Latest news with #Norseman
ABC News
04-07-2025
- ABC News
WA Police appeal for public's help in search for missing Esperance man last seen in May
Kalgoorlie Police hold grave concerns for an Esperance man missing for seven weeks. Dean Barry Edwards was last seen purchasing food and fuel at a service station in Norseman, 634 kilometres east of Perth, on May 16. The 59-year-old is from Castletown, a suburb of Esperance, and is believed to have left the area to head north. Police were notified of Mr Edwards' disappearance by his brother, who raised concerns for his welfare on June 30. On the same day, his empty vehicle — a white Isuzu D-MAX utility — was located in an area of dense scrubland on the unsealed Banker-Mount Day Road between Norseman and Hyden. Goldfields-Esperance Police Inspector Mick Kelly said the search for Mr Edwards had been extensive, including a 500-metre radius of the located vehicle. "We've utilised officers from Norseman, Eucla and Kambalda … we've utilised our drone capability," he said. Police said there had not been any activity on Mr Edwards' bank accounts since May 16. Inspector Kelly said the last activity on Mr Edwards' phone account was on May 15, when he was in contact with his brother, and there were concerns for his mental health. "Police hold grave concerns for his welfare," Inspector Kelly said. "At this stage, there's nothing to suggest any criminality, but we are desperately seeking assistance from the public." Anyone who has information, or who may have seen Mr Edwards or his vehicle between May 16 and June 30, is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Aussie tradies cop $126,000 in fines for 'disgusting and vile' act shared on social media
WARNING — GRAPHIC CONTENT: Three tradies have been fined a collective $126,000 in animal cruelty charges over what a magistrate described as an "absolutely disgusting, vile and reprehensible" attack against a pigeon with a golf club. According to the RSPCA's Western Australia branch, the trio bragged about the disturbing incident online on social media, attracting swift criticism from both the authorities and animal rights groups alike. The WA-based men, one aged 24 and two aged 30, all pleaded guilty to animal cruelty at the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday. They were working at the Norseman Gold Project at the time of the offence on June 17, 2023. The younger man was fined $48,000 while the older two were fined $39,000. All three had their applications for a spent conviction (a conviction for a crime that is not disclosed publicly) dismissed. In the footage uploaded to Snapchat, one of the offenders was heard speaking to the pigeon, saying "be careful, alright? Because there's some bad c**** around here". The video shows two men initially holding a white and grey pigeon, before the 24-year-old man strikes it with a golf club, sending the bird flying more than a metre through the air. The clip is captioned, "May his soul rest in peace," accompanied by a laughing emoji. After the bird lands, both men are heard laughing. The 24-year-old then proceeded to hit the pigeon four more times, with feathers visibly falling out after each blow. He then picks the injured bird up by its foot, leaving it hanging upside down. The pigeon remained alive and visibly moving throughout the assault, before the man placed it in a nearby skip bin. In sentencing, Magistrate William Yoo said the attack was "a disgusting and despicable thing to do", branding the offenders "incomprehensible" and "abominable". "[The act] was absolutely disgusting, vile and reprehensible," he said. "[The pigeon's] distress was evident, and the pigeon was an innocent and vulnerable animal." Man caught in 'disgusting' act with kangaroo on Aussie road Aussie man given 10-year BAN after 'filthy' discovery in suburban garage Pet pig suffers 'bizarre' act of cruelty, Aussie man fined $5000 Magistrate Yoo said the younger man knew what he was doing and there was a "degree of persistence" in his actions. He told each offender they "egged each other on" and "betrayed [their] own humanity". "[This is a] very serious and shocking matter which should shock the public's conscience," he said. RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green echoed the strong sentiment. "There is never an excuse to torment or abuse an animal," she said. "The fines handed down today are profoundly significant, and it is hoped the message is loud and clear to those who think that cruelty towards animals is okay." Two of the men were also sentenced under sections 7 and 8 of the Criminal Code. It was found that they aided and encouraged the third offender to commit the offence. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
ABC News
23-06-2025
- ABC News
Pigeon killer fined $48k, one of WA's largest animal cruelty fines
