It's one of Sydney's favourite urban legends. But could it be real?
Circus escapees. Abandoned World War II mascots. Black market pets. No matter who you speak to, everyone has their take on how the Blue Mountains Panther – one of Sydney's favourite urban legends – came to be.
But for a group of local explorers, the 'how' isn't the important question – it's the whereabouts of the 'Big Cat' itself that they're determined to answer.
For four years, 14 locals from the group Blue Mountains Explore have searched the most hidden corners of the bush to try to find evidence proving the existence of big cats in the Blue Mountains.
The group, selling Blue Mountains guidebooks to help fund their search, have shared their experience with believers and non-believers across social media, including the highs (evidence of suspiciously large paw prints) and lows (ticks, leeches and accidentally camping on spider nests).
They're so certain that they're getting close to proving the existence of big cats that, for the past 18 months, the explorers have dedicated themselves to the search full-time, going out into the bush five days a week, every week.
Like many Blue Mountains locals, group member George Kaplan grew up hearing the legend of big cats.
'It's the same as the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, and it's the same as other mythical creatures in different parts around the world, but from the age of probably two I've been hearing about the mythical Black Panther in the Blue Mountains,' he said.
'After starting the Instagram account Blue Mountains Explore with a number of other friends, we started to see things out in the wilderness when we were just exploring that we thought were weird, unusual.'
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West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Son of war hero, Jack Wong Sue, in search of rightful home for WWII prisoner of war ring
For 80 years it lay anonymously among dusty World War II memorabilia belonging to celebrated Australian soldier Jack Wong Sue. Now, an international search is under way to find the rightful home of the silver ring Sue gently slipped off the finger of a dead Allied serviceman in 1945. Sue and his comrades from the Z Special Unit, a precursor to the SAS and Commando regiments, had stumbled upon the cannibalised corpse of the prisoner of war while on patrol in Borneo late in the war. He pocketed the tarnished ring, bringing it home to Perth when Japan surrendered and he was discharged from service. Sue's son Barry is determined to find the family of the ring's owner so he can return it to them. It would be a needle-in-a-haystack mission were it not for two clues — inscriptions on the band and a small piece of dog-eared cloth. The words 'Iraq' and 'Egypt' are engraved on the ring, which Mr Sue believes could refer to theatres of war in which the soldier fought before being captured by the Japanese in South-East Asia. The cloth, which the POW appears to have wrapped around the band to wedge it onto his emaciated finger, could hold DNA. 'This is something I feel I need to do,' Mr Sue told The West Australian this week. 'It is something Dad would have wanted.' Jack Wong Sue was one of seven Australian special forces soldiers who were secreted into Japanese-occupied Borneo by an American submarine in March 1945. Surrounded by enemy troops, the Z Special commandos teamed up with local headhunting tribes to wreak havoc on the 3000 Japanese who were retreating across the island. Acting Sergeant Sue was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery during the guerilla campaign, which often focused on trailing Allied soldiers on the infamous Sandakan death march. The body from which the ring was retrieved was on that notorious jungle track and Mr Sue believes his father referenced the incident in his memoir, Blood On Borneo. 'Spread-eagled, each hand and foot was tied to a stake driven into the ground,' Mr Sue, who died in 2009, wrote. 'The lifeless face stared vacantly into the fading sunlight. He was only young and no older than his beholder. 'The tissue-thin covering of skin was taut all over the bone structure and the emaciated chest accentuated every rib. 'The open flesh of the buttock bore testimony to the cannibalism of his Japanese captors; they had made a crude attempt to take a slice of rump from the body.' The ring was not mentioned in the passage, but conversations with his father left Mr Sue believing the POW described may have been the owner. Historians from the Australian War Memorial who examined the ring this week believe that if the engraving refers to countries the soldier served in then it is unlikely the owner was Australian. Tens of thousands of Diggers were dispatched to Egypt after 1939 but no Australian units fought in Iraq, leading the memorial to believe the owner was British. The Imperial War Museum in London is now set to comb its records to match a soldier with the ring. Initial research shows British tank and artillery regiments served in Iraq and Egypt. The search will focus on who of those soldiers were transferred to the Pacific theatre of war and subsequently taken prisoner.
