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An original four-bedroom home in Sydney's Mosman that has been largely unchanged since the early 1970s has sold for around $5 million at auction.

The property at 9 Sirius Avenue was originally owned by Kathleen Laurence, who died in 1972 and left the home to Sydney University.

There was, however, a condition: the university could take ownership of the home so long as her sister Angela Laurence was allowed to live there for the rest of her life.

READ MORE: Game-changing property ruling for first home buyers

Ms Laurence died last year, leading to the property going to the market last week.

Selling agent Cameron Scott from McGrath Lower North Shore told 9News.com.au there was a huge amount of interest in the home, particularly online where it amassed more than 150 enquiries.

At auction between competition from multiple bidders the home ended up selling in the vicinity of $5 million.

READ MORE: Aussie property price crash 'unlikely' even though interest rates set to lift

A video shot by local news outlet Mosman Collective shows the home bearing all the hallmarks of an original 1970s property.

From tasseled light shades to period-correct newspapers, the home even features a vintage "Early Kooka" gas stove.

The adjacent block of land at 11 Sirius Avenue is also up for sale, where it is expected to fetch as much as $2.7 million.

A three metre hammerhead shark washed up on a beach in the US, much to beachgoers' surprise.

Visitors at Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, encountered the shark's corpse on April 6, according to CNN affiliate WPLG.

A team of scientists from the American Shark Conservancy took samples and identified the shark as a female great hammerhead, after moving the body away from onlookers.

READ MORE: Australia scraps major requirement for travel down under

Hannah Medd, a conservation scientist and the founder of the American Shark Conservancy, told CNN that she and her team took the shark's measurements as well as fin clippings to test its DNA and muscle tissue for biopsies.

The female was pregnant and weighed around 225 kilograms, she said.

The Conservancy, which has a license to take samples from protected species like the hammerhead shark, was alerted to the animal by the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program, which surveys for turtle nests on beaches.

A member of the team had encountered the body with a hook in its mouth.

The "specific type of hook usually indicates someone was fishing for a large animal like a hammerhead," Ms Medd said.

"This species, in particular, is quite susceptible to stress," she said.

READ MORE: Three years after going missing, US teen found shivering

Ms Medd explained that a small community of recreational fishermen target sharks for catch-and-release, which is legal in Florida, although the sharks cannot be harvested.

But the stress of catch-and-release, combined with wounds from fishing hooks, can sometimes lead to death.

"This is a pretty rare event," Ms Medd said.

"We get a call for maybe one to four a year [hammerheads] that have washed back up."

She said that her team has advocated for best catch-and-release practices, like using stronger fishing gear, which reduces the "fight time" during which the sharks are struggling with fishermen. Less fight time means less chance of injury or mortality.

"These sharks are really good at fighting," she said. "That's why the anglers like to catch them — it's exciting."

She added that "because they're prohibited, we typically can't get samples, so in this case it was an unfortunate but good chance for us to learn more about a pretty important species."

READ MORE: Great white sharks occasionally hunt in pairs

After the biologists took their samples, a nearby construction crew dug a hole and buried the shark on the beach, said Ms Medd.

Some beachgoers had emotional reactions to the dramatic sight of the shark washed up on the shore. Ms Medd said she saw some witnesses crying.

"You never want to see an animal this big laying on the beach," said Pompano Beach resident Kevin Nosal, according to WPLG.

"This is 11 feet long and over 500 pounds. It's a female, so it's always sad when a female passes."

Great hammerhead sharks are common in the coastal waters around Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They can reach as long as 5.5 metres and live for more than 20 years. The fish are sometimes targeted by commercial longline fishermen for their fins, says the commission.

As a predator, hammerhead sharks wield important influence on the ocean ecosystems, according to Ms Medd. "They're just a very important piece of that food web that keeps our oceans healthy."

"Even people enjoying a day at the beach like to see healthy oceans and coastlines," she said. "Sharks are actually a part of that."

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New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland have recorded rises in COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

Queensland recorded another 5141 new cases of coronavirus overnight, taking the state's total of active cases to 46,287.

Hospitalisations dropped to 551 while intensive care admissions remain steady at 19.

The state reported four COVID-19 related deaths.

READ MORE: Body of 24-year-old man found at Gladstone house

https://twitter.com/qldhealth/status/1515857649559957505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Meanwhile, in Western Australia, the state recorded 5605 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

No new deaths were recorded.

There are 227 people in hospital with the virus, six of those are in intensive care.

https://twitter.com/MarkMcGowanMP/status/1515866839263641603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

However, New South Wales recorded 11,166 new coronavirus cases overnight, while four more lives have been lost to the virus in the state.

There are now 1576 people being treated in hospital for COVID-19, which is up slightly on yesterday's figures.

There are 67 coronavirus patients currently in intensive care.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1515827543441821696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Today's new COVID-19 case numbers are an increase on yesterday, when 9,725 were reported.

Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded 7918 new COVID-19 cases and one new death.

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1515829589490102274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

There are 431 people being treated for COVID-19 in Victorian hospitals, 30 in ICU and 10 on ventilators.

Waka Kotahi has encouraged motorists in Northland to either delay their travel if possible or to be alert and brace for heavy rain and thunderstorms on their journey. Weather forecasters have issued a severe weather warning for…

Kmart shoppers have shared their amusement after opening Easter-themed crackers bought at the popular retail chain.

While bon bons have long been a traditional staple at Christmas gatherings everywhere, Kmart now sells crackers for Easter too – at $2 for a six pack.

But it seems even the manufacturers of the crackers have been left confused by the appearance of bon bons at Easter time.

One Victorian mum took to Facebook to share her surprise at finding Christmas jokes inside her Kmart Easter crackers.

"My husband got a good laugh out of the 'Easter crackers' I got the kids from Kmart," she shared on the Facebook group 'Kmart mums'.

"All six crackers had Christmas jokes in them…good old Kmart and recycling."

Many others commented that they had the same experience after opening their crackers on Easter Sunday.

"We've been laughing at that all day as we experienced the same! Every time someone would crack one open we would all start giggling again!" another Kmart shopper wrote.

Other shoppers weren't so amused.

"I was like WTF, Christmas jokes, never again," one shopper wrote.

It's not the only controversy to surround the Kmart Easter crackers.

Last month, when the crackers first went on sale, one shopper posted a photo on Facebook of an "inappropriate" charade suggestion she found in her cracker. 

Eyebrows were raised after it suggested acting out a scene from the adult book and film "50 Shades of Grey".

"Just make sure the adults vet the jokes/charade things before the kids get to read them and you'll be fine," the shopper wrote on the Kmart Hacks & Decor page.

Again, the joke inside the cracker was also a Christmas one.

Nine.com.au has contacted Kmart Australia for comment.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that from July 1 the government will radically increase the price caps currently placed on the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

Currently the scheme allows up to 50,000 first home buyers to purchase a property with a deposit as little as five per cent, with the government acting as guarantor for the remaining 15 per cent.

Yesterday Mr Morrison announced that the price caps on homes for the scheme will be lifted across almost the entire nation.

From July 1, the scheme will apply to homes worth up to $900,000 in Sydney and up to $800,000 in Melbourne, with raises across all states.

Still confused? Here's what you need to know:

READ MORE: Aussie property price crash 'unlikely' even though interest rates set to lift

What is the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme?

It's typically recommended that in order to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (or LMI) an aspiring homeowner should have 20 per cent of a property's value as a deposit.

Given Australia's property prices have boomed more than the price of a single deposit in one year, the government has recognised that the hardest part of buying a property is saving for the deposit.

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme allows up to 50,000 first home buyers to buy with as little as 5 per cent deposit, with the government acting as a guarantor for the remaining 15 per cent so first-timers don't have to pay LMI.

READ MORE: Australia's interest rate forecast to hit 1.5 per cent next year

What's the catch?

There's no real "gotcha" catch to the scheme – but it is limited. The scheme is limited to the amount of people who can do it, and the value of the property they wish to buy.

The government won't allow first-timers to buy with a 5 per cent deposit of a $10 million home.

So how expensive a property can I buy under the scheme?

It depends on where you live.

From July 1 this year the price caps for capital cities and major regional cities are as follows: NSW ($900,000), Victoria ($800,000), Queensland ($700,000), Western Australia ($600,000), South Australia ($600,000) and Tasmania ($600,000).

In the territories the ACT will be lifted to $750,000, the Northern Territory will be lifted to $600,000 and Jervis Bay and Christmas Island will stay at $550,000 and $400,000 respectively.

The full table and changes can be seen below:

Won't this see young first home buyers getting in over their heads on massive loans?

Not necessarily.

To participate, borrowers will still have to meet the usual loan and repayment assessments from their financial institutions.

This ensures that home buyers are protected against entering into a loan arrangement that could result in substantial hardship.

It is effectively shortening the home loan deposit saving period by up to a decade.

READ MORE: 'Avalanche of rate rises' looming for Aussie borrowers

How do I apply or find out if I am eligible?

The full rules can be found on the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation's website here.

Those interested in the scheme can apply via their lender or mortgage broker.

The NHFIC does not accept applications directly and does not use a "waiting list" for the scheme.

Will Labor support the scheme if they win government?

They will.

Today ALP Treasurer Jim Chalmers said they support the increase in price caps for the scheme.

'We've been very supportive of the government's plan for first home deposit save and we have said for some time that we don't think the caps are appropriate," Mr Chalmers said.

"So to the extent that the caps are being changed today, we welcome that. This is obviously not the only part of a good, broad housing policy.

"We have also got our policy around social and affordable housing."

Labor's social and affordable housing project policy can be read here.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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