The case of the missing waterfall

But that's exactly what seems to have happened to Elsies Falls, near Tidbinbilla.

The falls, a dramatic cascade of water plunging down a 30-metre cliff, feature in a captivating historic black-and-white photo held by the Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association. No one is sure of the exact date of the photo. Some say 1920s others 1950s.

The falls don't appear in many historical accounts of the area, although they were a selling point on a tourist trip to the ACT rural fringe conducted by Keith Green in the 1960s. Whether or not Keith's guests looked at the falls from a viewpoint on the Tidbinbilla Road, or a forestry road, or whether they visited the falls isn't clear. However, given the rest of Keith's tour was more sight-seeing and less traipsing up and down hills, I suspect the former.

A landmark called Elsies Falls is marked on the Tidbinbilla 1:25 000 topographic map, located just below Camels Hump on the Tidbinbilla Range, but when Canberra bushwalking legend John Evans (who incidentally was recently awarded an OAM for services to bushwalking, congrats John) went searching for the falls back in 2006, he was left far from impressed. "The GPS took us to a most insignificant Elsies Falls. Not a hint of water in the dry drainage line," he wrote in his trip report.

Subsequent scouring of the bush by John and other members of the Canberra Bushwalking Club (CBC) concluded the falls are wrongly marked on the map, and that the site of the falls must be much further down the very steep rock gully along Hurdle Creek or one of its arms. "A waterfall, even if dry, in such a dramatic setting, surely can't be that hard to locate," wrote historian/bushwalker Jenny Horsfield in the CBC newsletter of July 2020. My sentiments exactly.

So do they exist at all? Was the black-and-white photo an elaborate scam depicting another more spectacular fall, or simply mislabelled? And what exactly did Keith Green show passengers on his tours?

Well, there's no doubt that a falls called Elsies once did exist. Helen Jeffery, 81, of Jerrabomberra remembers spending weekends visiting friends in the Tidbinbilla Valley and clambering up to Elsies Falls as a young girl in the late 1940s. "It was a long time ago, but I don't recall them being as big as in that photo," says Helen, poring over the historic photo.

The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve rangers are equally as puzzled by the photo. "There's nothing like that around here. We think it looks like something down Kangaroo Valley way," says one ranger, while reserve manager John McRae reports "there are no shortage of substantial waterfalls in the area, but none match that old photo".

Keen to get to the bottom of the mystery (and the falls!) once and for all, the CBC recently embarked on a series of exploratory excursions along the eastern side of the Tidbinbilla Range.

On the first trip, when the party split up into three groups and searched the thick scrub around Hurdle Creek with military precision, they returned empty-handed and with ripped trousers from the near inpenetrable bush.

Undeterred, guided by further trips and video of a falls taken from a distance by Lauren Ogden (remember she was our trig hunter extraordinaire) after recent big rains, a new plan was hatched.

Foolishly your seriously unfit akubra-clad columnist accepted an invitation to join in the hunt. Having not walked off-track for some time due to a gammy ankle, its tough going following nine super-fit CBC members who cavort up the side of mountains with the agility of a herd of mountain goats.

After an hour searching on Hurdle Creek, we (actually that should be 'they', for I spent most of the time searching for my breath) locate a modest cascade of water that drops about 10 metres. But we all agree it can't be Elsies. It's not dramatic enough. After studying the contours on the map a little closer, a new plan to search the north arm of Hurdles Creek at about the 900m elevation mark is devised. It turns out to be a brainwave, after another hour of rock hopping up the steep gully, the giant falls is spotted. It's not in full fury but water is flowing steadily. We scurry (read: slide on our bums down a scree slope) down the steep side. This is it. It has to be. Doesn't it?

We try to replicate the old black-and-white photo, but it doesn't quite compare. Changing vegetation, several large fires, floods and rock falls could change the appearance over the course of 100 years or so, couldn't it? Probably not this much though.

There's no doubt we found the Elsies Falls on the eastern side of the Tidbinbilla Range, but it's highly unlikely it's the same falls as appears in the historic photo.

So where to from here? Firstly, the 1:25 000 Tidbinbilla map needs to be corrected to show the actual location of the falls, and secondly the Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association may need a caveat on the description of the historic photo, indicating it may not be Elsies Falls after all. Finally, your akubra-clad columnist needs to work on his fitness, so he's not left huffing and puffing, shown up by fellow walkers, many of whom were 20 years my senior.

STOP PRESS: Until its provenance is confirmed, the Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association have temporarily removed the historic photograph from public display.

The waterfall: If the falls in the historic black-and-white photo isn't Elsies Falls, then where was the photo taken? Could it be Pierces Creek Falls, or perhaps even a falls from further afield in Kangaroo Valley? Someone must know.

Who was Elsie anyway? According to historian Jenny Horsfield, "Elsie Jane Green was one of seven children of George Green, a settler who took up land in the Tidbinbilla Valley in the 1890s." Elsie married Eric Blewitt from another pioneering family and in the 1930s they moved to Nil Desperandum, the Blewitt homestead located on Hurdle Creek at the foot of the Tidbinbilla Range. Eric was killed in the early 1950s while drenching a horse.

Rough it in style: You can bunk down at Nil Desperandum, Elsie's historic European pisé home. 'Nils', as is it affectionately known, has two bedrooms, a kitchen with wood stove, veranda and fenced yard. There is solar lighting, a shared long drop toilet, rainwater to the kitchen, outside gas BBQ and a fire pit. Bookings via Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Nils was given its name, meaning 'never despair', by its original owner, reclusive Irishman Henry Ffrench Gillman (a story for another column) in 1896.

Did You Know? In 1939, a koala enclosure was built between Elsies Falls and Nil Desperandum. Approximately 200m long by 50m wide, the enclosure straddled Hurdle Creek. Koalas were imported from Victoria and a breeding program commenced. Unfortunately, with commencement of World War II the enclosure only operated for a year due to the lack of funds. It quickly fell into ruin and the koalas escaped into the surrounding bush.

Keith Green's Tours: If you ever attended Keith's bushland tours in the mid-1960s, I'd love to hear from you. They look like a real hoot, though I'm not sure how he heated up those Big Ben Pies pictured in the box on the picnic table.

Clue: Entrance to one of our first hospitals, but which one?

Degree of difficulty: Hard.

Last week: Congratulations to Bob Kennard of Carwoola who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as a letterbox on the south side of, and about half-way along, the Rocky Plain Road between Kosciuszko Rd and Middlingbank Rd near Berridale. Some readers asked if the striking letterbox was related to Alan and Julie Aston's infamous zebra sculptures which made a fleeting appearance on Lake George in 2010. However, Alan confirms there is no connection. "The Berridale specimen looks more like a horse than a zebra," he reports, adding "it is unrelated to my herd unless one of my mob has been cavorting with the brumbies in The Snowies."

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to tym@iinet.net.au. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday 3 July, 2021, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.

Readers continue to submit photos of Canberra landmarks taken 50 years apart. Please keep them coming. Check out these rippers of the Tuggeranong valley photographed from the same spot on the eastern side of Mt Taylor by Kambah shutterbug Frank Bergersen. "The first photo was taken in October 1971 before Kambah and the valley was developed and the second photo last week," reveals Frank.

CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick