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Six towns you recognise from every movie

Think you recognise that film location? Think again. Filmmakers have a long history of using classic “small town USA” locations for their imagined communities or substituting other cities to stand in for more famous (and expensive) locals – often with a bit of digital trickery on the side. Kanab, Utah If you’ve ever seen a movie about the Wild West, then you’re familiar with Kanab. Hollywood discovered the small town just north of the Arizona border way back in 1924 and classic films like Stagecoach, Union Pacific, Buffalo Bill and Fort Apache were all filmed here, as well as the TV series The Long Ranger and Gunsmoke. It’s the quintessential cowboy town and enthusiastically embraces its movie heritage with memorabilia displayed just about everywhere and even a Kanab Walk of Fame. Wilmington, North Carolina This coastal city of less than 100,000 people is sometimes referred to as “Wilmywood” in recognition of the 300 or so films and TV series that have been shot here. Frank Capra started the trend in 1983 when he filmed part of Firestarter in the town and since then movies as diverse as Weekend at Bernie’s, Cape Fear and The Jackal have all made use of the mild climate, ocean views and picturesque scenery. There’s a good chance that your kids (or grandkids) were fans of the 90s teen series Dawson’s Creek, which was also filmed in the town. Vancouver It’s a bit of a Hollywood secret, but the Canadian city of Vancouver is used as a stand in for lots of American cities, from New York to San Francisco and everywhere in between. Production costs are much lower than in the United States and directors have found that the city and its surrounds can pass for plenty of places south of the border. Jackie Chan’s Rumble in the Bronx, the Scary Movie series, Juno, I, Robot and Rise of the Planet of the Apes are just a few you might recognise. Astoria, NYC Everyone has heard of Brooklyn and the Bronx in New York City, but how about Astoria? This small Queens neighbourhood frequently stands in for its more famous cousins in some of the most iconic gangster movies of all time. Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale and Serpico were all filmed here and you can have a drink or a meal at one of the real establishments that feature in the movies. Budapest, Hungary Want a top-notch European location without the hefty price tag? Then head to Budapest. The eastern European capital has stood in for Moscow, Munich and Buenos Aires in all sorts of films. While undeniably beautiful, Budapest’s skyline and monuments aren’t as recognisable as many European cities so it is easier for filmmakers to be elusive about the destination. The city has starred in A Good Day to Die Hard, Evita, The Raven and Underworld. Taipei, Taiwan When filmmakers want a generic Asian backdrop, they are increasingly turning to the Taiwanese capital of Taipei. Traditionally, cities like Bangkok or Hong Kong would be used but savvy filmgoers are becoming familiar with what these cities look like so it is harder to pretend. Local boy Ang Lee shot his Oscar winning Life of Pi here as well as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Expect to see many more films featuring Taipei – Martin Scorsese is shooting there right now. Images: Getty

International Travel

Body language expert goes to TOWN on Harry and Meghan doc

A body language expert has weighed in on Prince Harry and Meghan after part one of their Netflix documentary dropped. Louise Mahler, an Australian body language expert, told The Morning Show that it was obvious that Harry was “embarrassed” of Meghan during one of the interviews. She spoke of the scene where Meghan explained how she wasn’t aware that she would have to curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II when meeting her. “How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother and that you will need to curtsy - especially to an American, like that’s weird,” Harry said on the show. Meghan then began to rant to say how it was “mediaeval” to curtsy to someone, before mocking the Royal Family’s tradition. “Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” she said as she pretended to curtsy while sitting next to her husband. “It was so intense,” she said with a throwaway remark. However, social media has been full of close-ups of Prince Harry’s reaction as his wife mocked his grandmother, with Ms Mahler confirming the “uncomfortable” position he was in. “He looked incredibly, I don’t know, uncomfortable. There was something - see how he’s sort of watching her and he looks off to the side. I don’t know, there was something really awkward about the way he looked at her in this story - and then he looks down,” she said. “I would adore him to do more of those looks. “He’s not a theatre person at all.... the whole story about the curtsy was disrespectful. “If you went to a different country with a different culture - say Japan - and they said you had to bow, you would not make fun of that bow. You would see it as a creative opportunity. “I think he was definitely embarrassed in that moment - and one of the few moments he was embarrassed and I think he should be embarrassed a lot more.” Twitter users exploded at Meghan’s mockery of the late Monarch and also pointed out Harry’s discomfort. “Whoa. Harry really didn’t like the curtsy mocking,” one person wrote. “Why is it ok for Meghan to mock our culture in this way? Or does racism only work one way?” British columnist Sarah Vine questioned. “This is the moment that Meghan describes meeting the late Queen Elizabeth for the first time and how she did not understand why she needed to curtsy to Harry‘s grandmother… He looks a little uncomfortable about the whole thing,” presenter Chris Ship wrote. “This is just nasty and unbecoming. Meghan looks like a school bully,” journalist and broadcaster Benjamin Butterworth wrote. Image: Netflix

Small town's Christmas display dubbed the "worst in history"

The Port Macquarie Council have been widely roasted online after the unveiling of their Christmas tree display, which has been dubbed the "worst in history". Families and community members turned out by the hundreds to see NSW Central Coast town light up its Christmas tree last week, which was met with a very mixed reaction. The long-anticipated reveal, which forced onlookers to wait until midnight for the lights to be turned on, was met with a chorus of disappointed sighs as the underwhelming tree was finally illuminated. Families expecting a glowing symbol of Christmas cheer were instead treated to a sight of Christmas gloom with sad looking fairy light strings barely clinging onto the huge pine tree's branches. Port Macquarie Hastings Council took the disappointment in its stride, mocking its own tree with an 'Instagram vs Reality' meme on Facebook. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpmhcouncil%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02tkGEispQKQLt4tsc5X3VP8iUQTyp2AFyMqLc1sQKw2CKZdGxsNHJKfSfCXVywhPVl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="677" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> "What can we say except ... you're welcome," the council wrote on Friday, alongside a smirk face emoji. "With everything our community has been through recently, we know everyone appreciates a good laugh!" "We are glad our very sad Christmas tree could provide that for everyone." "So let's be real. Our poor tree does look like it was decorated by Santa after he's whizzed around the world and had too many eggnogs." The council said its tree decoration was done with "the best of intentions" however "extraordinary winds and rain" had destroyed the lights. "Just like the rest of us - she's battered and bruised, but she's still standing," they said. Just days after the tree lights were turned on, the council confirmed it needed to strip the sad looking tree because it had become a "safety risk" to locals. "We have enjoyed your good humour and appreciation of our abstract piece of art," the council joked. "Unfortunately, the infamous lights will be removed, as they are slipping further down the tree and pose a safety risk and we are concerned if we leave the inflatable baubles up, we may not have any left by Christmas." Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor Peta Pinson later said the council was working hard to install their "original outdoor tree will be installed and working for everyone's enjoyment well before Christmas". "Again, I am so thankful to the community for coming and celebrating. Merry Christmas to our wonderful, witty and resilient community," she said. Image credits: Facebook

