City Tiger Cat

Clippings from the Canberra Times of 1966 reporting the capture of a spotted tailed quoll in the Canberra suburb of Yarralumla. Once known locally as the Tiger Cat, the three clippings tell the tale of its capture in a bird cage, its handing over to the CSIRO in Belconnen and the subsequent calls to have the species protected. The animals are still seen on rare occurances in the suburbs of Canberra with the last being identified in Gowrie ACT a few months ago.

The Canberra Times - Saturday 2 April 1966

National Library of Australia

The Canberra Times - Tuesday 5 April 1966

National Library of Australia

The Canberra Times - Tuesday 26 April 1966

National Library of Australia

The Secret Life of Wombats

Last year I set a remote wildlife camera looking at a wombat burrow on the Murrumbidgee River near Tharwa in the ACT. I did this on three occasions over a few months collecting 30 second snapshots of video of interactions around a large burrow. There are three parts to this video.

Halfway through section two is a series of captures which I suspect are mating rituals although the wombats were so active and non-compliant with staying in front of the camera their modesty is retained. The mating goes for a few minutes so I have left the clips in their entirety.

An insight into the nocturnal activities of Canberra wombats...

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Simpsons Hill ANZAC memorial

A local feature on one of my walks. Not all ANZAC memorials are located at cenotaphs. On a hill near the Canberra suburbs of Chisholm and Gilmore stands a flagpole with a brass plaque below where every ANZAC eve the children, teachers & parents of both local primary schools gather to remember...

The view from Simpson's Hill

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Tidbinbilla Aboriginal rock art

I didn't know about this location of Aboriginal rock art at Tidbinbilla. In the early 70's a PhD from the Australian National University discovered a painting of a single kangaroo estimated to have first been painted over 300 years ago. It certainly today isn't a site open to the public and is apparently located in an inaccessible area of Tidbinbilla. No images I can find of this.

The Canberra Times - Wednesday 1 November 1972

National Library of Australia

Protecting Magpies

Spring has sprung and the first warnings of the Canberra Magpie swooping season have started to emerge. A search of the Trove archives in relation to our sometimes nemesis of feathered friends and Canberra reveal hundreds of results as Canberrans struggled with the yearly aerial bird bombardment.

This 75 year old article is fairly representative of articles in the early days of Canberra. I will note a great deal of mention was usually made of the Canberra Golf Club where it was particularly dangerous in regard Magpies apparently however this article describes Canberra as a Magpie's paradise and sums up the dilemma of residents as they struggled with the concept of not killing them as pests.

p.s I believe there are only four species of Australian Magpies...

The Horsham Times (Vic.) Friday 5 August 1938

National Library of Australia

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