Several years ago, this column unwittingly dived into the rabbit hole of so-called "ghost" roads - transport corridors that appear on maps but not on the ground. The resulting long list of these phantom roads included the circular network of roads at the planned - but long abandoned - 1920s Environa estate near Hume.
Then there are those roads that once were busy thoroughfares but are no more, like Lavarack Road that runs on the lower slopes of Mt Pleasant near the Royal Military College of Duntroon, that once connected Queanbeyan to Hall and beyond to Yass.
However, it seems that Canberra also has a "ghost" creek. If you look on many modern maps, you'll see Village Creek winding its way 6-7 kilometres through the centre of Kambah.
However, if you go looking for the creek, don't hold your breath. For, apart from its headwaters on the slopes of Mt Taylor and its mouth at Lake Tuggeranong (near Athllon Drive just west of Drakeford Drive), you won't find it.
That's because the creek runs almost its entire length underground. It's Kambah's answer to the Tank Stream in Sydney.
While most of Canberra's other suburban creeks such as Sullivans Creek and Ginninderra Creek in the north and Yarralumla and Tuggeranong Creek in the south run either through natural water courses or along open concrete channels, Village Creek was purposefully piped.
According to town planner Ed Wensing, "the main reason was to prevent flooding".
Ed will be revealing secrets of the creek and other aspects of the planning of Kambah, Canberra's biggest suburb, at a special Heritage Day on September 7, to celebrate Kambah's 50th birthday.
The day is being organised by Kambah historian Glenn Schwinghamer who believes "most people who take a stroll along the green parklands that run through the spine of Kambah do so unknowing that they are walking atop the Village Creek which has been a long-standing feature of this area".
And while today the parkland that sits atop the creek has been carefully sculptured with gentle slopes, the original course of the creek was much more dramatic.
While Archives ACT holds some National Capital Development Commission photographs that highlight the creek's former appearance, it is even better captured in an oral history interview Glenn conducted with Sim Bennet Junior 20 years ago. It was Sim's father who ran Kambah Station for 30 or so years before it was resumed by the Commonwealth government for the construction of Kambah in the early 1970s.
According to Sim Bennet Junior, it was a "character creek".
"Character creeks have these big buttresses of clay that stick out and in a child's mind they're like the Grand Canyon, so it was a character creek and it had swampy bits and it had flat bits, which you could get through and bits which horses hated and bits which stock liked, and an old windmill," he told Glenn.
Sim also provided some insights into how the creek dried up in times of drought and ran a banker during heavy rains.
"The creek bed dried, but there were waterholes and definitely down where the windmill was, there was always water in that part. And there were these floodgates ... where the neighbour's horses crossed."
And of course, for kids growing up on a farm in the 1960s, the creek was a source of adventure for Sim and his brother Steve.
"Steve and I had the greatest fun crossing these floodgates. We'd hold on to one wire and [put] your feet on another wire and you'd cross the water, and you wouldn't get dunked; you'd get across to the other side. There was no other way across."
Sim did draw the line at swimming in the creek due to ... leeches.
"I remember having a bath in our bathroom at home and this leech came out of the tap and our bath water was muddy. You couldn't see yourself in it, so we didn't know where the leech was. But yes, we often had leeches come through the bath tap".
While engineers who worked on diverting the creek underground in the early 1970s have passed on to that even bigger suburb in the sky, both Ed and Glenn are certain that flood mitigation was the main reason the creek was buried.
"I'm sure the timing of the tragedy at Woden in January 1971, when a raging torrent of water flowing through an open drainage channel of the Yarralumla Creek washed several cars off the road, resulting the death of seven people, was also a factor," explains Ed.
Sim also recalled the first pipes being laid.
"I remember seeing all this machinery there and these huge lines of pipes being just laid out by tracks ... and they put in three rows of six-foot pipes all joined up from the top of the creek to the very - I guess it goes all the way through to Tuggeranong Lake."