Travel Trouble

Shanty towns and eviction riots: the radical history of Australia’s property market

Skyrocketing property prices and an impossible rental market have seen growing numbers of Australians struggling to find a place to live. Recent images of families pitching tents or living out of cars evoke some of the more enduring scenes from the Great Depression. Australia was among the hardest hit countries when global wool and wheat prices plummeted in 1929. By 1931, many were feeling the effects of long-term unemployment, including widespread evictions from their homes. The evidence was soon seen and felt as shanty towns – known as dole camps – mushroomed in and around urban centres across the country. How we responded to that housing crisis, and how we talk about those events today, show how our attitudes about poverty, homelessness and welfare are entwined with questions of national identity. Shanty towns and eviction riots Sydney’s Domain, Melbourne’s Dudley Flats and the banks of the River Torrens in Adelaide were just a few places where communities of people experiencing homelessness <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1106767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sprung up</a> in the early 1930s. Some <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1106767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lived in tents</a>, others in makeshift shelters of iron, sacking, wood and other scavenged materials. Wooden crates, newspapers and flour and wheat sacks were put to numerous inventive domestic uses, such as for furniture and blankets. Camps were rife with lice, fevers and dysentery, all treated with home remedies. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469663/original/file-20220620-23-cm58ov.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Some people lived in tents in the Domain during the Depression of the 1930s. <a class="source" href="http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?vid=MAIN&search_scope=Everything&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US&context=L&isFrbr=true&docid=SLV_VOYAGER1713846" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knights, Bert/State Library of Victoria</a></figcaption></figure> But many Australians fought eviction from their homes in a widespread series of protests and interventions known as the <a href="https://commonslibrary.org/lock-out-the-landlords-australian-anti-eviction-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-eviction movement</a>. As writer Iain McIntyre outlines in his work <a href="https://commonslibrary.org/lock-out-the-landlords-australian-anti-eviction-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lock Out The Landlords: Australian Anti-Eviction Resistance 1929-1936</a>, these protests were an initiative of members of the Unemployed Workers Movement – a kind of trade union of the jobless. As <a href="https://rahu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sydneys-Anti-Eviction-Movement_-Community-or-Conspiracy_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> by writers Nadia Wheatley and Drew Cottle, <blockquote> With the dole being given in the form of goods or coupons rather than as cash, it was impossible for many unemployed workers to pay rent. In working class suburbs, it was common to see bailiffs dumping furniture onto the footpath, pushing women and children onto the street. Even more common was the sight of strings of boarded up terrace houses, which nobody could afford to rent. If anything demonstrated the idiocy as well as the injustice of the capitalist system it was the fact that in many situations the landlords did not even gain anything from evicting people. </blockquote> The Unemployed Workers Movement <a href="https://rahu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sydneys-Anti-Eviction-Movement_-Community-or-Conspiracy_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goal</a> was to <blockquote> Organise vigilance committees in neighbourhoods to patrol working class districts and resist by mass action the eviction of unemployed workers from their houses, or attempts on behalf of bailiffs to remove furniture, or gas men to shut off the gas supply. </blockquote> Methods of resistance were varied in practice. Often threats were <a href="https://rahu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sydneys-Anti-Eviction-Movement_-Community-or-Conspiracy_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sufficient</a> to keep a landlord from evicting a family. If not, a common <a href="https://rahu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sydneys-Anti-Eviction-Movement_-Community-or-Conspiracy_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tactic</a> was for a large group of activists and neighbours to gather outside the house on eviction day and physically prevent the eviction. Sometimes this led to street fights with <a href="https://commonslibrary.org/lock-out-the-landlords-australian-anti-eviction-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">police</a>. Protestors sometimes <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1106767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> in the wake of a successful eviction to raid and vandalise the property. Protestors went under armed siege in houses barricaded with sandbags and barbed wire. This culminated in a <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ANZLawHisteJl/2007/2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">series</a> of bloody battles with police in Sydney’s suburbs in mid-1931, and numerous arrests. It’s not just what happened – it’s how we talk about it Narratives both reflect and shape our world. Written history is interesting not just for the things that happened in the past, but for how we tell them. Just as the catastrophic effects of the 1929 crash were entwined with the escalating struggle between extreme left and right political ideologies, historians and writers have since taken various and even opposing viewpoints when it comes to interpreting the events of Australia’s Depression years and ascribing meaning to them. Was it a time of quiet stoicism that brought out the best in us as “battlers” and fostered a spirit of mateship that underpins who we are as a nation? Or did we push our fellow Australians onto the streets and into tin shacks and make people feel ashamed for needing help? As Wendy Lowenstein wrote in her landmark work of Depression oral history, <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/69032" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Weevils in the Flour</a>: <blockquote> Common was the conviction that the most important thing was to own your own house, to keep out of debt, to be sober, industrious, and to mind your own business. One woman says, ‘My husband was out of work for five years during the Depression and no one ever knew […] Not even my own parents.’ </blockquote> This part of our history remains contested and narratives from this period - about “lifters and leaners” or the Australian “dream” of home ownership, for example – persist today. As Australia’s present housing crisis deepens, it’s worth highlighting we have been through housing crises before. Public discussion about housing and its relationship to poverty remain – as was the case in the Depression era – emotionally and politically charged. Our Depression-era shanty towns and eviction protests, as well as the way we remember them, are a reminder that what people say and do about the housing crisis today is not just about facts and figures. Above all, it reflects what we value and who we think we are.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185129/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-dinmore-1000747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Helen Dinmore</a>, Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of South Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/shanty-towns-and-eviction-riots-the-radical-history-of-australias-property-market-185129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160054430/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NLA/Trove</a>

