However, squirreled away inside this warehouse is an extraordinary array of mechanical musical instruments, the extent of which is unparalleled in Australia, if not the world.

But for large-scale charity events and occasional coach tours, Craig keeps this rare and curious collection concealed behind locked doors, however, next month, during Pie Time, the Southern Highlands' annual winter festival, he is offering tours of his 'Fairground Follies'.

Earlier this week, I traveled two-hours up the highway to my home town for a sneak peek.

While I was envisaging a warehouse crammed with musical instruments, what I wasn't expecting was the sheer number and size of them - 35 in total, dating from the 1840s to 1955, and what's more, all in working order.

One of the first items you'll see when Craig pulls up the roller doors of this treasure trove is a full-sized circa 1900 English carousel. It's complete with 30 ornately hand carved timber horses and cockerels. An ornate centre comprising 60 cutglass mirrors creates a unique Edwardian mirror ball effect. It makes the Canberra Carousel in Civic look second rate.

If that's not impressive enough taking pride of place opposite is a century-old two-row European carousel, with 15 brightly coloured wooden horses, four chariots and a bear. Wow.

"You might even recognise this next instrument," announces Craig as, with all the zest of a kid in a lolly shop, he scurries behind a Dutch street organ.

I hear him cranking up the flywheel and suddenly it springs to life with a boisterous rendition of the Chicken Dance. I start flapping my arms like a clucky hen. It's a spontaneous reaction. Lucky no one is looking.

"I thought you would do that!" Craig quips as he peers around the side of the colourful organ, a big grin on his face. Most visitors just can't resist.

"When I play this music, it takes most people to a fun time in their life, a time of colour, lights, and happiness," he explains, adding "that's why I love playing this music so much".

However, without doubt, Craig's pièce de résistance is the 101 key Taj Mahal, regarded by many collectors as the grandest piece of mechanical music left in the world.

Carved in Italy in the 1920s and decorated with three forms of gold leaf, the faade is approximately 8.5 metre long by 8 metres high and according to Craig "symbolises good luck (Chinese dragons), prosperity (Grecian urns of plenty), music (Saint Cecilia - the Patron Saint of music) and love (Aphrodites statue)." Talk about a cultural melting pot.

This unique machine boasts over 1000 pipes, snare drum, bass drum, woodblocks, triangle, castanets, xylophone and other unique instruments, including my favourite, a large gong originally used to signify the change of dance partners. "Over 1000 light globes adorn the faade and these are activated in spectacular patterns by the cardboard music," explains Craig.

By now you might be wondering what the connection is between these instruments and humble pies. Well it's somewhat tenuous, but suffice to say just about everything and everyone in Bowral and surrounds goes pie-mad in June. Heck, even the Bradman Museum Cafe dishes up decadent red cherry pies for the month - a pun on the nickname often given to a new cricket ball.

"I love pies, I wouldn't be half the man I am without pies," Craig muses, adding "here at Fairground Follies we will be serving sweet apple and fruit pies as part of our Pie Time festivities".

While Craig (somewhat surprisingly given the extent of his collection) doesn't have a musical pie cart, he does possess a rare chestnut roasting wagon that he reveals, "worked the streets of Paris in the early 1900s" and during his Pie Time tours will be temporarily converted to a pie wagon.

As delicious as I'm sure the pies will be, a visit to Fairground Follies is all about the riotous kaleidoscope of colour and animated orchestra of music that you won't find anywhere else on the planet.

Just don't forget to practise the chicken dance before you arrive.

Past Times & Pies at Fairground Follies: On June 1 and 15, Craig Robson will open up his enormous treasure chest of antique mechanical organs, instruments and fairground attractions including carousels, swing boats and wagons. 10.30am-noon. $40pp includes guided tour, drink and pie. Kirkham Road, Bowral. Bookings essential: Go to www.pietime.com.au and click on events.

Suitable for: The whole family but please note rides are not permitted and children (and over-excited adults!) need to be closely supervised.

