How my fairy tale began, or, rather, continued

My fairy tale began, or continued, with the following email, resulting in a two week expenses paid trip to Australia as the Stone Fairy:

fullname: David Curry
email: david.curry@canberratimes.com.au
comments: Hi, I am a journalist at The Canberra Times and I was wondering if you might have been at the Canberra College of Advanced Education in 1974? The reason is that, as the 40th anniversary looms, the university is trying to find the woman who startled John Gorton by leaping out from underneath the foundation stone and doing a little dance at a dedication ceremony. She entered uni folklore as 'the stone fairy'. We think her name is Marcia McReynolds, and it would be great to find her.
Is it you? Please let us know either way. If it is you, would love to chat (all of Canberra is dying to find out who this women is/was). Thanks

He had written this article for the front page of the Canberra Times. asking people to say who the girl was in the pictures (below) with John Gorton and received several calls (some mysteriously anonymous) saying that it was Marcia McReynolds:

Wanted: the fairy who made Gorton believe in magic

BY DAVID CURRY AND NATHAN DUKES

28/06/2008 9:37:00 AM

Who is the stone fairy and where is she now? It's not a typical research question for the University of Canberra, but by its 40th anniversary in October the university would like to fill a gap in its folklore.

The stone fairy made her one and only appearance in 1974, on October 28, a particularly auspicious day for the university. Since then she's disappeared in the mists of time, along with other relics from the 1970s, such as long hair and conspicuous public consumption of marijuana. But in the intervening years her legend has grown.

The Students' Association of the then Canberra College of Advanced Education had invited John Gorton to rededicate its foundation stone as a special activity for StoneDay.

StoneDay was the annual celebration of Mr Gorton's original dedication of the stone on October 28, 1968, when he was Prime Minister. That had been a very formal affair.

The rededication, essentially a re-enactment, was different. Mr Gorton pulled the covering blanket away with a flourish, revealing not just the foundation stone but also the stone fairy. She was a young female student, lying casually on her side beneath the stone, with what looked very much like a large joint in her mouth.

In large letters across her T-shirt were the words ''Stone fairy''.

Mr Gorton blinked, cameras clicked, and an instant legend was created.

Graham Eadie, of Braddon, was then the assistant registrar of the college. Now retired, he fondly remembers the occasion.

''The stone fairy's face was painted green, I think, and she wore black tights,'' he said. ''She was nestled down beneath the stone. She leapt up and did a little sort of dance in front of Mr Gorton, who played it very genially he's a good-natured sort of person. Then she just wandered off.''

The photos of the event do in fact appear to show Mr Gorton smiling. Mr Eadie said, ''I feel certain that the Students Association organised the fairy's appearance. But they had a positive relationship with the institution. It was a genial part of the celebrations.''

He said the large audience, which would have included all the senior college officials, had been ''delighted'' and had applauded the fairy enthusiastically.

Today's students seem ignorant of the stone fairy's special place in the university's history. A survey drew mostly blank looks yesterday.

The Stonefest music festival, the weekend climax of StoneWeek, is known all around Australia for its lineups of high-profile acts. StoneWeek traces its origins to the first Stoneday, held in October 1972. It seems the celebration has endured, but not the legend of the stone fairy.

This year the University of Canberra marks its 40th anniversary (the Canberra College of Advanced Education became the University of Canberra in 1990). More than 60,000 students have graduated from the institution.

The 40th anniversary celebrations will begin on August 4 and continue through to Stonefest at the end of October. Among the events planned is the foundation stone anniversary on October 28. It would seem perfect if, somehow, the original stone fairy were to reappear.

If you have any information about this mysterious creature, please contact the university, on inga.davis@canberra.edu.au, or The Canberra Times.