Real Estate

New Zealand town dubbed one of ‘World’s Greatest Places’

Queenstown has been named one of the “World’s Greatest Places” by Time Magazine, making it one of 50 “extraordinary travel destinations” from around the world that have been recognised. The South Island town is the only New Zealand destination to make the list, joining the likes of the Galapagos Islands, Seoul, Detroit, Nairobi, and Toronto. Time compiled the list from a collection of nominations from its international network of correspondents and contributors that included countries, regions, cities and towns that offer new and exciting experiences. Mat Woods, the chief executive of Destination Queenstown, was delighted by the news. “International recognition like this is a great reminder that we live in one of the world’s greatest places … It’s fantastic to be acknowledged internationally, especially after a tough couple of years,” he said. As for Australia, two locations made the list. Unsurprisingly, the Great Barrier Reef made the list, along with Fremantle in Western Australia. To see Time’s full list of the World’s Greatest Places, head <a href="https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Image: @federico_pinna_photography (Instagram)

Domestic Travel

PINK sky at night?! Odd reason for unearthly glow over Aussie town

Residents in the northern Victorian town of Mildura experienced an intriguing Wednesday night when the night sky was lit up with an eerie pink glow. “It was very bizarre,” said Tammy Szumowski. “I was on the phone to my mum, and my dad was saying the world was ending.” Though it looked like aliens or a portal to another universe could be behind it, the explanation for the mysterious light is firmly within reality. Pharmaceutical company Cann Group confirmed that the lights originated from its local medicinal cannabis facility, which had left its blackout blinds open. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mildura?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mildura</a> and surrounds were treated to a spectacular sight tonight when a red light appeared in the sky. Was it aliens? An aurora? No, it appears to have been the hydroponic lights from a medicinal cannabis farm reflecting off cloud which is somehow the most Mildura answer ever. <a href="https://t.co/Wfy63tRrng">pic.twitter.com/Wfy63tRrng</a> — Sarah Tomlinson (@sarah_tomlinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/sarah_tomlinson/status/1549381096587964416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></blockquote> “Cannabis plants require different spectrums of light in order to encourage their growth,” said Rhys Cohen, senior communications manager at Cann Group Ltd. “A red spectrum light is often used. Normally the facility would have blackout blinds that come down at night, and will in the future block that glow.” Dr Anne Webster, the federal member for Mallee, was driving home in the dark when she noticed the pink light. “I thought that is weird. There is no city out there … What is it?” she said. “When I understood the Cann processing site is there – but it still was the first time I’ve seen that pink glow. It was quite strange.” Photos of the lights quickly spread on social media, with ABC Chief of Staff Sarah Tomlinson describing the fact it came from a medical cannabis facility as “somehow the most Mildura answer ever”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/JaneBunn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaneBunn</a> any reports of this scary but brilliant sky over Mildura tonight ?? <a href="https://t.co/3WZ7FZj1zp">pic.twitter.com/3WZ7FZj1zp</a> — Tim Green (@Tim_Green78) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tim_Green78/status/1549326548502970369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Mildura, Australia: Is it a plane.. an UFO... Superman? Turns out someone forgot to close the blinds at a Cannabis farm. <a href="https://t.co/HaokIwJn2c">pic.twitter.com/HaokIwJn2c</a> — Jürgen "jkr" Kraus (@jkr_on_the_web) <a href="https://twitter.com/jkr_on_the_web/status/1550201444699017216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2022</a></blockquote> La Trobe University also joined in on the fun, tweeting: “We can neither confirm, nor deny, that the mysterious lights over Mildura were Aurora marijuanis.” The Mildura facility gathered its first commercial harvest of marijuana crops in June, after Cann Group - the first Australian company licensed to grow the crop for medicinal and research purposes - acquired the site in 2019. Dr Webster described it as “quite an exciting site”, though its exact location is a secret and isn’t open to the public due to the nature of its business. “Propagation of cannabis is really interesting and the way they use lights … to increase the growth cycle and speed up the whole process is quite amazing,” she said. “I look forward to many other innovative producers coming to the region and bringing their glows with them.” Image: Twitter

