Interesting Bits and Pieces
From recent happenings or stories around Australia and the world.
Does anyone remember the Mouseketeers? [its a long time ago!]
Original Mouseketeer and star of The Rifleman Johnny Crawford dies aged 75 after suffering with Alzheimer's
Crawford passed away peacefully on Thursday in a California care home with his wife Charlotte by his side, his management said in a statement confirming the passing of the former child star.
Yes, vaguely remember them but was never a great fan.
Love Micky though.
A part-statue of Roman emperor Constantine reunited with its finger after 550 years.
The 38cm long index finger was recently sent to the Capitoline Museums in Rome by the Louvre Museum in Paris. This week the piece was finally being returned to its rightful position on the hand, which sits in the museum alongside the colossal bronze bust of Constantine.
Henry Sadler (left) and Derek Demeter (right) found the 50-pound femur in the bottom of Florida's Peace River, a popular spot for fossil hunters. They estimate the bone, belonging to a Columbian mammoth, is approximately 100,000 years old. The elephant-like megafauna wandered the area during the Pleistocene era, between 2.6 million and 10,000 years ago.
Butterfly boom takes flight in north Queensland under perfect weather conditions.
A longer and later wet season is creating an abundance of food for butterflies. After fears of a die-off, the Ulysses butterfly population is booming.
Cairns Birdwing butterfly.
Ulysses butterfly.
They are so pretty, I enjoy watching them. I remember we used to have a lavender hedge and I walked out and all of a sudden a cloud of them must have hatched and they all came out in a mass it was such a site to see but sadly I didn't have my camera!
From your site RnR I love the iridescent colours.
Sad these old homes are just left.
One of Australia's grandest Federation mansions could finally be rescued from ruin that left it a magnet for squatters and vandals as it goes up for sale for at least $10 million. The 1903 Brisbane home was designed by British architect Alexander B Wilson for cloth entrepreneur John Lamb and built across eight blocks at an estimated cost of £3,250 at the time (pictured top left in the years after it was first built) - $490,000 in today's money. Known as 'Home' or 'Lamb House', it was considered one of the finest examples of 'Queen Anne' Federation architecture for its era and it was a landmark Brisbane property for many years. Now lying derelict (right), the waterside (position pictured bottom left) Kangaroo Point home would just be start of years of work for the new owner, with restorations worth up to $12 million needed.
Thanks RnR. Don't we have Heritage Listed Property Lists in Australia?
If we don't we should do, no wonder so many old places have been knocked down and destroyed, I remember as a teenager all the old buildings knocked over in St. George's Terrace Perth and now we have a pile of high-rises.
I think the old Capital Theatre building in William Street in Perth should have been saved.
Oldest known human burial site in Africa uncovered by archaeologists.
Scientists have uncovered the remains of a three-year-old human child who was buried 78,000 years ago in at the Penga ya Saidi cave site in Kenya. The position of the bones and chemical analyses suggest the child was buried deliberately. While older burial sites have been found in Europe, this is the oldest that has been found in Africa to date.
What is going on in Melbourne? I wish the wealthy Australians could see the potential and develop their own country.
Is Melbourne's housing sprawl out of control? Chinese-backed firm buys family farm for $100million to create new suburb with 1000 houses
434ha farm at Beveridge, in Melbourne's growth corridor, sold for $100million+Sold by family of Sir Cecil Looker, private secretary to WWII PM Robert MenziesFamily lobbied to have the land rezoned, potential for 1000 homes on it
The Chinese-backed Australian developer SIG Group bought the property Part of the property also earmarked for huge commercial precinct
By PETER VINCENT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
PUBLISHED: 10:14 AEST, 7 May 2021 | UPDATED: 14:44 AEST, 7 May 2021
Melbourne's already huge urban sprawl is about to get even bigger, after the sale of a long-held family farm on the city's outskirts which will be filled with 1,000 houses.
The cattle-farming family have reaped more than $100million with the sale of the huge and historical 434 hectare property at Beveridge, about 12 kilometres north of the fringe Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn.
The property was originally bought by Cecil Looker, private secretary to Prime Minister Robert Menzies and later a chief of the Melbourne and Australian Stock Exchanges, in 1966.
