Why is there a TARDIS on Lake George?

However, this column can exclusively report that the TARDIS, the Doctor’s vehicle of choice, was not part of filming for the new series which debuts on TV screens in Australia in Monday October 8, rather, a full-scale replica.

Ann Ronning of Conder received a carbon-copy of the Time Lord’s fictional time machine as a gift from her handy-man husband Bruce for her 40th birthday and with the imminent launch of the new series featuring the first ever female Doctor, thought she would celebrate by "landing" her TARDIS on the mysterious lake bed located 50 kilometres north-east of Canberra.

Much to my delight, she invited your Akubra-clad columnist, a closet Whovian (Dr Who fan) from the Jon Pertwee (third incarnation of the Doctor) and Tom Baker (4th Doctor) days, along to witness.

“The lake’s natural disposition to mist and fog makes it the perfect location for a TARDIS to appear,” Ann says. “Often at the start of an episode you don’t quite know what’s happening and I think Lake George is perfect for that because it unveils itself slowly as the fog lifts.”

Ann says she can’t wait to see Jodie Whittaker’s portrayal of the Doctor. “I think it was a really bold decision by the series to opt for a female Doctor,” she says.

“Doctor Who as a series has always given women fantastic roles – they are heroes, they’re creative, mysterious and a lot of fun and I think that Jodie is going to do the same thing to the role of the Doctor in bringing in the humanity, that genius and that adventure.”

While Ann is as dedicated a Whovian as you’ll find anywhere in the world, Bruce isn’t quite as obsessed. “I enjoyed watching the show after school in the old Tom Baker days and I’ll sit down and watch it when Ann does, but I’m no Whovian.”

While the Doctor’s real TARDIS can materialise with just a few flicks of the controls (oh, and sometimes, of course, with the assistance of a sonic screwdriver), the appearance of Ann’s TARDIS on the dry lake bed wasn’t as easy.

First Bruce had to spend the best part of a day dismantling the heavy panels made from 18mm marine ply and framed with 19mm pine, then it had to be carefully wrapped and transported to the lake in a truck before reassembling it in sub-zero temperatures.

“It was always part of the plan to erect it at dawn so when the fog lifted later in the morning it revealed the TARDIS to passing motorists,” Bruce says.

While Lake George, which is steeped in myth and legend and a known hot-spot for UFO sightings, remains Ann’s preferred location if Doctor Who ever filmed in Australia, her second vote would be Uluru.

“How fantastic would that be, the spiritual rock in the background, didgeridoo playing, classic Australiana,” she says.

Even though Ann’s TARDIS comes complete with all the add-ons including sound track and flashing light, there are a few features Bruce would change if building it again.

“I originally was planning to have opening windows – I gave up on that as it was too complicated,” explains Bruce.

Meanwhile, Ann wishes her TARDIS really was bigger on the inside. “We never have enough storage at home,” Ann says, “but I also wish Bruce made it lighter so it was easier to take it to Whovian parties!”

Having helped transport and erect her TARDIS on Lake George, I sympathise with Ann.

Don’t miss: The new series of Doctor Who featuring English actress Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor begins Monday, October 8 at 8pm on ABC TV. Various cinemas around Canberra, including Dendy and Hoyts, are also screening the episode on the big screen.

Did You Know: TARDIS is an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space.

While it’s too late to see Ann’s TARDIS on Lake George, the Canberra region is home to several other TARDISes. While several are stashed away in garages and backyard sheds, there are a few that you can get quite close to for that all important selfie. Here are my top 3:

The Vintners Daughter Winery: A hit with visitors to the winery (Crisps Lane, Murrumbateman), this TARDIS was built by Ben Osborne for his wife, Stephanie Helm, as a surprise gift in 2017 for their fifth wedding anniversary. “The traditional gift is wood so I told him he had to build me something – I wasn’t expecting a life-size TARDIS though,” laughs Stephanie, adding, “it’s a faithful recreation of the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS.”

Hall Village: Sitting conspicuously in the front yard of a house in Victoria St is a full-size replica TARDIS. Made in 2013 by Shaun O’Connor as a surprise for his wife it has attracted many Dr Who enthusiasts, intrigued passers-by and even a wedding party. It took Shaun and two carpenters 160 hours to construct.

Red Hill: Just beneath the lookout is an old utility box which was transformed into a TARDIS by street artist Geoff Filmer on behalf of ACTEW Water (now Icon Water) in 2014. Remember, it’s just a paint-job, so don’t try opening the door.

Katie Carlisle’s recent count of dead animals on the Monaro Highway between Canberra and Cooma attracted a record amount of correspondence. At the time of writing, over 370 readers had responded to Carlisle’s count — that’s more than one email for every one of the 272 carcasses she tallied on the 109-kilometre stretch of highway.

“I can’t believe someone actually counted,” exclaims Crystal Smith, whose comments reflect the sentiments of many motorists, who “thought of counting, but never actually did”.

Many other readers conducted their own ‘carcass counts’ on other highways in our region.

“Bungendore Road between the Macs Reef Red to and Gum Flat is like a kangaroo cemetery,” reports Tania Tahana. “I counted over 50 fairly fresh carcasses along that 9km stretch there before I stopped counting.”

Meanwhile, the record road kill which Chris Finch believes “is the worst in 35 years”, and “makes riding a motorbike a scary proposition” has even prompted some local councils to erect temporary signs warning motorists of wildlife on the road.

Prompted by this column’s recent exposé on Canberra’s stairways to nowhere, several readers were especially intrigued about the two sets of stairs at Duntroon which are in areas off-limits to the public.

“Can we please see a photo,” pleaded Danny McGrath of Kaleen. Not wanting to leave McGrath disappointed, your Akubra-clad columnist was recently officially escorted camera-in-hand, to both sets of stairs.

My uniformed guide was especially careful not to walk up the stairs at the military college’s Cork Block, where she advised “according to folklore, just as the stairs lead to nowhere, if you walk them, your career will go nowhere”.

In taking the photos I inadvertently walked up a couple of the steps, so if my column doesn’t appear next week you’ll know the warning is applicable to civilians as well.

Meanwhile, several readers have shed light on the origins of the ‘creepy stairs’ that currently lead into a darkened dead-end beneath the Woden Library.

“They used to lead up to the back entrance to The Dilly Bag Café, which I worked in for many years,” reports Carol Nowak of Chifley, adding, “the café was run by Woden Community Service and was a very successful small business until the ACT government took over the space in 1996 for its shopfront, which was subsequently moved.”

Contact Tim: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick.

Cryptic Clue: Robin has never been here

Degree of difficulty: Medium - Hard

Congratulations to Gwenyth Bray of Belconnen who was the first reader to correctly identify last week’s photo  as Richard Whiteley’s concrete sculpture Flow, located near the start of the path up to the viewing point for the Enlarged Cotter Dam.

“My husband and I examined the sculpture on a recent trip to the Cotter with friends,” Bray says, “then we hiked up to the dam where the view was beautiful."

The sculpture’s elegant and abstract form was designed to sit in sharp contrast to the Enlarged Cotter Dam and was inspired by the work of meteorologist and mathematician Edward Lorenz.

Bray just beat Brodie Hogg of Uriarra and Gail Ritchie Knight of Sutton to the prize. The clue of "welcome back" was a not-so-subtle throwback to the 1970s US sitcom Welcome Back Kotter.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday 29 September, 2018 will win a double pass to Dendy - The Home of Quality Cinema.