Travelbeat Editorial Review Mt Stromlo & Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex Tourist Drive 5, Australian Capital Territory Story and photos by Kerry Hennigan The highway to Tidbinbilla passes through some of the worst hit areas of the firestorm of 18 January 2003. Forests were burned, homes destroyed, lives devastated, and the evidence remains as close as the roadside on Tourist Drive 5, known as Canberra's "Discovery Drive". Typically of the spirit of revival that came in the wake of the fire, Canberra continues to strive on-ward and upwards - even to the other planets in our Solar System, and beyond. Forests have been replanted, the bush has regenerated, and facilities are being rebuilt or repaired. Though some, like Mt Stromlo Observatory's historic 50" reflector known as the Great Melbourne Telescope (1868) and the Uppsala Dome with its library, computers, records and telescopes belonging to the Canberra Astronomical Society, are irreplaceable. But Mt Stromlo (pictured above, at top) is still well worth a visit. There is a Visitor Centre (open 10 am - 5 pm Wednesday to Sunday), tours of the ruins left by the fire, and the buildings that, amazingly survived. Mt Stromlo Observatory is the headquarters of the Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which also operates Siding Spring near Coonabarabran in New South Wales. The staff is a dedicated group, who were back at work in the remaining offices and laboratories just two weeks after the fires. The complex reopened to visitors in October 2004. The rebuilding process can be followed on-line at www.mso.anu.edu.au. It is worth taking the time to sit in the little park adjacent to the (miraculously) unscathed Duffield and Woolley buildings and listen to the sounds of the landscape, the human activity (most of it associated with construction work), and the frequent birdsong. But on this open hilltop site, it is the sound of the wind that is most prominent. It blew with gale force when the bushfires roared through the complex in 2003. Sounds are also evident at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla. With its 4 giant antenna 'dishes' tracking spacecraft, there is an almost indistinct hum of mechanisms. The biggest antenna, designated DSS-43 (pictured above) is 70 metres in diameter and weighs over 7.5 million kg. The dishes assist in the guidance and control of the manned and unmanned spacecraft exploring our Solar System, and constitute the largest array in the southern hemisphere. Inside the Canberra Space Centre visitor facility, numerous displays reflect the work of NASA and the important role played by Canberra as a part of that organisation's Deep Space Network (DSN). A space suit worn by Australian astronaut Andy Thomas, a large model of the space shuttle, a small theatre screening educational documentaries, and a genuine Moon rock (3.8 million years old) fill the Centre, to which admission is free. The Moon Rock Café and Gift Shop overlook the valley in which the antennas are gathering scientific data as well as communicating with interplanetary craft. The open deck of the Café (home of "the best coffee in the galaxy", would you believe?) is an excellent spot on a sunny day for a light meal and is as popular with local residents as with visitors from further afield. After lunch, if some exercise seems like a good idea, the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (at right) is located nearby on Tourist Drive 5. It too suffered from the 2003 fires, but is once again a pleasant place to walk the nature trails or have a picnic or BBQ while identifying the abundant native birdlife, or encountering some of the native fauna of this northern end of the Australian Alps. One resident of Tidbinbilla is Lucky, the sole captive koala to have survived the bushfires. Lucky is now, happily, thriving in her enclosure, and has new companions transplanted from the over-populated koala colonies of Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The name Tidbinbilla is derived from the Aboriginal word "Jedbinbilla" which refers to a place of male initiation. The reserve includes some significant artefact sites as well as prehistoric cave shelters which can be viewed from the walking trails. The Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre with its gift shop, coffee and light refreshments, is open 9:00am - 4:30pm on weekdays, and from 9:00am - 5:30pm on weekends and public holidays (closed Christmas Day). The grounds of the reserve are open until 6:00pm (8:00pm during daylight saving). For more information on the places mentioned above, visit: www.canberratourism.com.au. In additional to general information on Canberra and the ACT and its many visitor attractions, the site contains direct links to the Mt Stromlo and CDSCC websites as well as the ACT Department of Environment web page on Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. A map of Tourist Drive 5 can be downloaded from the CDSCC website. Back to Front Page