A time lord in residence
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- Publication: The Canberra Times
- Date: 2013-11-20
- Author:
- Page: A12
- Language: English
The Doctor is in; in Hall to be exact. Further to Tuesday's report on the push to bring Dr Who Down Under, we can advise that the Tardis landed in the heritage village on the ACT border in February and has yet to leave the ACT.
This all came about when Territory Energy electrician Shaun O'Connor, a long-time fan of the doctor since becoming hooked on the series while growing up in Canberra during the 1970s, surprised his wife Tanya by installing a replica of the world's most famous police call box in the front yard of their home while she was away visiting her mum.
"We've been married for 15 years and I've suddenly discovered he likes Dr Who," she said. "I came back from mum's to find we had a Tardis in the garden."
Tanya, who has only recently been conscripted as a Dr Who enthusiast, confessed that until February she had not known what a Tardis was.
"I'd heard Shaun call a friend's handbag the Tardis (its apparently bigger inside than outside) but I didn't know what it meant."
She does now. Since its overnight advent in the tiny village, the ACT's latest time machine* has proved a hit with visitors and locals alike.
"We'd get 10 or 20 people calling by [to take photographs] a weekend," Shaun said. "It wasn't meant to be a tourist attraction, just a point of interest in the garden instead of a wagon wheel or piece of farm machinery.
"So far its been featured in wedding photographs and even police like it [because of the police connection]."
As replicas go, the Hall Tardis is as close to the real deal as it is possible to get.
"It is built off an original set of plans for a British police call box," Shaun said. "I was able to track them down in Tasmania.
"A friend of mine, Anthony Parsons, is a carpenter and he built it to specification. It took two men working eight hours a day for two weeks - about 160 hours."
While we're not sure if Shaun's toolbox includes a sonic screwdriver, the family does have their very own K-9.
Henry, a very dignified Airedale Terrier, arrived on the scene just under two years ago.
He, like the Tardis, has proved a huge hit with the couple's three children who are aged 10, eight and six.
The Hall Tardis has its own "Doctor in residence", a life-size cut-out of the Tom Baker doctor Tanya was able to buy in Canberra.
The Tom Baker time lord is Shaun's favourite. He remembers watching him every night at 6pm.
There wasn't much choice for a kid in Canberra back in the early 1970s; it was either Doctor Who on the ABC or something newsy on the Channel Seven affiliate.
The ACT's other time machine is the 1981 DeLorean, complete with flux capacitor, owned by Canberra science fiction and classic car enthusiast Callum Bowen.
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- APA 6th ed.: (2013-11-20). A time lord in residence. The Canberra Times p. A12.
- MLA 7th ed.: "A time lord in residence." The Canberra Times [add city] 2013-11-20, A12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "A time lord in residence." The Canberra Times, edition, sec., 2013-11-20
- Turabian: "A time lord in residence." The Canberra Times, 2013-11-20, section, A12 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=A time lord in residence | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_time_lord_in_residence | work=The Canberra Times | pages=A12 | date=2013-11-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=9 November 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=A time lord in residence | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_time_lord_in_residence | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=9 November 2024}}</ref>