Caring

How a new art project in Bathurst is embracing the many identities of the town

For many, Bathurst’s Mount Panorama is exclusively a car racing venue. For Indigenous Australians it is a place called Wahluu, where First Nations women once offered their sons for tribal initiation. It is a cherished Wiradyuri territory that hosts dreaming and creation stories. Earlier this year, further development on the site <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2021/05/03/wahluu-womens-site-be-protected-says-federal-environment-minister">was blocked</a>, with the federal government acknowledging the cultural significance of the location for the Wiradyuri people. In some respects, the conflicting identity of Bathurst’s mountain can be reconciled through the forms of masculinity it represents: the male-centric sport of car racing – so central to the town’s present-day image – and the rite of passage of young Aboriginal men into adulthood. Now, a new art project, <a href="https://kateofthesmiths.com.au/fast-cars-dirty-beats/">Fast Cars & Dirty Beats</a> is navigating these cultural differences by fostering a sense of community. Created by artistic director Kate Smith, Fast Cars & Dirty Beats embraces Mount Panorama’s/Wahluu’s dual identity that, for some, is representative of a cultural divide between black and white Australia. Smith’s vision is not culturally constrained, but rather expressive of a location that is complex and multicultural. Liaising with Bathurst Wiradyuri Elders, Smith and her artistic collaborators have developed a series of community-focused projects revolving around the cultural significance of Wahluu/Mount Panorama. One of these initiatives, Mountain Tales, was launched on the first of July as part of Bathurst’s Winter Festival. Mountain Tales is the culmination of a year-long community engagement connecting local schoolchildren, teachers and parents with skilled craftspeople and musicians, fashioning decorative lanterns and the cultivation of a drumming community. A lantern procession Although it was raining for the July launch, more than 300 locals formed a dramatic lantern procession on the cold winter’s night. I was swept up in the pageantry unravelling across the CBD, eventually settling at Bathurst’s historical <a href="https://tremainsmill.com/">Tremain’s Mill</a>. Here the community proudly displayed their beacons of light, paying homage to the Chinese presence in Bathurst since the 1800s. Supporting the procession, Rob Shannon’s drummers created a collective heartbeat, fostering a sense of joy and belonging. After this ceremony of light and sound, members of the community told stories about the significance of Mount Panorama/Wahluu. Yarns were shared concerning the mountain being a place where locals experienced a first kiss or participated in some youthful skylarking. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473106/original/file-20220707-22-kkwl50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A paper lantern in the shape of a car." /></a><figcaption>Cars are central to Australia’s image of Bathurst – but they’re not the whole story. Kate Smith</figcaption></figure> Wiradyuri Elder Wirribee Aunty Leanna Carr-Smith explained to the group how the area plays host to both women’s and men’s business. But such stories are only for the ears of Indigenous women and men. There is a secrecy about Wahluu. Some stories are off limits to white Australians. Wiradyuri Ngayirr Ngurambang – Sacred Country The most breathtaking project launched at the Mountain Tales event is Aunty Leanna/Wirribee and Nicole Welch’s collaboration with Smith, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/4hanss4771t8aim/SacredCountryV6_withAudio.mp4?dl=0">Wiradyuri Ngayirr Ngurambang – Sacred Country</a>, a film emblazoned across Tremain’s Mill. The old mill precinct is a reminder of colonisation and its violence. For this occasion it operated as a backdrop through which Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians connected. Beaming the film’s panoramic landscapes across this built environment juxtaposed the two cultures. Considering the urgency of global warming, the film brings together drone footage of Wahluu/Mount Panorama and aerial photography of other Indigenous landscapes in the region. It is an ethereal perspective. The soundscape is as rich and textured as the landscape, conveying an extraordinary, yet fragile, beauty. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473108/original/file-20220707-12-yw20iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Film still." /></a><figcaption>Projected onto the wall of Tremain’s Mill, Wiradyuri Ngayirr Ngurambang – Sacred Country is a meeting of Indigenous landscapes with colonial Australian history. Kate Smith</figcaption></figure> Wiradyuri Ngayirr Ngurambang – Sacred Country also explores shared understandings between First Nations and non-First Nations women. Their interracial connection is enacted through a seamless editing style that bridges the Tarana landscape to the Wahluu/Macquarie River, and then eventually to Wahluu/Mount Panorama. The film’s boundless landscapes evoke an all-embracing hospitality that traverses cultural differences. Sometimes the imagery creates vaginal shapes that feminises the country. The land and its creatures come across as alive and vibrant. Sky and earth are mirrored, inspiring our contemplation of eternity and the Indigenous custodianship of Country. Departing later that night, I pondered eternity. One lifetime is nothing compared to 65,000 years of Indigenous connection to Country. This awareness was both profound and comforting. But the night of collective celebration and storytelling also encouraged me, and no doubt others, to delight in life’s briefest moments. Wiradyuri Ngayirr Ngurambang – Sacred Country is playing at Tremain’s Mill, Bathurst, until July 17. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185860/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/suzie-gibson-111690" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Suzie Gibson</a>, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles Sturt University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-new-art-project-in-bathurst-is-embracing-the-many-identities-of-the-town-185860" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Kate Smith

Domestic Travel

Child actor becomes police chief in town he filmed in

The child actor who starred in Jaws has become the police chief of the same town the movie was filmed. Jonathan Searle played a small role in the popular movie in 1974 and almost 50 years later has funnily enough been named the police chief of Oak Bluffs, a town on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Having been a member of the town’s police force since 1985, Searle was promoted as chief on May 16 following a 3-1 with two other candidates. “I’m finding the whole thing quite funny myself!” “I’m clearly elated and I’m humbled and honored to have been offered the position,” he told Vineyard Gazette. “It’s something I’ve been working toward my whole career.” Image: Universal

Movies

Aussie town welcomes first baby in 15 years

A remote Australian town has welcomed its first baby in 15 years with the father just making the delivery after trekking a crazy 280km. Jessie Harvey rushed to Richmond Hospital in outback Queensland about 3am on April 30 when she started experiencing contractions. There were no midwives or births at Richmond Hospital and the doctor who had checked Jessie fainted soon after telling her she was 8cm dilated. The hospital called for help from the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and staff were relieved to have someone experienced on hand. However, the only problem was Jessie’s partner Sam McGrath was 280km away working on a remote cattle station at East Creek, Woodstock when he received the surprising news. He immediately jumped into his ute and drove the hundreds of kilometres and shockingly made it in time for his son’s birth. “I had just taken a sip out of my coffee when I got the call. I grabbed my bag and chucked it on the ute then had to high-tail it into town,” he told Daily Mail Australia. RFDS doctor Shima Ghedia helped deliver baby Darby who was welcomed into the world with cheers after being the first baby born in 15 years in the remote town. “It was honestly amazing everyone was so stoked, so happy to see a child being born [at Richmond],” Sam said. “It was pretty well a cheering vibe, everyone was quite ecstatic.” Image: Facebook

Family & Pets

Second Olympian killed in same town

A second athlete has been killed in the same town that another Olympian was killed in just a year ago. Kenyan born Damaris Muthee Mutua was found in the town of Iten in western Kenya on Tuesday, the same town record-breaking distance runner Agnes Tirop was found dead in. Police have launched a manhunt for Mutua’s Ethopian boyfriend who is believed to have been the last person to see her. “According to Mutua’s immediate neighbour, her boyfriend was seen in the house on Sunday morning. It’s likely that the incident happened late Saturday or early Sunday since the body was in a state of decomposition,” county police chief Tom Makori told AFP. “We have launched a manhunt for the Ethiopian who is believed to have fled the country.” The 28-year-old was a junior athlete and two times bronze medalist at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore and the East African junior athletics championships in Khartoum, Sudan before deciding to represent Bahrain. Her story is similar to Tirop who was only 25 when she was <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/lost-a-jewel-olympic-runner-found-stabbed-in-her-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found with stab wounds</a> in her abdomen and her husband missing in October last year. Athletics Kenya said the country had “lost a jewel who was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage, thanks to her eye-catching performances.” Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta also paid tribute at the time, saying, “It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, she had brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage including in this year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she was part of the Kenyan team in Japan.” Image: Twitter

Caring

Aussie Town of the Year crowned for 2022

With Australia being such a huge country, knowing where the best places are can make it easier to plan an unforgettable trip. To help prospective travellers, <a href="https://www.wotif.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wotif</a> has announced the country’s top places to visit - and Launceston in Tasmania has taken the top prize as the 2022 Aussie Town of the Year. “Launceston’s fresh produce, renowned sparkling wine and commitment to great food is world-famous,” said Daniel Finch, the managing director of Wotif. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/launceston1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Launceston has been crowned the best Aussie town for 2022. Image: Supplied “With some of Tasmania’s most spectacular natural landmarks just a short drive away, including the Tamar Valley, Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park and the Bay of Fire, it’s no surprise that demand for the city has grown by over 125 percent on Wotif.com.” Although international borders have begun to reopen, Wotif found that a third of Aussies plan to stay within Australia, while 24 percent plan to visit somewhere new. Though Tasmania took the top spot, the top ten featured entries from each of the six states. Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Bright and Halls Gap made the list, making it the state with the most prized destinations. Caloundra and Hervey Bay made the list on behalf of Queensland, while Tamworth and Batemans Bay represented New South Wales. Wotif’s 2022 Aussie Town of the Year Award winners <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Launceston, TAS </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Caloundra, QLD </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Tamworth, NSW </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Yarra Valley, VIC </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Adelaide Hills, SA </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Bright, VIC </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Hervey Bay, QLD </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Halls Gap, VIC </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Batemans Bay, NSW </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Busselton, WA </li> </ol> Image: Supplied

Domestic Travel

Do YOU know Joe? Football team's desperate search for 6-year-old superfan

A UK football club is trying to track down a dedicated six-year-old fan who sent 50 cents in a letter to his favourite player. The boy, known only as Joe, wrote to Swindon Town FC in a touching note, explaining his love for the football club and the devastating reason why he cannot attend a football game in person. The note reads, "Mummy doesn't have any money to come to Swindon games because she has no money for food and has to pay for my dinner at school.""I like Swindon Town Harry McKirdy. I will come one day."Joe then attached three coins, a 20p, 5p and 1p, to the note and singed his name and age of "6 1/2".After receiving the note, the football club shared a photo of it on Twitter in a bid to track down Joe so they can get in touch with him. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">📢 | We have received this letter from Town fan Joe, aged 6 and a half. We'd really love to get in touch with Joe, but we don't have a return address. If anyone recognises the writing or thinks they know who Joe is, please email supporters@swindontownfc.co.uk<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STFC</a> 🔴⚪️ <a href="https://t.co/JFgLgNm2Lz">pic.twitter.com/JFgLgNm2Lz</a>— Swindon Town FC (@Official_STFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Official_STFC/status/1493630090533613574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2022</a></blockquote>The post has since received thousands of likes and comments in support of Joe and his mother. One social media user said, "I can see there are lots of offers here for Joe and his mum to come to a game. So if you manage to find Joe I'd like to pay for a weeks worth of food shopping for them. Please keep us informed."A <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thisisforjoe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JustGiving</a> page has been launched by a likeminded football fan to help find Joe and get him to Swindon for a game. The page reads, "Swindon Town FC have been contacted by a young boy called Joe who unfortunately doesn't have the privileges of being able to attend football matches!""This is where football comes together. Lets all get together and fund for Joe & his family to attend a game & for Joe to be mascot for the day giving him an experience for life!"The page has already raised over $12,000 AUD, with all proceeds going to Joe and his family once they are found. As well as the kindness from these football-loving strangers, the Swindon Town FC tweeted a message saying Joe's letter prompted them to join forces with a local food bank to help their community. Image credits: Twitter @Official_STFC

Family & Pets

Giddy up! Now’s your chance to own an ENTIRE frontier town

Aspiring cowboys - and cowgirls! - with dreams of kicking back in a saloon could make them a reality, with an entire frontier town <a style="background: transparent;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;vertical-align: baseline" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/buy-an-entire-old-west-town-near-denver-for-66-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hitting the market</a> for just $5 million).The Colorado property, which comes with its very own saloon, general store, chapel, shooting range and operational hotel, is spread over 130 hectares and located less than 3.5 hours away from Denver, according to the <a style="background: transparent;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;vertical-align: baseline" href="https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/36710-County-Road-CC-36_Saguache_CO_81149_M24368-94926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing</a>.Having been painstakingly developed by two brothers who purchased the property in 2005, who <a style="background: transparent;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;vertical-align: baseline" href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/24/own-this-entire-old-west-town-outside-denver-for-4-7m/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> sunk $11.6 million into the property, the modern recreation of the old west has been seeking a buyer since October 2021.It was previously auctioned off by the brothers in 2011 for just under $2 million, before being sold twice more in 2016 and 2018, according to Fox31 Denver KDVR.“They left no detail unconsidered,” listing agent Adrienne Haydu told KDVR, noting that the ceiling tiles of the saloon and hotel were imported from Italy.“It’s old-town charm with all the conveniences of modern amenities. All the buildings are actual buildings and not just a fake facade. It’s a great horse property.”The property also comes with an outdoor stage, dance hall, two original Hoaglund Stagecoach cabins, a barn and stable able to house 18 horses, a bunkhouse, and a mini golf course.There are even campervan connection hookups and the “luxury” Ponderosa Lodge, which includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, Amish hickory flooring and an indoor stream fed by a waterfall in the living room.Outside, there are two ponds, two creeks, and three wells.As well as offering a chance to reenact the wildest of Wild West dreams, the property also has the potential to be used for more lucrative ventures, including “boutique retreats, a wedding venue or a festival” according to the listing.Images: Realtor.com

