, which is near the corner of Cowper and Cox streets, was the Ainslie terminus of the bus service.

"Many of the other old wooden shelters have left us forever and it's important that at least a few, like this one, are preserved", remarks Hamstead, adding "they help tell the story of public transport in Canberra's early days".

While one mystery has been solved, another remains. John Jones of Kambah wonders what was left in the room when it was boarded up [thought to be in the 1970s]. "Perhaps Harold Holt's skeleton is in there," Jones muses.

Rocktober

Prompted by this column's recent exposé on the balancing rock at Old Graham to Canberra's north (Bush secrets, September 12) , this column has been besieged with photos of other rocks seemingly defying the laws of gravity.

Col Dalton sent in a photo of a balancing rock "he stumbled on while on a fishing trip to Glen Innes in northern NSW back in the 1950s", while Darlene Sebalj of Nicholls submitted a photo of a perilously positioned rock at the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, in the US, along with the caveat that "it wasn't taken from its most precarious angle".

"Holding up" the rock in Sebalj's photo are her husband Tom and son Marko who joined her on a road trip through 39 US states plus the east and west coasts of Canada while Tom was recently posted to Washington DC for work.

"North America is a truly beautiful place to tour around, we saw some magnificent sights and made some wonderful, lifelong friendships", reports Sebalj, adding "now we are trying to fall back in love with Australia again ... and your column helps." Aw, shucks! Welcome home.

Leucistic magpie

While on lunchtime strolls around his workplace at Symonston, John Magee of Ainslie has recently been captivated by the antics of this "white" magpie.

Magee hopes his sighting of the leucistic magpie "which is not completely white like an albino but very little dark colouration", will be one up on his twitcher friend "whose life list is over 650 species and who is currently out of contact in the Gibson Desert [in search of the Princess Parrot]".

To date, the only bird on Magee's list that his mate hasn't also ticked off is "a feral ostrich which is not a particularly glorious sighting," laments Magee, who has turned to this column's merry band of bird watchers to pass judgment on "just how rare colour-challenged magpies are in the capital".

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 at: canberratimes.com.au/act-news/by/tim-the-yowie-man

Where in the region?

Spring is arguably the best time of year to explore the many hamlets, villages and towns surrounding the ACT. Not only is the countryside looking verdant after recent rain, but many towns are also rolling out the welcome mat to visitors for their annual festivals. To celebrate the diversity of our region, for the month of October this column's photo quiz has crossed the border into NSW. So if you take a drive in the country this month, not only might you discover more about our rural neighbours, but you might also recognise one of my mystery photos.

Cryptic clue: If you were thrown into this slammer today, at least you could order pizza.
Degree of difficulty: Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Brigitte Tabuteau of Bruce who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as Southwells Crossing across the Molonglo River. "It used to be at the remote end of Deek's Drive in the pine forest but is now on the edge of the new suburb of Coombs," says Denis Wylks of Holder, a long-time reader of these pages who sent in the photo to highlight the changing nature of the Molonglo Valley. The clue of "who's up for a 42-kilometre run" related to the origins of Deek's Drive, named after champion marathon runner Robert de Castella who famously trained in the area when it was predominantly pine forest before the 2003 bushfires. Brigitte beat her long-time rival Lynda McPadden of Hackett and Magnus Shaw of Stirling to the prize. Meanwhile, Stephen McDonald of Belconnen claims he should have qualified for some sort of booby prize for "despite living in and exploring Canberra and surrounds for more than 60 years being "at a complete loss as to the location of the photo". Better luck this week Stephen.
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, October 3, 2015, with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.