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
Consent education crucial to sexual violence prevention
Consent education in schools must continue to adapt to stay relevant to young people to help reduce gender-based violence in Australia, experts say. School curriculums were changed in 2023 following a mandate to provide consent education after youth advocate Chanel Contos pushed for the change. Ms Contos, 26, founded Teach Us Consent four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for consent education in Australian schools. While the mandate was a huge milestone, Consent Labs co-founder Angelique Wan said much of the burden had landed on teachers to roll out the new curriculum when they may not have received training to deliver it in line with best practice. "Just because (consent education) is in the curriculum does not mean the work is done," she told AAP. "We need to ensure it is delivered in a way that is relevant to young people and in order to do that you need to lean on experts and upskill teachers and parents to have those conversations." Education on consent and respectful relationships has been widely linked to preventing sexual violence. It also helps to build empathy in young people, improve sexual health outcomes and result in people being more likely to use condoms and less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract a sexually transmitted disease. But a growing trend among young people to return to gender norms with many turning to the "manosphere" and following "tradwives" on social media demonstrates an ongoing need for consent education to stay relevant. Specifically, young boys needed to have a safe space to explore masculinity, Ms Wan said. "There is a lot of confusion among young boys about what it means to be a man, away from the traditional stereotypes," she said. "We want to use education to counter deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes and we also know that rigid gender stereotyping can lead to violence." As for whether consent education was different for male and female students, Ms Wan said the message was that all genders needed access and understanding of consent and respect. "We need to role model that everyone, regardless of their gender, needs to be having these conversations," she said. "It's also not a one-size-fits-all because there are nuances like cultural or LGBTQI diversity within schools that need to be taken into account when designing the curriculum." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Consent education in schools must continue to adapt to stay relevant to young people to help reduce gender-based violence in Australia, experts say. School curriculums were changed in 2023 following a mandate to provide consent education after youth advocate Chanel Contos pushed for the change. Ms Contos, 26, founded Teach Us Consent four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for consent education in Australian schools. While the mandate was a huge milestone, Consent Labs co-founder Angelique Wan said much of the burden had landed on teachers to roll out the new curriculum when they may not have received training to deliver it in line with best practice. "Just because (consent education) is in the curriculum does not mean the work is done," she told AAP. "We need to ensure it is delivered in a way that is relevant to young people and in order to do that you need to lean on experts and upskill teachers and parents to have those conversations." Education on consent and respectful relationships has been widely linked to preventing sexual violence. It also helps to build empathy in young people, improve sexual health outcomes and result in people being more likely to use condoms and less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract a sexually transmitted disease. But a growing trend among young people to return to gender norms with many turning to the "manosphere" and following "tradwives" on social media demonstrates an ongoing need for consent education to stay relevant. Specifically, young boys needed to have a safe space to explore masculinity, Ms Wan said. "There is a lot of confusion among young boys about what it means to be a man, away from the traditional stereotypes," she said. "We want to use education to counter deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes and we also know that rigid gender stereotyping can lead to violence." As for whether consent education was different for male and female students, Ms Wan said the message was that all genders needed access and understanding of consent and respect. "We need to role model that everyone, regardless of their gender, needs to be having these conversations," she said. "It's also not a one-size-fits-all because there are nuances like cultural or LGBTQI diversity within schools that need to be taken into account when designing the curriculum." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Consent education in schools must continue to adapt to stay relevant to young people to help reduce gender-based violence in Australia, experts say. School curriculums were changed in 2023 following a mandate to provide consent education after youth advocate Chanel Contos pushed for the change. Ms Contos, 26, founded Teach Us Consent four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for consent education in Australian schools. While the mandate was a huge milestone, Consent Labs co-founder Angelique Wan said much of the burden had landed on teachers to roll out the new curriculum when they may not have received training to deliver it in line with best practice. "Just because (consent education) is in the curriculum does not mean the work is done," she told AAP. "We need to ensure it is delivered in a way that is relevant to young people and in order to do that you need to lean on experts and upskill teachers and parents to have those conversations." Education on consent and respectful relationships has been widely linked to preventing sexual violence. It also helps to build empathy in young people, improve sexual health outcomes and result in people being more