Birds of a Feather
Because they speak in unison, parodies of them flooded the internet but the Twinnies are unfazed by the attention.
Their life purpose is to rehabilitate seabirds at their sanctuary on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. But all that was under threat until a mystery benefactor came along.
teaser Quirky identical twins Bridgette and Paula Powers were in the process of sharing some exciting news with Australian Story when they suddenly became a global sensation.
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News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Darwin man dives into crocodile infested waters in Darwin
An adrenaline junkie has been slammed online after diving headfirst, alone, into crocodile-infested waters at night. Darwin local JC headed to Mangrove Boardwalk in central Darwin for an evening dip, with footage showing the young daredevil, dressed in a dark-coloured wetsuit and a snorkel, jumping over the railing and into the surrounding water. @b.e.h.a.v.i.n come join me for a swim at Darwins hidden little gem, the mangrove boardwalk ♬ original sound - BEHAVIN Captioning his post, 'Come join me for a swim at Darwin's hidden gem, the Mangrove Boardwalk', social media users were quick to point out the obvious – JC was entering the home of saltwater crocodiles. The video shows him swimming around the water, barely visible in the darkness except for a flashlight worn on his head, before sitting on a tree branch among the mangroves nearby. Even local crocodile enthusiast Damian 'Wildman' Duffy was hesitant about the daring dive. 'Look, as silly as this is, the chance of a Saltie (saltwater crocodile) being here is pretty low … but it's definitely not zero,' he wrote. 'It only takes one. 'In short, f**k that entirely.' Another added, 'Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.' 'What is he actually trying to achieve here? There's pools at the caravan park,' a third joked. Many voiced concern for a potential run-in with the giant reptiles, and if anything were to happen not to kill the crocodile involved. 'I lived in Darwin for a few years, and these people are brave cos (sic) from what I saw up there, even the puddles have crocs in them,' one said. 'If he dies it's on him not the croc,' another added. Crocodile expert and zoologist Grahame Webb, from Crocodylus Park, told it comes down to a 'misadventure problem'. 'Crocs are really serious predators on people – you can't sugar-coat it, they're just pretty dangerous animals,' Mr Webb said. 'It's not that people are silly, it's just they think they'll get away with something, and they do get away – obviously he got away – but it's the sort of thing you wouldn't encourage people to keep doing. 'I wouldn't anyway. It's not very clever, people are always doing things like this death defying act.' Mr Webb said the risk of being taken by a crocodile in Darwin Harbour was low, due to successful culling efforts, but the risk still wasn't worth it. 'You don't know, (if) a croc is 100, 200 metres, 300 metres away at night, you wouldn't have a clue,' he added. 'You've got to seek advice before going swimming anywhere. 'There's some wonderful swimming pools and that's safe, and there's some wonderful places that the rangers make sure there's no crocs in … places like this where people can swim in wild places.'
SBS Australia
10 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'I was shocked': Melbourne man's 'unbelievable' find after buying house
Key Points After finalising the purchase of a home in Melbourne's northern suburbs, a Melbourne man found something unexpected. There had been no mention of the expansive model train network beneath the home's floors. Coincidentally, new owner Daniel Xu is a keen train enthusiast and engineer. As any new homeowner will know, there are always unknown things to be found in a new place. From a kitchen cupboard that never seems to close properly, a curiously painted over area or the real performance of an air-conditioning unit, discoveries abound. But after Daniel Xu and his wife finalised the purchase of their house in Melbourne's northern suburbs, he found what can only be described as a train enthusiast's dream beneath their feet. Underneath his new home, Xu discovered a model train setup, designed around an extensive network of train lines and miniature landscapes. With plans for renovations, Xu needed to get beneath his house, much of which is raised, sitting above a carport. Entering the undercroft of his new home via a small door, Xu was shocked to find the area, which is just tall enough to stand in, entirely taken up by the elaborate setup. "To do the renovation, I would have to go downstairs to have a look and do some inspections and when I got down I saw this massive incredible train model just sitting there," he told SBS News. "I was shocked and I immediately asked my wife to come down to have a look — she was shocked." "It's unbelievable, so massive, so huge." He said nothing had been mentioned about model trains during the open home inspections. Coincidentally, Xu is a train enthusiast. He works as a rolling stock engineer for a company that manufactures new trains and designs and constructs new rail lines. The model train set was put together by the former owner of the house Daniel Xu recently purchased and could be about 60 years old. Source: SBS News His love of rail started when he was young, through a Japanese cartoon about a crime-fighting train. "It tells you how trains act like people to protect children," he said, describing the show. Xu has since been in touch with the previous owner, who told them their father built the train network in the 1960s when they were a child. The set had likely not been used for some years, with the area full of spiderwebs when Xu first went beneath the house and found the dusty set. It is not the project he had in mind when buying his house, but Daniel Xu has committed himself to restoring the old model train network he found beneath his home and hopes to upgrade some of the technology. Source: SBS News Xu, who said he already had a number or train toys and model trains, plans on getting the lines cleaned up, in order to test what still works and get the entire network back up and running. While the separate control desks for each of the different zones of the train tracks likely represented modern technology when first installed, Xu hopes to upgrade it with some newer technology to share his love of trains.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Australian actor and original Play School presenter Donald MacDonald dead at 86
Australian actor Donald MacDonald, who was one of the first Play School presenters, has died at the age of 86. MacDonald, who performed in Australia and the United Kingdom, died of cancer on the Gold Coast in the early hours of Monday. Cousin and fellow actor Paula Duncan said she would never forget MacDonald's storytelling ability, comedic flair and impeccable sense of timing. "Donald was like a big brother to me — I grew up with him and he helped train me," she said. "I've had an adoration for him all my life. MacDonald's career in film, television and on the stage spanned decades and included credits on The Box, Cop Shop and A Town Like Alice. More recently he appeared in Rake, Kenny and Superman Returns. Duncan said MacDonald was humble by nature. "He was someone who appreciated life but was never vain or a personality that wanted a lot of attention — in fact he'd probably shy away from it," she said. Duncan said MacDonald also wrote plays and novels. "His career was so substantial," she said. "It's kind of sad in a way, because all this media is going to come out now. "I wish it came out when he was alive and all these people could see what he actually did — he was just extraordinary. Showbusiness reporter and friend Craig Bennett said he shared a cheers with MacDonald in the hospital on the weekend. He said MacDonald's career, which began in Sydney, showcased his range. "[Including] The Box, the sex-and-sin soapie of the 1970s, where he played a closeted gay newsreader," Bennett said. "Back then people clutched their pearls and grabbed their smelling salts because we didn't hear much of these things.
