Tag Archives: oceania

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Woman charged with attempted murder after allegedly driving at cyclist

Police have charged a Brisbane woman with attempted murder after a cyclist was allegedly struck by a vehicle in the suburb of Inala this morning.

Officers said a cyclist was travelling on Wirraway Parade when it will be alleged a 4WD deliberately hit the rear wheel at about 4.30am.

"The cyclist stopped and the woman allegedly drove at the man who jumped a front fence of a house in Lapwing Street for safety," Queensland Police said in a statement.

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Police tape

"The driver of the 4WD then crashed into four fences before allegedly running over the man's bike laying on a footpath."

Police said they arrested the woman who was stopped in the 4WD further along Lapwing Street.

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The 45-year-old Durack woman has been charged with one count each of attempted murder and dangerous driving, and five charges of wilful damage.

She is due to appear in the Richland Magistrates Court on Monday.

The 42-year-old cyclist was transported to hospital for leg injuries but released after receiving medical attention.

The man and woman are not known to each other.

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Darling Harbour's darkest secrets dug up for display this Halloween

Australia has imported a lot of cultural commodities from the US over the years, from Coca-Cola to The Simpsons, but Halloween has never quite made the leap.

Maybe the Australian climate is too benign in October for people to feel properly chilled, or maybe our chocolate is too tasty to hand out, compared to the dryer, milk-less US versions.

But one thing that can't be contested is that it certainly isn't because we lack for gruesome or macabre stories to swap .

The New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – clearly the scariest of all government bodies – has decided to get into the spirit of the spooky season, spruiking a spine-tingling swathe of things to see and do in Darling Harbour this weekend.

"We've carved out loads of freaky and fun things do in Darling Harbour this Halloween," NSW Placemaking chief executive Anita Mitchell said.

"Tumbalong Park will be the perfect place for the best Halloween selfies in town, where we will have a giant bat and a carved pumpkin to pose with.

"And around the corner on the Harbour there will be plenty of spooky specials to get your fangs watering."

And just in case you need something to talk about while enjoying a brain shot or a Jack Skellington ice cream dessert, they went ahead and compiled a list of Darling Harbour's scariest, saddest, eeriest or just plain gruesome-est historical stories. Here are a couple of our favourites.

WARNING: The following stories contain scenes of blood, death and blood again. They are best read aloud to other people in a dimly-lit room at midnight while unseen tree branches scratch at the window.

THE MYSTERY COFFINS

In January 1866, Sydney Council workers made a grisly discovery while excavating a street where Town Hall stands today – two unmarked coffins.

They were close to the site of an old cemetery, but these coffins were clearly buried outside the hallowed ground.

Attempting to discover the identity of the bodies led people to a harrowing story.

The corpses that had been dug up were those of two men who had been executed in 1799 for the crime of killing missionary Samuel Clode in the area now known as Darling Square (then known as The Brickfields).

One of the murderers was soldier Thomas Jones, after whom Jones Bay and Jones Street in Pyrmont were named.

Aided by an accomplice, they had split Clode's head in two with an axe when he came to collect payment of a debt, then buried his corpse in a sawpit behind Jones' home.

Their terrible crime was discovered, and they were hanged for it.

DEATH BY ICE CREAM

Thousands walk across the heritage-listed Pyrmont Bridge every day. But it's unlikely any of them worry about the possibility of an ice-cream related death.

In 1897 – and on Valentine's Day, no less – 50-year-old Thomas Risk had the charge of opening and closing the bridge to allow ships to pass below.

He was closing the gate when an ice-cream cart driver tried to pass through, knocking Risk to the ground – and into the bridge mechanisms, where Risk was crushed to death.

Ouch.

Check out the full archives here.