From fairytale to gothic ghost story: how 40 years of biopics showed Princess Diana on screen

Since the earliest Princess Diana biopics appeared soon after the royal wedding in 1981, there have been repeated attempts to bring to the screen the story of Diana’s journey from blue-blooded ingenue through to tragic princess trapped within – and then expelled from – the royal system. A long string of actresses, with replicas of the outfits she wore and a blond wig (sometimes precariously) in place, have walked through episodic storylines, charting the “greatest hits” of what is known of Diana’s royal life. Biopics about the princess tend to be shaped according to the dominant mythic narratives in circulation in any given phase of Diana’s life. The first biopics were stories of fairytales and romance. From the 1990s, the marriage of Charles and Diana took on the shape of soap opera and melodrama. Now, with the Crown (2016–) and Spencer (2021), Diana has become a doomed gothic heroine. She is a woman suffocated by a royal system that cannot, will not, acknowledge her special place in the royal pantheon. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WllZh9aekDg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <h2>Fairytales and soap operas</h2> The first Dianas appeared on American television networks within months of the July 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana. Both Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story (starring Caroline Bliss) and The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (starring Catherine Oxenberg) invested wholesale in a fairytale lens. They told of the young and virginal beauty who had captured the attention of the dashing prince, whisked off to a life of happily ever after. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/54QRwogBUQI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The Diana biopics fell quiet for the first years of the marriage (fairytales don’t tend to interest themselves in pregnancies and apparent marital harmony), and then reemerged after the publication of Andrew Morton’s exposé, Diana: Her True Story (1992). Morton’s biography was written from taped interviews with the princess and inspired the next generation of Diana biopics, ones that I call the “post-Morton” biopics, which borrow from Diana’s own scripting of her life. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R7OnHYcTqLk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> A series of actors were enlisted to play Diana in these made-for-television productions. Oxenberg turns up again in Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992). In Diana: Her True Story (1993), Serena Scott-Thomas (who, incidentally, turns up in the 2011 television biopic William and Kate as Catherine Middleton’s mother Carole) does her best with a terrible script and series of wigs. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUFUuGpHHPg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Others gave it their best shot. We had Julie Cox in Princess in Love (1996), Amy Seacombe in Diana: A Tribute to the People’s Princess (1998), Genevieve O'Reilly in Diana: Last Days of a Princess (2007) and, briefly, Michelle Duncan in Charles and Camilla: Whatever Love Means (2005). <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eNTR0nZZXn4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> But even large budget films (such as 2013’s cinema-release Diana, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Naomi Watts) had critics and audiences letting out <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diana_2013">a collective yawn</a>. In film after film we were offered yet another uninspired, soap opera-style representation of the princess’s life. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ca2GGofxzX4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <h2>A gothic tale</h2> Critics’ voices were quelled somewhat with the appearance of Emma Corrin’s Diana in season four of The Crown. With Netflix’s high budget and quality production values, many — <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-crown-season-4-review-a-triumphant-portrait-of-the-1980s-with-a-perfectly-wide-eyed-diana-149633">including myself</a> — felt Peter Morgan’s deliberate combination of accuracy and imaginative interpretation of Diana’s royal life offered something approximating a closer rendition of the “real” princess than we’d been presented with before. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tedqw0gMuCI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> And then we come to the most recent portrayal of Diana on screen, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer (2021), starring Kristen Stewart as Diana. What, royal biopic watchers wondered, could it possibly do to top The Crown’s Diana? Spencer’s statement in the film’s opening offers a clue: it promises to be a “fable from a true tragedy”. This is a film where genre imperatives and creative imaginings are placed at the forefront of its representation of the princess. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f-FBHQAGLnY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Taking its cue from the gothic themes and tropes Diana can be heard invoking on the Morton tapes, Spencer’s heroine is trapped in a frozen Sandringham setting, gasping for air to the point where her voice rarely lifts above a soft, almost suffocated, whisper. She tears at the pearls encircling her throat. She rips open the curtains sewn shut by staff. She self-harms with wire cutters. She runs like an animal hunted down manor house corridors and across frosty Norfolk fields. She is haunted by the ghost of Anne Boleyn, another royal wife rejected by her husband, prompting <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a38164090/princess-diana-spencer-horror-movie/">one reviewer to ask</a>: “is Spencer the ultimate horror movie?” Larraín and Stewart’s Diana has her precursor in the spectral, gothic Diana who appears in the 2017 future-history television film King Charles III, based on Mike Bartlett’s 2014 play. The anguished howl of this Diana (played by Katie Brayben) echoes throughout the palace in the same way Spencer’s Diana is framed as the royal who will haunt the Windsors for decades to come. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nyckuIRtag0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The lamentable Diana: The Musical (2021) on Netflix (a filmed version of the Broadway production starring Jeanna de Waal) – with its cliched storyline, two-dimensional characterisation, awkward costuming and early 1980s Andrew Lloyd Webber-style aesthetic – offers some evidence that, even in 2021, the creators of Diana stories haven’t altogether abandoned their investment in the Diana of 1981. But with Spencer, we have a Diana shaped by both the princess’s own version of her story, and the screen Dianas that came before her. Spencer suggests new directions and potential for the telling of royal lives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173648/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlebsnuEI1Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/giselle-bastin-391174">Giselle Bastin</a>, Associate Professor of English, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-fairytale-to-gothic-ghost-story-how-40-years-of-biopics-showed-princess-diana-on-screen-173648">original article</a>. Image: Pablo Larraín/Roadshow

