Big 'ol door

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 2:52 pm

What's behind the big 'ol door? To provide some context, the door is based just outside a fenced-off (barbed-wire) area of Defence-owned land. This land has long been disused. It's well-hidden (so well hidden that it's impossible to see without being on said land or sliding down an almost vertical descent) and it seems to have two combination locks. It also has space for a fire extinguisher just outside of the door, accompanied by signs. It's some kind of thick metal(?) structure, impossible to kick down and I doubt that bullets would be able to penetrate it. Any thoughts on what the door is for?

Nuggs · 30 Mar 2015, 3:21 pm

Fantastic!
Yes, I'm excited about a door

Have you checked to see if there's any reference to it on ozatwar.com?

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 3:23 pm

Nuggs wrote:Fantastic!
Yes, I'm excited about a door

Have you checked to see if there's any reference to it on ozatwar.com?

Excited about a door... is this what my life has come to? :d
I haven't yet, may invest some time into it tomorrow if nobody has any other ideas. Thanks for the link!

Echo · 30 Mar 2015, 3:38 pm

Is it built into the side of a hill or cliff?

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 3:45 pm

Echo wrote:Is it built into the side of a hill or cliff?

Yeah dude, it's like a hill, but the slant isn't grass (it's stone). I drew a diagram:

Also, here are some exterior photos from the same area.

IMG_0118 by phytrix, on Flickr

IMG_0121 by phytrix, on Flickr

Echo · 30 Mar 2015, 3:51 pm

phytrix wrote:
Echo wrote:Is it built into the side of a hill or cliff?
Yeah dude, it's like a hill, but the slant isn't grass (it's stone). I drew a diagram:

Also, here are some exterior photos from the same area.

IMG_0118 by phytrix, on Flickr

IMG_0121 by phytrix, on Flickr

Looks epic. Is the whole place abandoned?

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 3:59 pm

Echo wrote:Looks epic. Is the whole place abandoned?

Yeah it is. I peeked through the windows around the back and it looked like office areas, although I also saw some big printed signs that said things like "Kitchen". I also saw a Red Cross sticker, and that container shown in the pictures might be somewhat suggestive to wartime activities. I'm guessing that this place has some pretty cool stuff once you get past the office area, but all of the other windows that I could get near without jumping/cutting the barbed-wire were fully tinted. I also saw a newspaper through the window that seemed to say "Thugs Locked Out" on the front page. I tried searching that on Google but I couldn't find anything. I'd really like to check the interior of this place out, but in doing so I'd be invading on Commonwealth land, which I think would list me as a civil terrorist if I was a) caught and b) prosecuted, so it's definitely something I'll have to put some more thought into before making any decisions.

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 4:27 pm

My father reckons it's an old Army Reserve base and that the door is a SCIF door (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_ ... n_Facility

He thinks that there is probably still some chairs/tables and likely some safes, possibly with some confidential papers and some kind of army technology.

cool_guy85 · 30 Mar 2015, 9:14 pm

Wow, if this is actually abandoned, nice find. It was still active 5 months ago. Your dad is right. Be very careful lurking inside the grounds mate. Maybe delete the external pictures that give away the location (just the first one with the graff).

phytrix · 30 Mar 2015, 9:25 pm

Decimalz wrote:Wow, if this is actually abandoned, nice find. It was still active 5 months ago. Your dad is right. Be very careful lurking inside the grounds mate. Maybe delete the external pictures that give away the location (just the first one with the graff).

Deleted the first picture, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah it's going to be dangerous, but I doubt there's any surveillance and nobody would even know if you went in. Even I do check this place out, I'll never see behind the door

Jaffs · 30 Mar 2015, 9:29 pm

In flickr you'll need to set the pic to private or friends or delete altogether mate, if that's the thing to do. Because Echo quoted your message the pic is still there in this thread, even though you edited your post.

Jaffs · 30 Mar 2015, 9:34 pm

phytrix wrote:
Decimalz wrote:Wow, if this is actually abandoned, nice find. It was still active 5 months ago. Your dad is right. Be very careful lurking inside the grounds mate. Maybe delete the external pictures that give away the location (just the first one with the graff).
Deleted the first picture, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah it's going to be dangerous, but I doubt there's any surveillance and nobody would even know if you went in. Even I do check this place out, I'll never see behind the door

Must've been doing it as I was reading this lol. The pic has gone from your post but still appeared in Echo's. Now it doesn't (but it's still on Flickr).