Like your akubra-clad columnist, Glenn would love to know if anyone else has memories of Village Creek prior to the construction of the suburb. Even better if you have photographs.
Did You Know? Early plans refer to the suburb we now call Kambah as Village Creek. It wasn't until 1971, just three years prior to the first residents moving in, that the name was changed to Kambah, after "the homestead centrally located in the proposed development and a name long associated with the area".
Step back in time at heritage day
To celebrate Kambah's 50th birthday, there are a range of community events over coming weeks, including a heritage day on Saturday September 7.
Pastoral: Take a short walking tour around remnant Kambah Station buildings and sites, starting at Kambah Woolshed at 9am. Earlier this week, Kambah historian Glenn Schwinghamer gave me a sneak peek of this walk that he will lead with Suzun Bennet, the daughter of former Kambah Station owner Sim Bennet - it's a real step back in time.
Be sure to ask Glenn about the mystery drain, the vanishing pool and the igloo-shaped Nissen Hut previously used as a hayshed. Oh, and not far from the old Kambah Woolshed, don't miss the colourful circa-1960 meat house which once boasted a flyscreen door (and side screens), a thick wooden bench at one end, and a log stump which was presumably used for chopping meat.
There was also a killing shed not far away. The mural on the safe, painted by a college student in 2004, depicts a silhouette of the Kambah Homestead.
Design and Planning. Experts explain unusual and interesting features of Kambah's design, landscape (yes, including Village Creek), infrastructure and buildings. 11am at Urambi Village Community Centre. You'll also leave with some fascinating trivia: like, did you know there were initially plans for the Tuggeranong (Freeway) Parkway to sweep behind Kambah and Urambi Hills to the western side of the Murrumbidgee River?
Natural Disaster. Hear the story of Kambah's Firestorm Story Tree, created by residents after the 2003 bushfire, and share experiences of the firestorm with some of those most impacted. 2pm at the Firestorm Story Tree, off Ammon Place.
All three events are free and can be booked on Eventbrite. Google "Kambah Heritage Day" to find the links. For details, email kambahturns50@gmail.com
WHERE IN CANBERRA?
Rating: Medium
Clue: In keeping with today's theme
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email received after 10am, Saturday August 24 wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
Last week: Congratulations to Kerry McDonald of Gowrie who was first to correctly identify last week's photo taken on the deck of the Red Shed, at the Cafe Sosta, on Black Mountain Peninsula, looking across Lake Burley Griffin towards Weston Park. Kerry recognised the new café, having recently attended a birthday celebration at the knock-out venue. Meanwhile, Paul Meyer of Curtin has been keeping an eye on the construction of the café from across the water at Weston Park where he works as a volunteer in maintaining the SIEV X Memorial. He plans to visit the cafe soon to catch the view of the memorial from there.
If you plan on visiting, my only tip would be to wait until the warmer weather before pulling up a pew on the balcony. It's a bit chilly in the winter shade (yes, my hot coffee quickly turned into an iced coffee) but come summer there won't be a more sought-after lakeside location for brunch. I can't wait.
SPOTTED
Continuing this column's recent obsession with unusually placed bus stops comes this photo from Heather Leedman snapped on top of Pigeon House Mountain (Didthul) on New Years Day 1978. "It's Jim and I, our kids, and a couple of friends' kids - the youngest of them was four-and-a-half years old! Quite a feat for a little kid." Indeed. Does anyone else remember this genuine bus stop marker perched at the summit, no doubt as someone's idea of a quirky joke? And more importantly, who carried it all the way up? I'd love to know.
SIMULACRA CORNER
While exploring the south-west side of Black Mountain, Kumalie Walker noticed this unusual "face" rock. "Looks a bit like he is wearing a hat". Definitely very little chance of this stone-faced character getting sunburn.
- CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au/ or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, GPO Box 606, Civic, ACT, 2601