Movies

Why major airlines are flying empty planes

In order to keep prized departure and landing times at major airports, some of Europe’s biggest airlines have been forced to fly empty planes. Europe’s second largest air carrier, Germany-based Lufthansa, reported they had operated over 18,000 “ghost flights” through winter, despite the devastating pollution effects of these flights directly opposing Europe’s climate goals. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg shared news of the “ghost flights” on twitter, adding, “The EU surely is in a climate emergency mode…” Due to severely decreased demand for air travel, Lufthansa called for more short-term flexibility on airport time slots. “Without this crisis-related flexibility, airlines are forced to fly with planes almost empty, just to secure their slots,” it said. Still operating in a pre-pandemic mindset, the “use-it-or-lose-it” rule forces airlines to use at least 80% of their allocated slots to keep their flight times. These rules ensure major airlines are not able to hog valuable flying times, which boxes out smaller airlines from emerging. News of the ghost flights has prompted Stefan De Keersmaecker, a senior spokesperson of the European Commission, to refute these claims online. Stefan cited data from Eurocontrol which reported the first weeks of traffic in 2022 was at 77% of pre-pandemic rates. “In addition to the lower slot use rates, companies may also request a ‘justified non-use exception’ – to not use a slot – if the route cannot be operated because of sanitary measures, e.g. when new variants emerge during the pandemic,” he shared on Twitter. “EU rules therefore do not oblige airlines to fly or to keep empty planes in the air. Deciding to operate routes or not is a commercial decision by the airline company and not a result of EU rules.” Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

This WA town just topped 50℃ – a dangerous temperature many Australians will have to get used to

While Australians are used to summer heat, most of us only have to endure the occasional day over 40℃. Yesterday though, the temperature <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-13/onslow-in-the-pilbara-equals-australias-hottest-day-on-record/100754082">peaked at 50.7℃</a> in Onslow, a small Western Australian town around 100km from Exmouth. Remarkably, the town sits right next to the ocean, which usually provides cooling. By contrast, the infamously hot WA town of Marble Bar has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-01/marble-bar-christmas-hottest-town-australia/100731946">only reached 49.6℃</a> this summer, despite its inland location. If confirmed, the Onslow temperature would equal Australia’s hottest on record <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/oodnadatta-holds-the-record-for-australias-hottest-temperature-and-it-looks-set-to-get-even-warmer/news-story/36a0585310acc37be3d14674569526a3">set in Oodnadatta</a>, South Australia, in January 1960. It would also mark only the fourth day over 50℃ for an Australian location since reliable observations began. Unfortunately, this extreme heat is becoming more common as the world heats up. The number of days over 50℃ has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58494641">doubled since the 1980s</a>. These dangerous temperatures are now being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/13/halfway-boiling-city-50c">recorded more often</a> – not just in Australia but in cities in Pakistan, India and the Persian Gulf. This poses real threats to the health of people enduring them. <h2>Where did the heat come from?</h2> Hitting such extreme temperatures requires heat to build up over several days. Onslow’s temperatures had been <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/weatherData/av?p_nccObsCode=122&p_display_type=dailyDataFile&p_stn_num=005017&p_startYear=">close to average</a> since a couple of heatwaves struck the Pilbara in the second half of December. So where did this unusual heat come from? <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440801/original/file-20220113-19-77sy3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440801/original/file-20220113-19-77sy3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> This weather chart from 13th January 2022 illustrates the conditions just half an hour before the record-equalling 50.7℃ was recorded. The blue dashed line marks the trough which meets the coast close to Onslow and helped bring in the hot air. Bureau of Meteorology In short, from the bakingly hot desert. South to south-easterly winds blew very hot air from the interior of the state up to Onslow. The wind came from an area that has had little to no rainfall since November, so the very hot air was also extremely dry. Dry air kept the sun beating at full intensity by preventing any cloud cover or storm formation. The result? The temperature rose and rose through the morning and early afternoon, and the temperature spiked at over 50℃ just before 2.30pm local time. <h2>Aren’t we in a cooler La Niña period?</h2> Australia’s weather is strongly linked to conditions in the Pacific Ocean. At the moment we’re in <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">a La Niña event</a> where we have cooler than normal ocean temperatures near the equator in the central and east Pacific. La Niña is typically associated with cooler, wetter conditions. But its effects on Australian weather are <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/?bookmark=lanina">strongest in spring</a>, when we had unusually <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-so-soon-la-nina-heres-why-were-copping-two-soggy-summers-in-a-row-173684">wet and cool conditions</a> over the east of the continent. During summer the relationship between La Niña and Australian weather usually weakens, with its strongest impacts normally confined to the northeast of the continent. During La Niña we typically see fewer and less intense heatwaves across much of eastern Australia, but the intensity of heat extremes in Western Australia is <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2015JD023592">not very different </a>between La Niña and El Niño. The pattern of extreme heat in Western Australia and flooding in parts of Queensland is fairly typical of a La Niña summer, although temperatures over 50℃ are extremely rare. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440812/original/file-20220114-23-1b2bb55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="men pump water from flooded street" /> Recent flooding in Queensland is also typical of La Nina summers. RAPID RELIEF TEAM <h2>Climate change is cranking up the heat</h2> Should these temperatures be a surprise? Sadly, no. Australia has warmed by <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/australias-changing-climate.shtml">around 1.4℃ since 1910</a>, well ahead of the <a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20220113/">global average of 1.1℃</a>. In northern Australia, summer-average temperatures have not <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/#tabs=Tracker&tracker=trend-maps&tQ=map%3Dtmean%26area%3Daus%26season%3D1202%26period%3D1930">risen as much</a> as other parts of the country, because summers in the Top End have also got wetter. That’s in line with climate change models. When the conditions are right in the Pilbara, however, heat is significantly more extreme than it used to be. Heat events in the region have become <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020EF001924">more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting</a>, just as in most other regions. Most of us have chosen not to live in Australia’s hottest areas. So you might think you don’t need to worry about 50℃ heatwaves. But as the climate continues to warm, heatwave conditions are expected to become much more common and extreme across the continent. In urban areas, roads and concrete soak up the sun’s heat, raising maximum temperatures by several degrees and making for dangerous conditions. Even if we keep global warming below 2℃ in line with the Paris Agreement, we can still expect to see our first <a href="https://science.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/melbourne-and-sydney-should-prepare-50-degree-days">50℃ days in Sydney and Melbourne</a> in coming years. In January 2020 the Western Sydney suburb of Penrith came very close, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sydney-s-penrith-the-hottest-place-on-earth-amid-devastating-bushfires/990f7843-278b-4973-90ab-b6dcb01c97aa">reaching 48.9℃</a>. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440813/original/file-20220114-19-defesm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="man holds child in front of cooling mist machine" /> Sydney and Melbourne will experience 50℃ days in coming years. Joe Castro/AAP As you know, it’s going to be very hard to achieve even keeping global warming below 2℃, given the need to urgently slash greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade. As it stands, the world’s actions on emission reduction suggest we are actually on track for around <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-thermometer/">2.7℃ of warming</a>, which would see <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-end-to-the-damage-humans-can-wreak-on-the-climate-this-is-how-bad-its-likely-to-get-166031">devastating consequences</a> for life on Earth. We already know what we need to do to prevent this frightening future. The stronger the action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally – including by major carbon emitting countries such as Australia – the less the world will warm and the less Australian heat extremes will intensify. That’s because the relationships between greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16542">global temperatures</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12520-2">Australian heat extremes</a> are roughly linear. You may think Australians are good at surviving the heat. But the climate you were born in doesn’t exist any more. Sadly, our farms, wildlife, and suburbs will struggle to cope with the extreme heat projected for coming decades. Let’s work to make this 50℃ record an outlier – and not the new normal.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174909/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-king-103126">Andrew King</a>, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-wa-town-just-topped-50-a-dangerous-temperature-many-australians-will-have-to-get-used-to-174909">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Domestic Travel