Don't miss: Most of Craig's instruments work with cardboard books of pre-programmed music like a pianola but some are more advanced like the Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina which plays violins along with piano accompaniment. Each violin has one playing string (D, A and E respectively) and is pushed against a circular horsehair bow giving an accurate reproduction of a violin playing. Worth the price of admission alone.

Tim's tip: There are over dozens of other pie-themed events during Pie Time in the Southern Highlands (June 1-30), including the Bonfire and Pie Night at Farm Club Australia (1 Werai Road, Werai) where you can indulge in mulled wine and, of course, a piping hot pie. No, not an old-school meat pie in an aluminium tray, rather, a gourmet Snake Creek F1 Wagyu pie floater. Yum. Again, bookings essential via www.pietime.com.au.

Correspondence continues to lob in my inbox about Environa, developer Henry O'Halloran's abandoned 1920s housing estate near Hume.

Wal Glennon of Duffy recalls when he first sighted Environa's relic bandstands and stone archways while working as a field officer for the Post Master General's Department in 1975, his colleagues told him a quite a different story about its origins.

"They insisted that the stone features were the result of a Scotsman who left his wife and kids in Scotland and traveled to Canberra where he purchased some land and started to prepare a new start for his family," recalls Wal.

"Apparently he wanted to build a beautiful mansion on a hill with sweeping views down through the stone arches, but shortly after finishing the landscaping and before commencing construction of the family home, he unexpectedly died," explains Wal.

It appears that Wal's story isn't the only fictional account of Environa. John Aspley Davis of Hawker reports that the extravagant estate featured in Nevil Shute's 1953 novel "In the Wet".

"It was in part of a dream sequence set in the 1980's when an austere socialist government in the UK drove out the Royal Family with Australia and Canada offering to share them for alternate six months of every year," recalls John, adding "in addition to a suburb that I took to be Environa, Shute accurately pictures the now Hyatt Hotel as it was and speculates on a Royal Palace being built on the Murrumbidgee near Tharwa." I'd like to see that.

This column's recent exposé on Comerong Island near Nowra brought back memories for several readers, including Canberra sporting icon Phil Lynch who grew-up on a nearby property.

"As a kid I spent many weekends on the island, sleeping over at a schoolmate's farm," recalls Phil, adding "riding across on the punt across with our bikes was a real adventure as were visits to the wonderful beach which we always had to ourselves."

Phil also has fond memories of "netting prawns and crabs", in the waters near the island.

Ah, those were the days.

Clue: Near a building of the same name

Degree of difficulty: Medium

Congratulations to Amanda Nott of Curtin who was the first reader to identify last week's photo as part of the painted water pipeline on Cotter Road, just opposite Riverview Horse Agistment.

Amanda, a keen cyclist, who just beat Karen Latham and Tim Huber of Theodore to the prize, reports "Cotter Road is a very popular route and many a cyclist has huffed and puffed up the Cotter Hill to be greeted by colourful Australian birds at the top."

The parrot, the handiwork of talented Canberra father and son team Geoff and Peter Filmer of Graffik Paint was commissioned by Icon Water as an anti-graffiti strategy and it seems to be working. "We are saving more than the cost of the artwork from a reduction in the cost of graffiti removal," reports my Icon Water insider.

The "pretty parrot pipes" as Kim Bal-Al refers to them has struck a chord with many Canberrans, who according to my Icon Water insider may see a few more creatures 'appear' on the pipes in coming months. Maybe even a yowie?

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday 11 May, 2019 will win a double pass to Dendy - The Home of Quality Cinema.

Spooky face

While recently fossicking along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near Kambah, a rock "staring at him" suddenly stopped Gus, Rose Higgins's seven-year old son in his tracks.

"Mum look at this, I've found a cranky head rock," screeched Gus to his mum who scurried over for a closer look.

"We love finding things with faces and this was our best find yet," reports Rose who was especially taken by the 'detail' of the face.

While Gus reckons "the soul of a grumpy person was stuck in the rock" (yikes!), his brother Jasper thinks "the rock more resembles Harry Potter's chief antagonist Lord Voldermort".

"A girlfriend at work said it even held a stunning resemblance to her ex-husband", muses Rose. Oh dear.