Tim the Yowie Man: Terrific and mysterious trees to mark ACT Tree Week

Recently, Adrian Brown, Ngunnawal descendant and Ngunnawal country ranger in the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, led me to this strange-looking tree south of Tharwa. The appearance of the dead brittle gum, covered with diamond-shaped markings has puzzled Ranger Brown and his colleagues since he first stumbled on it while searching for Aboriginal artefacts earlier this year.

"We are trying to ascertain whether the markings are man-made or some sort of natural phenomenon," says Brown who is wondering whether anyone can help solve the mystery. Interestingly the tree is located on what Brown says is "an ancient pathway for people who would have walked higher up in the mountains for ceremony", and further, that "the diamond shape is also a symbol for our People representing the stars".

I've subsequently shown photos of the tree, which is located near Angle Crossing and in the shadow on Mount Tennent, to a number of arborists who are equally as perplexed to the origins of the diamond-shaped markings.

Meanwhile, the initial results are in for this column's quest to uncover the tallest Wollemi pine growing in someone's yard (Wollemi wonder, July 11), and they are somewhat embarrassing for our region's green thumbs. While a number of locally grown trees measured in around the 1.4 metre mark, including Colin Brammall's prized pine "growing on an exposed hillock at Bywong", a number of correspondents from further afield reported much taller (up to 2 metres in some cases) wollemi pines thriving in of all places, suburban London.

Thankfully, just as this column was filed I was buoyed when a photo of Cassandra Walker's 2.1 metre (from base of trunk to tip) potted circa 2001 wollemi pine, growing in her Uriarra Village yard, lobbed into my inbox. Can anyone beat Walker's wollemi?

Don't miss: As reported last week, David Noble, the man who sent the botanical world into a tizzy when he discovered a stand of wollemi pines growing in a hidden canyon to the west of the Sydney 21 years ago will be making a number of appearances at the National Arboretum Canberra as part of ACT Tree Week. Details: act.gov.au I hope Noble packs a tape measure for his trip, for who knows, if this column receives a number of photos of wollemis of a similar height, I may need to call upon him to adjudicate on the tallest.

Ken Wood, of Holt, reports that the 1813 Explorers Tree in the Blue Mountains (Etched in Time, June 21), isn't the only tree marked by European explorers within a few hours' drive of Canberra. "Another famous tree, still living, with assistance, is the Hovell tree near Albury," reports Wood who photographed the red gum in 1962. The tree, marked by William Hovell in 1824 after he "discovered" the Murray River, was originally flanked by another tree marked by fellow explorer, Hamilton Hume, but which was destroyed by fire in the 1840s.

Timing is everything. Hot on the heels of this week's Antarctic blast which bought snow to low levels in the ACT, Canberra's Glen Ryan will launch Winter, part three in his infrared art/doco film Brindabellas on Saturday, July 18.

"In Winter, darker cloudscapes push aside the autumn mist and rains and snow starts to drift across the ranges," explains Ryan, who adds, "Winter then explores the micro worlds of ice and frost as these are gradually transformed ahead of springs arrival."

To view Winter and previously released parts of Brindabellas as well as images and notes about the film, check out: silverdory.com/brindabellas

Just as it is depicted in Ryan's production, winter in the mountains to our south is just as much about ice as it is snow, and a number of readers have written in this week to report on their icy encounters.

On a school holiday walk to Yankee Hat rock art site in Namadgi National Park, Woo O'Reilly, of Giralang, was surprised (and delighted) to find the usually shallow, yet virile Bogong Creek completely frozen over.

"The ice was easily two inches thick on some of the edge chunks we broke off so would have been thicker on the solid parts," reports O'Reilly whose son Charlie Howard stopped to pose for a photo. "Even at around 3pm it was showing no signs of melting, and it was only as Charlie starting stamping on it to see if he could make it move that I decided it was time to get off," reports O'Reilly, who sensibly checked the holding strength of the ice with her own weight first.

Meanwhile, Denis Wilson, of Wyndham, inland of Merimbula raced outside earlier this week, thinking it was snowing when ice crystals started falling on his front deck.

Wilson admits to initially being "somewhat confused as there was a bright clear sky". It turns out that the dew on the big gum tree adjacent Wilson's deck had frozen, "and the ice crystals started to fall off as the temperature rose".

"I've never seen anything like it", exclaims Wilson, who adds, "the crystals were clearly visible even in the distance, against the tree trunks.

The historic couch which Constable Samuel Nelson lay bleeding on after being fatally shot outside Collector's Kimberley Inn (subsequently renamed the Bushranger Hotel) by outlaw John Dunn, of the Ben Hall gang, in 1865, has finally found an appropriate home.

Regular readers will remember that earlier this year, this column jumped in the back of a ute to help bring the couch, which had been tracked down to the garage of Goulburn businessman Peter Zantis, back to Collector to mark the 150th anniversary of Nelson's death.

This column can report that earlier this month, in a generous offer, Zantis officially handed over "Nelson's Lounge" to the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn where it now features in an in-house historical display.

"Something of this historical value shouldn't be kept in a private collection," said Zantis whose family bought the historic couch from the Bushranger Hotel in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, back in Collector, local lad Joel Kennedy has taken over the reins at the landmark pub. After catching up with the 20-something year-old shearer-come-publican for a beer during the week, this column can report that while Kennedy's beard is befitting that of a bushranger, his preferred clobber of thongs and shorts was a most surprising sight, especially given the temperature outside hovered around freezing point. Apparently he wears the same outfit in the shearing shed, that is, until he has to pin a thistle-covered sheep between his legs. Ouch!

Last week: Congratulations to Barbara Jaques, of Flynn, who was first to correctly identify last week's photo , sent in by Chris Blunt, as part of the facade of the entrance to Cockington Green Gardens in Nicholls. Jaques, who reports that the gardens were "always the kids' favourite place to visit when they were little people", just beat a barrage of correct entries from other readers including Ann Hengst, of Tuross Head, and Eric & Corinne Sellers, of Queanbeyan East. The clue of "although the famous 'urn' isn't here, there is a game of village cricket to peruse," referred to one of the miniature gardens' most popular exhibits which features a game of cricket in a quaint English village, (picket fence and all). Cockington Green Gardens is at 11 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls ACT 2913. For entry fees and opening hours: Ph: 6230 2273 or cockingtongreen.com.au.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, July 18, 2015 with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.