Aydun · 30 Mar 2015, 9:42 pm

Ya, I just edited it before.

Great find though! Definitely worth keeping ambiguous.

maggot · 30 Mar 2015, 9:48 pm

Yeah, careful what you post on here. Most stuff is visible to anyone who happens to google the right words. No need to log in.

cool_guy85 · 31 Mar 2015, 7:53 am

phytrix wrote: Deleted the first picture, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah it's going to be dangerous, but I doubt there's any surveillance and nobody would even know if you went in. Even I do check this place out, I'll never see behind the door

My advice would be to scope it out for awhile. Hang around there at around 9am-5pm weekdays and see in anyone comes and goes. Also, check it for activity on Saturday mornings.

You could also try calling their telephone number, to see if it's still connected. If someone does answer just say you're a courier and ask if that premise on ****** street is vacant.

phytrix · 31 Mar 2015, 9:21 am

Decimalz wrote:
phytrix wrote: Deleted the first picture, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah it's going to be dangerous, but I doubt there's any surveillance and nobody would even know if you went in. Even I do check this place out, I'll never see behind the door
My advice would be to scope it out for awhile. Hang around there at around 9am-5pm weekdays and see in anyone comes and goes. Also, check it for activity on Saturday mornings.

You could also try calling their telephone number, to see if it's still connected. If someone does answer just say you're a courier and ask if that premise on ****** street is vacant.

Good idea, thanks for the suggestions. From the office blocks I could see, the carpet was building up some serious mould, so that's a good sign. But yeah, I'll keep an eye on it in terms of activity. I can see it through the telescope in my lounge room anyway

Are you planning on visiting Canberra anytime soon Decimalz?

Bravado · 31 Mar 2015, 11:01 am

Point your gopro down the telescope, binoculars work ok too. Set it to timelapse and you'll be able to watch the whole day's activities in 5 mins

cool_guy85 · 31 Mar 2015, 11:10 am

Will GoPro's battery life cope with that? Awesome if it does.

phytrix wrote:Are you planning on visiting Canberra anytime soon Decimalz?

I hope so. Possibly late April I might be down there. I'll let you know when I'm coming down next.

Bravado · 31 Mar 2015, 11:12 am

Not sure about battery. I plugged into a wall charger when I needed all day use

phytrix · 31 Mar 2015, 11:13 am

Bravado wrote:Point your gopro down the telescope, binoculars work ok too. Set it to timelapse and you'll be able to watch the whole day's activities in 5 mins

My god you're a genius xD I'll have to try this, but I can only see the back area (as photographed) from my place, which likely will hold little intel :c
Honestly though, I think I might try to access the place through the roof vents, it seems relatively accessible from the roof. The windows are all barred up and there doesn't seem to be any legitimate access points.

Scarecrow · 31 Mar 2015, 6:38 pm

Could it be an explosives/gun powder safe?

phytrix · 31 Mar 2015, 6:41 pm

Scarecrow wrote:Could it be an explosives/gun powder safe?

I'm under the impression that behind the door will be some more safes, some of them may possibly have firearms/explosives for training purposes. I doubt we'll ever know though

The door itself is a SCIF door though, I'm almost certain on that point after doing some research

blakjak · 31 Mar 2015, 7:02 pm

Guns/ammo and that kind of stuff would in a very safe building that's guarded behind many fences, not open to the public to access.
Would more likely be something like a documents store, or a hidden entry?
Looks like a pretty hard-core safe door (Chubb) with combination locks, I bet it's alarmed.

Will-043 · 01 Apr 2015, 11:09 am

Locked doors like those always make me wonder what's on the other side. Could be filled with all sorts of stuff or could be totally empty. Bet an oxy torch would be a suitable can opener for that sort of door though.

phytrix · 01 Apr 2015, 2:27 pm

Will-043 wrote:Locked doors like those always make me wonder what's on the other side. Could be filled with all sorts of stuff or could be totally empty. Bet an oxy torch would be a suitable can opener for that sort of door though.

Probably could get through with an oxy-torch, but as blakjak mentioned, it may be alarmed. Even if it isn't alarmed, you'd still be committing a crime against the Commonwealth, which constitutes an act of civil terrorism, correct?