Hidden in a gorge on the southern side of a hill less than 1.5 kilometres from suburban Banks is a secret waterfall. Due to its proximity to the homestead of the same name, some call it Lanyon Waterfall, others refer to it as the Rob Roy Waterfall after the little-known nature reserve it's squirreled away in.
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Although established as a nature reserve back in 1993, it was only really during the height of the pandemic that Canberrans began to discover Rob Roy in any significant numbers. Even then, due to lack of signage and only one clearly marked access point, it's far from over-run with visitors.
Most enter the 2000-hectare reserve via a steep bitumen track that eventually leads up to the trig atop Big Monks (look out for paragliders on weekends). Meanwhile, more adventurous visitors can trek on to Mt Rob Roy, home to an old-school wooden trig and due to dense forest, underwhelming views from the summit.
However, hardly anyone visits the waterfall and even fewer a curious century-old mine site also in the reserve. Both features have been on my local bucket list for years, so when Jenny Horsfield from the Canberra Bushwalking Club recently offered to take me to both, I jumped at the chance.
It's far from an idyllic start to the walk. Jenny likes to take the road (or track) less travelled so instead of heading up the bitumen, we sneak around the back of the conspicuous concrete wall built across the creek at the back of Orange Thorn Crescent in Banks. It's there to prevent a gully raker from washing into the backyards of houses but it appears as if a few spray can-wielding locals also view it is a blank canvas on which to scrawl their unsavoury graffiti.
Thankfully, once you leave this necessary monstrosity behind, within five minutes you could be anywhere in the ACT bush as we rock-hop our way up the creek line.
Once we haul ourselves out of the creek, it's an hour or so of scrambling up steep slopes, skirting orchid fields and slogging through rain-soaked paddocks. As former pastoral leases, a lot of the area was cleared by early settlers and there are still the telltale signs of ring barking on some of the dead trees.
We hear the falls before we see them. The base is accessed via a slippery slope, so at first we observe from afar.
Despite recent rain, it's far from a raging torrent, a reminder that due to its small catchment (in an unnamed creek), the waterfall only lives up to its name during, or soon after, rain.
"I've visited [the falls] half a dozen or so times and depending how soon after rain, they've either been totally dry or gushing with a lot of water," says avid bushwalker David Wardle who's joined us for the walk.
David also reveals he's always called them "Big Monks Falls" - so there's another name to add to the list.
We scamper down the hill to the plunge pool (too cold for a dip today) where we're greeted by an unexpected site - a rusting old motor bike, presumably pushed here from above. David says it's been here for quite some time. Unfortunately, with flat tyres and no fuel, it's not going to help me get back out of the gorge.
Just like the falls, the mine isn't on the map, nor on a track. We could take the easy route but of course that's not Jenny's style. Instead, it's a heart-starting climb up the slopes flanking the southern side of the waterfall, followed by a hop skip and jump across the rocky cascades at the top of the falls before a bush bash through a tea-tree thicket.
About 30 minutes after emerging from the thicket, David, who'd scouted ahead, hollers that he's "found the mine".
Once you are on top of the long-abandoned mine, you can't miss it - a 12 by 10-metre gash in the side of the hill surrounded by a flimsy fence with a "Danger, Deep Excavation" sign.
ACT Parks and Conservation Service must expect the occasional hiker to stumble across the old copper mine as there's also an interpretation sign explaining it was established in 1910 by Andrew Jackson Cunningham of Lanyon Station, in partnership with TE Woodger, a local stock and station agent. "It's called the Black and White Mine, so-called because members of both black and white races were employed here," the sign states.
While I'm glad I've finally checked the mine off my bucket list, the real treasure here is the dramatic view south towards the northern face of Mt Tennent (yes, I'm still stretching my hammies after last week's hike). In the midground you can also make out Lanyon Homestead, backed by the green hills of Tidbinbilla.
Not that those working here over a century ago would have had much time to soak up the bucolic vistas. Jenny points towards the steep incline directly below the mine, still scattered with tailings. "Presumably the workers had to scramble up that hill to work each day and then toiled away, digging by hand all day," she says, adding "there's no evidence that gelignite was used".
The mining venture was short-lived; later in the same year it was opened an engineer advised that it wasn't worth developing any further.
Our nature reserves are full of surprises. Have you discovered any hidden curiosities in your patch of bush? If so, I'd love to hear from you.
Rob Roy Nature Reserve's hidden gems
Rob Roy Nature Reserve: The reserve protects yellow box-red gum grassy woodland, many rare plant species and is important for woodland birds.
Main entry: There's a tiny car park on Orange Thorn Crescent in Banks. If the car park is full, park on a nearby street ensuring not to block any driveways. The reserve's main entry is via a steep track behind a large water reservoir visible at the end of the street.
Park peaks: Most visit the reserve to walk up Big Monks (5.3km return from the main entry) or Mt Rob Roy (10.5km return from main entry via Big Monks). Mt Rob Roy is a much longer walk and views from the peak are obscured by forest. The best part of this walk is the return when you can enjoy the views.
Waterfall and mine: As the falls aren't marked on maps and there is no dedicated track to them, only attempt to visit them with a bushwalking group or someone who knows the area well. The Black and White Mine is located down a steep incline about 200 metres to the south-west of the Big Monks trig. Again, access is off track, so take care if planning a visit. Given more and more people are discovering the reserve, perhaps ACT Parks and Conservation could consider creating a loop track linking these two features?
Rob Roy trig: The wooden tripod trig atop Mt Rob Roy is one of only a handful of such trigs still in the Canberra area. Most have been replaced with steel.
It's all in a name: Does anyone know why Mt Rob Roy is so-called? Some locals have suggested European settlers named the prominent hill after Scottish outlaw Robert Roy MacGregor (1671-1734) and that the name stuck.
WHERE IN CANBERRA?
Clue: Not good on a cloudy day
Difficulty: Hard
Last week: Congratulations to Peter Morgan of Kambah who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as the old Bank of New South Wales building in Cobargo which has recently housed a clothing store and a home brew supply business. Peter just beat Dave Byers to the prize. The clue of "The Junction" related to Cobargo's first European name due to its location at the junction of a couple of creeks.
Former Canberra newsreader Malcolm Grieve reports he worked in the Cobargo bank back in the winter of 1970. Apparently, it was such a cold and wet winter that he "stopped shaving for lack of hot water". Malcolm also recalls "the building was a classic Bank of NSW design - lots of solid wood polished to a shine". The design of the building also attracted comment from Jo Miles who was working at the bank (then Westpac) when it closed in 1997. "The building has an unusually high-pitched roof in case of snow as it was built from the same plans as the bank in Cooma," she muses.
Gregory Salway, who was "Cobargo born and bred", reports that about 40 years ago, while crossing the busy Princes Highway from the bank to his uncle's butcher shop, his brother was hit by a car. "Luckily he was scooped up relatively unharmed by the then bank manager Mr Spence." Phew. As a result of this and other accidents involving pedestrians, an underpass was eventually constructed to enable people to safely cross the Princes Highway.
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to tym@iinet.net.au. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday November 27, 2021, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
SIMULACRA CORNER
While recently exploring Rob Roy Nature Reserve, Ron Jacobs of Calwell was stopped in his tracks by this one-eared elephant. What a ripper!