A 'hard man with a large chip on his shoulder', Mr Looker and his wife Jean retired from Canberra life to the plains property and in 1968 even hosted Prince Philip, holding displays of boomerang throwing, sheep shearing and dog trials.
An aerial view of the Looker family's 434 hectare Merri Park property, which sold to SIG Group for over $100million
Sir Cecil Looker, a 'hard man' who went from a key role in wartime politics to a string of executive positions from the 1950s to 1980s - before he died in 1988 aged 75
A year later he was knighted, becoming Sir Cecil.
His farm produced merino wool, before he switched to focusing on breeding Hereford and Angus cattle.
Sir Cecil was principal partner of stockbroker Potter Partners, led the Victorian Economic Development Corporation and also held positions including deputy chairman of Ansett Airlines, president of the RACV and Australia's representative at the World Bank.
Sir Cecil was valued at $2.6million when he died in 1988 aged 75 - but his family made the most of the jewel in his estate.
A key planning document showing the scale and location of Merri Park beside major commercial interests at Melbourne's northern urban development fringes
It sold for $100million plus, just over a decade after the Looker family began lobbying to have the land rezoned to make development on it possible, realestate.com.au reported.
A Chinese-backed Australian property developer, SIG group, bought the property, which is estimated at twice the size of the Victorian capital's CBD.
According to the Australian Financial Review, title deeds show a caveat was placed on property by Merri Park DB Pty Ltd, a company which is directed by Xing Yu Lu and Jiacheng Zhang.
It is understood the rezoned land could accommodate up to 1000 housing lots within a new 110-hectare suburb, within the planned Donnybrook/Woodstock precinct.
The property also has parcels of 199 hectares and 125 hectares are expected to be used by industry.
The marketing agents have claimed it could support '$1.2 billion of commercial product', realestatesource reported.
Selling agency Core Projects said Merri Park was 'in the top two or three' large undeveloped privately-held properties in Melbourne's urban-growth area.
An illustration showing a planned suburb on Merri Park land north of Melbourne, with proposed nearby developments nearby
The agency confirmed the vendors has still farmed cattle on the property.
The Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal is planned for the area.
The rail freight facility is expected to host over 18,000 jobs.
Sir Cecil Looker’s Beveridge livestock station listed for c$100m as housing, industrial site - realestatesource Melbourne development consortium snaps up vast Merri Park for $100m
Hope all mums have a wonderful day!
I was shocked to read this just now, poor Bert.
Entertainment legend Bert Newton has his leg amputated in a 'life or death decision' after being told he'd otherwise have months to live
LOL he has humour!
'Ironing out the crease of life': Rod Stewart demonstrates his domestic side as he irons clothes in the STREET in hilarious snap
Rod Stewart demonstrated his domesticated side over the weekend as he shared a snap of himself doing the ironing - out on the pavement. The 76-year-old star took to Instagram during the dead of night on Saturday to share the image of himself stood beside an ironing board outside. In his latest picture, the musician stood on the side of the road wearing a white shirt, a tweed waistcoat and a blue, green and yellow striped tie. The star stood behind an ironing board working away on a brown shirt - though the iron wasn't plugged in anywhere, with the end of the cable visibly swinging around beneath the board.
A diver has managed to find a groom's missing $1,000 wedding ring after spotting the piece of jewellery around the neck of a fish. Suzie Quintal and her husband Nathan Reeves, who live in the Gold Coast, were visiting Norfolk Island around 1,600km north-east of Sydney to see family over the Christmas period. But as Ms Reeves went for a swim in Emily Bay he suddenly noticed his ring had fallen off.
Poor little fish 
The bells v the boutique hotel: the battle to save Britain’s oldest factory.
Whitechapel Bell Foundry dates back to 1570, and was the factory in which Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were made. But it shut in 2017 and a fight for its future has been raging ever since.
Australia's oldest identical twins celebrate their 102nd birthday in style - and say the secret to their longevity is avoiding two very popular drinks
Wearing matching floral shirts and spectacles, Concie Marchall and Leila Moag, Australia's oldest identical twins celebrated with singing and matching cups of tea, in front of a huge pink birthday cake.