likely to use condoms and less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract a sexually transmitted disease. But a growing trend among young people to return to gender norms with many turning to the "manosphere" and following "tradwives" on social media demonstrates an ongoing need for consent education to stay relevant. Specifically, young boys needed to have a safe space to explore masculinity, Ms Wan said. "There is a lot of confusion among young boys about what it means to be a man, away from the traditional stereotypes," she said. "We want to use education to counter deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes and we also know that rigid gender stereotyping can lead to violence." As for whether consent education was different for male and female students, Ms Wan said the message was that all genders needed access and understanding of consent and respect. "We need to role model that everyone, regardless of their gender, needs to be having these conversations," she said. "It's also not a one-size-fits-all because there are nuances like cultural or LGBTQI diversity within schools that need to be taken into account when designing the curriculum." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Consent education in schools must continue to adapt to stay relevant to young people to help reduce gender-based violence in Australia, experts say. School curriculums were changed in 2023 following a mandate to provide consent education after youth advocate Chanel Contos pushed for the change. Ms Contos, 26, founded Teach Us Consent four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for consent education in Australian schools. While the mandate was a huge milestone, Consent Labs co-founder Angelique Wan said much of the burden had landed on teachers to roll out the new curriculum when they may not have received training to deliver it in line with best practice. "Just because (consent education) is in the curriculum does not mean the work is done," she told AAP. "We need to ensure it is delivered in a way that is relevant to young people and in order to do that you need to lean on experts and upskill teachers and parents to have those conversations." Education on consent and respectful relationships has been widely linked to preventing sexual violence. It also helps to build empathy in young people, improve sexual health outcomes and result in people being more likely to use condoms and less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract a sexually transmitted disease. But a growing trend among young people to return to gender norms with many turning to the "manosphere" and following "tradwives" on social media demonstrates an ongoing need for consent education to stay relevant. Specifically, young boys needed to have a safe space to explore masculinity, Ms Wan said. "There is a lot of confusion among young boys about what it means to be a man, away from the traditional stereotypes," she said. "We want to use education to counter deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes and we also know that rigid gender stereotyping can lead to violence." As for whether consent education was different for male and female students, Ms Wan said the message was that all genders needed access and understanding of consent and respect. "We need to role model that everyone, regardless of their gender, needs to be having these conversations," she said. "It's also not a one-size-fits-all because there are nuances like cultural or LGBTQI diversity within schools that need to be taken into account when designing the curriculum." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Consent education crucial to sexual violence prevention
Consent education in schools must continue to adapt to stay relevant to young people to help reduce gender-based violence in Australia, experts say. School curriculums were changed in 2023 following a mandate to provide consent education after youth advocate Chanel Contos pushed for the change. Ms Contos, 26, founded Teach Us Consent four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for consent education in Australian schools. While the mandate was a huge milestone, Consent Labs co-founder Angelique Wan said much of the burden had landed on teachers to roll out the new curriculum when they may not have received training to deliver it in line with best practice. "Just because (consent education) is in the curriculum does not mean the work is done," she told AAP. "We need to ensure it is delivered in a way that is relevant to young people and in order to do that you need to lean on experts and upskill teachers and parents to have those conversations." Education on consent and respectful relationships has been widely linked to preventing sexual violence. It also helps to build empathy in young people, improve sexual health outcomes and result in people being more likely to use condoms and less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract a sexually transmitted disease. But a growing trend among young people to return to gender norms with many turning to the "manosphere" and following "tradwives" on social media demonstrates an ongoing need for consent education to stay relevant. Specifically, young boys needed to have a safe space to explore masculinity, Ms Wan said. "There is a lot of confusion among young boys about what it means to be a man, away from the traditional stereotypes," she said. "We want to use education to counter deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes and we also know that rigid gender stereotyping can lead to violence." As for whether consent education was different for male and female students, Ms Wan said the message was that all genders needed access and understanding of consent and respect. "We need to role model that everyone, regardless of their gender, needs to be having these conversations," she said. "It's also not a one-size-fits-all because there are nuances like cultural or LGBTQI diversity within schools that need to be taken into account when designing the curriculum." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