Three men in Western Australia's Goldfields have been fined a total of nearly $130,000 for animal cruelty offences after they participated in a social media video, where a pigeon was bludgeoned to death with a golf club. WARNING: This articles depicts acts of animal cruelty and some readers may find it distressing. The trio were charged last month by the RSPCA, which investigated the incident at a Norseman mine site in June 2023. Magistrate WIlliam Yoo told the 24-year-old man who wielded the golf club, Perth FIFO worker Luke Mitchell Summers, that the act was "vile" and "despicable". Summers pleaded guilty in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates' Court on Monday and was fined $48,000, plus $574 in court costs. The RSPCA told the ABC the head sentence of $48,000 — just shy of the $50,000 maximum penalty for an individual — was one of the biggest fines ever handed down for animal cruelty in WA. Two co-accused, 30-year-old Kudzai Chisweto and 30-year-old Michael John Roccisano, also pleaded guilty after appearing separately on Monday and were each fined $39,000, plus $574 in court costs. Chisweto, who filmed the animal cruelty acts on his phone and then shared the video on social media, appeared in person while Roccisano entered his guilty plea via his lawyer, Carmel McKenzie. The RSPCA interviewed Chisweto in July 2024 as part of its investigation, and the court was told he claimed he could not remember the incident or the co-accused. His phone was seized, and only one 42-second clip could be recovered as he remotely deleted the files, the court was told. The court heard Roccisano was filmed crouched near the pigeon, saying on camera "be careful, there are some bad c***s around here". The court heard Summers used the club to hit the pigeon like a golf ball, while Chisweto filmed on his phone and shared the post alongside a laughing emoji and the caption "may his soul rest in peace". After the initial strike, which sent the bird flying about a metre, Summers hit the bird with the club another four times, then picked it up by its foot, hanging upside down. After each strike, the bird lost feathers and was still alive when it was discarded in a nearby skip bin. Prosecutor Ian Weldon described Summers' behaviour as "wicked" and a "deliberate act of cruelty". The court heard the men had claimed the pigeon was injured and they were trying to euthanise it. "It is simply wrong to say they were putting the pigeon out of its misery," Mr Weldon said. "This was not an act of compassion or mercy ... they thought this was a joke." The court heard Summers had been stood down by his employer over the incident and that his "employment prospects are in jeopardy". Summers' lawyer tabled six character references in court and a letter expressing his remorse, saying his "conduct is unexplainable". Magistrate William Yoo called the behaviour "vile" and "despicable", telling Summers during sentencing, "you betrayed your own humanity". "To make matters worse, you laughed ... that's disgusting and despicable," he said. Magistrate Yoo said the pigeon would have suffered in a "large degree of distress" for a "few minutes", which he said is "far too long" for any animal. Applications for spent convictions for all three men were denied by Magistrate Yoo, who said it was in the public interest that the offences go on their criminal records.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Retiring Labor MP Kyle McGinn accuses Shire of Dundas CEO of aggressive behaviour
A retiring MP has raised concerns about "aggression" and "standover tactics" he says are being employed by some West Australian local government chief executives. In his valedictory speech on Wednesday night, outgoing Labor MLC Kyle McGinn used parliamentary privilege to level the allegations against Shire of Dundas chief executive Peter Fitchat. The shire is based in the small gold mining town of Norseman and covers a huge area in the remote south-east. Mr McGinn described Mr Fitchat, who has held his position since 2018, as "another person in a position of power who likes to be aggressive". "He literally squared up with me in the council chambers one day, swearing and going red in the face," Mr McGinn said. Mr McGinn's remarks come three years after he used parliamentary privilege to raise allegations against former Kalgoorlie-Boulder chief executive John Walker, who left the role in 2021. "My first encounter with John was him steaming towards me, yelling and screaming and swearing," Mr McGinn said in his valedictory speech. Mr Walker told the ABC he did not wish to comment. In a written response, Mr Fitchat told the ABC that he was surprised that Mr McGinn viewed their interactions "in such a colourful light". "I had understood them to be nothing more than robust and frank discussions [of] the kind often necessary when addressing serious issues raised by council resolutions and the challenges faced by remote local governments," he said. "I can assure the public that passion for regional advocacy is not aggression — it's simply a reflection of the urgency and commitment required when advocating for often overlooked communities." Mr Fitchat said he "had a good laugh" at Mr McGinn's "Temu" comparison. "I always knew I was a unique model, just perhaps with a lot more accessories and no free shipping," he said. Mr McGinn, a former union worker and MP since 2017, said in his speech that a number of regional local governments were dysfunctional. "Local government CEOs like Peter and John ought to be reminded they are not elected officials," he said. "They are there at the behest of elected council. "The way local governments should function is not how they actually function, particularly in regional WA. "In some cases unelected CEOs and directors will use standover tactics to force elected members to comply with their own personal agendas." Mr Fitchat said he was "well aware" that chief executives served "at the direction of elected members". "Our council model in Dundas has been one of unity, innovation, and transparency," he said. Mr Fitchat wished Mr McGinn well for "his next chapter".
