Tag Archives: oceania

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Dream come true as Wiggles play private gig for girl pulled from drain

One-year-old Nayvah Walkley was treated to a private performance from her favourite band this week.

It was a dream come true for the little girl as The Wiggles paid a special visit after she fell into a backyard drain in South Australia last month.

The Adelaide girl made headlines across the nation when her foot became wedged in the pipe.

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The Wiggles were joined by the team of firefighters who helped rescue the young girl.

During the rescue, the firefighters sung Wiggles songs to keep little Nayvah calm during the near-hour-long rescue.

Red Wiggle Simon Pryce said it was important for the band to come down and give a special performance.

"Nayvah is a very brave little girl," he said.

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Nayvah's mother Samantha said the media attention the story gained was slightly overwhelming.

"It's pretty crazy, I didn't think something so little would become something so big," she said.

"She's a Wiggles fanatic, she absolutely loves them.

"Her whole life revolves around the Wiggles."

For Samantha and older brother Leo, there was extra reason to appreciate the moment.

"The kids lost their father in September, in a car accident in Kersbrook," she said.

"So we always wanted to bring her to a concert so it was really good to be able to bring her to one.

"I can't wait until she's like 18 and 21 and I can show her that she got to meet The Wiggles."

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Sellers asking for millions of dollars for crumbling Melbourne mansions

Forgotten mansions with eight figure price tags in some of Melbourne's most expensive and desirable streets are up for sale just as the market starts to turn.

But with millions more needing to be spent, are they a good buy?

One East Melbourne mansion sits on the edge of Fitzroy Gardens. The property is almost 150 years old and showing its age.

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Inside, there are bare brick walls, missing features and remnants of a business long gone. But despite the condition, the asking price is more than $13 million.

Across town, in Albert Park, it's a similar story.

The property is still on the market for more than $10 million.

CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said those prices were not guaranteed.

"It's going to be harder to sell those top-tier properties now than it would have been 12 months ago," she said.

Researchers say the top end of the market is changing fastest.

"That's generally the pattern you see at the start of a downturn, is that price falls tend to be concentrated in more central and expensive suburbs," Owen said.

But there are exceptions.

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One property in Toorak is in a similar state but agent Helena Chow is confident with the high price tag.

"We are looking at in the vicinity of 9 million," she said.

"It's likely it will be developers interested in this block of land."

This isn't an option for other forgotten historic homes across Melbourne.

Owen said it was a difficult time to be selling historical homes.

"It's a tough time for those trying to sell, say, a crumbling mansion," she said.

"It's because you've got this trifecta of higher interest costs, a decline in the high end of the market… and of course higher construction costs."

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Man hospitalised after 'targeted' shooting in Melbourne

A man has been taken to hospital after being shot in Melbourne's west this afternoon in what police say appears to be a targeted attack.

Emergency services were called to Federation Drive in Melton just after 3pm, where they found located a man in his 30s with what police said appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds.

He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with injuries that, while deemed serious, are not considered life-threatening.

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Police are investigating the incident and say its exact circumstances are yet to be determined.

They said the shooting appears to be targeted and the people involved in the incident may be known to each other.

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Cricketer Travis Head and pregnant partner in emergency plane landing

Australian cricketer Travis Head and his pregnant partner, Jessica Davies, have been caught up in a scary incident when the plane they were travelling on was forced into an emergency landing.

The couple were on their way home from a holiday in the Maldives when, about 30 minutes into a one-hour flight, their plane started descending, according to an Instagram story posted by Davies, who said the incident was "terrifying".

"We ended up landing on an island 45 minutes away from our destination," she wrote in the post.

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Australian cricketer Travis Head

"After our second landing attempt, we slid off the tarmac into a field."

Davies also said passengers were locked in a room without water or any means of communication for 45 minutes following the landing, but that after being moved to a "nicer room" and a four-hour wait, a second plane to Male and accommodation was provided.

Davies said the couple are "totally fine" following the incident.

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Travis Head and partner Jessica Davies

Head is coming off the best season of his international career, after he was named player of the series during Australia's 4-0 win over England during the summer's Ashes series.

He also scored 190 runs in the side's first two ODIs during the recent tour of Pakistan.

Head and Davies announced in March they are expecting their first child.