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tales of Viking Pregnancy Reveal The Fierce Side of Norse Mothers
Being pregnant in the Viking Age was surely no picnic, but this experience has been largely ignored, in part because there are very few records to go by. A new analysis of Viking art and literature, led by archaeologist Marianne Hem Eriksen from the University of Leicester, lays out the patchy but fascinating history of pregnancy in the Viking Age. While archaeologists have uncovered thousands of Viking burials, there are very few mother-infant, and especially few infant, burials from this period, though birth- and pregnancy-related deaths would have been high. This suggests infants and mothers were not buried together, or that perhaps infants were not given the same rites. In literature and art, the authors note, pregnant women were often left out of the story, but there are two very famous depictions in the sagas, and neither of them are particularly passive portraits. In Eirik the Red's Saga, Eirik's daughter, Freydís Eiríksdóttir, finds herself at the center of a battle with the indigenous peoples of Greenland and Canada while heavily pregnant. These warriors were equipped to defend themselves with weapons never seen by Norsemen, described in the saga as war-slings or catapults. While the Norsemen retreated, Freydís cried out "Let me but have a weapon, I think I could fight better than any of you," which nobody really paid attention to. The men continued to flee, and the heavily pregnant Freydís struggled to keep up. Surely vexed, she picked up the sword of a dead Norseman, turned on the attackers, "let down her sark [dress] and struck her breast with the naked sword." Apparently, this terrified the attackers into a swift retreat. Afterwards, the Norsemen seemed to give little fanfare to Freydís's raw courage. "While we are careful not to present simplified narratives about pregnant warrior women, we must acknowledge that at least in art and stories, ideas were circulating about pregnant women with martial equipment," Eriksen says. "Freydís's behaviour is surprising, but may find a parallel in the study's examined silver figurine, where a pregnant woman, arms embracing her protruding belly, is wearing what appears to be a helmet with a noseguard." Another story, from The Saga of the People of Laxardal, tells how the pregnant Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir is provoked by her husband's killer, Helgi Harðbeinsson. Wiping his bloodied spear on the shawl covering Guðrún's pregnant belly, Helgi says, "I think that under the corner of that shawl dwells my own death," a prophecy that is realized later in the story, when Guðrún's son avenges his father's death. "The fetus is already inscribed not only into the kinship system of the elite early Icelanders, but into complex relationships of feuds, alliances, and revenge," the authors note. These stories, of course, reflect the experiences of and attitudes towards pregnancy of women with high-ranking social status. The authors suspect attitudes would be very different depending on the pregnant person's position in a society that was extremely hierarchical and included slaves. "Together with legal legislation such as pregnancy being seen as a 'defect' in an enslaved woman to be bought, or children born to subordinate peoples being the property of their owners, it is a stark reminder that pregnancy can also leave bodies open for volatility, risk, and exploitation," says Eriksen. Politics, the authors write, do not only happen on battlefields or through state formation. They argue that exploring the often-overlooked experiences of pregnant women will help archaeologists better understand past civilizations. This research was published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Song And Dance May Not Be Universal Human Behaviors, Study Shows TikTok Trend Has Men Shaving Their Eyelashes – Here's Why You Shouldn't Unprecedented Survey of Aztec Obsidian Reveals Coast-to-Coast Trade Network