Centenarian's priceless reaction to virtual tour of childhood town

A 100-year-old grandmother has broken down in tears while exploring her hometown in Armenia through the use of a virtual reality headset. The woman, who now lives in the US, became emotional while using VR to take a tour around her hometown of Vagharshapat - something she never thought she would do again. Upon seeing the Etchmiadzin Cathedral that she used to visit as a child, she was hit by a wave of emotion and started to tear up. The woman's granddaughter, Michelle, captured the heart-warming moment and shared it on TikTok, where it racked up over three million views in just a few days. Michelle captioned the video, "Showing my 100-year-old Armenian grandma the Etchmiadzin Cathedral in virtual reality," that shows her grandmother, whom they call Nene. <div class="embed"><iframe class="embedly-embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2F7034663525347953967&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40shmellywelly%2Fvideo%2F7034663525347953967%3Flang%3Den%26is_copy_url%3D1%26is_from_webapp%3Dv1&key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" scrolling="no" title="tiktok embed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div> <div class="embed">Nene dons the extravagant VR headset while her family members instruct her to look around, as they follow what she is seeing on their own screen.</div> Suddenly, Nene becomes emotional, as someone behind the camera asks, "Why are you crying?" "It's so beautiful," she responds, attempting to wipe away her tears with a tissue. The breathtaking Etchmiadzin Cathedral is often considered the oldest cathedral in the world, and a shrine for Armenian Christians. The comments on Michelle's video were flooded by people praising the sweet gesture, as one person said, "This is what VR should be used for." Another commenter noted, "She went from a time when televisions didn't exist to VR in her living room. Protect and love this sweet woman." Image credits: TikTok @shmellywelly

Technology

Not spooked by Halloween ghost stories? You may have aphantasia

Halloween movies often feature kids sitting around a campfire sharing gory, spooky stories, trying to get someone to scream in fear. This weekend you might be doing the same – sharing a horror story with friends. You may find one friend doesn’t get scared, no matter how frightening a scene you try to paint in their mind. So why are some people more easily spooked by stories than others? We ran an experiment to find out. Can you see it in your mind? One reason some people are more easily spooked could relate to how well they can visualise the scary scene in their mind. When some people listen to a story they automatically conjure up the scene in their mind’s eye, while others have to focus really hard to create any sort of mental image. A small proportion cannot visualise images at all. No matter how hard they try, they do not see anything in their mind. This inability to visualise is known as aphantasia. Although we have known people vary in their ability to visualise <a rel="noopener" href="https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Galton/imagery.htm" target="_blank">for many years</a>, the term aphantasia was not coined until <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945215001781?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">2015</a>. We don’t yet know exactly how many people have aphantasia. But <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945220301404?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">estimates vary</a> at 1–4% of the population. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KuWSh4n5AiI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Do you have aphantasia? How scared are you? If the ability to visualise images and scenes in the mind plays a role in how we react to spooky stories, what does that mean for people with aphantasia? How do they react when reading scary stories? We <a rel="noopener" href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.0267" target="_blank">ran a study</a> to find out. We had people sit in the dark and read a number of short stories – not ghost stories, but ones with frightening, hypothetical scenarios. One example involved someone being chased by a shark, another being covered in spiders. As people read these stories, we recorded their fear levels by measuring how much the stories made them sweat. We placed small electrodes on their fingers and ran a tiny electric current from one electrode to the other. When you sweat this allows the electric current to flow from one electrode to the other easier, due to less resistance, and this results in <a rel="noopener" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1094428116681073" target="_blank">increased skin conductance</a>. This measure can pick up even very small increases in sweat you wouldn’t otherwise notice. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429220/original/file-20211028-13882-16y7l51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429220/original/file-20211028-13882-16y7l51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Scared man rowing away from sharks" /></a> Imagine being chased by sharks. Some people can’t conjure up the image in their mind. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/escape-crisis-613248632" target="_blank" class="source">Shutterstock</a> For most people who could conjure up images in their mind, their skin conductance increased when they read these stories. But people with aphantasia didn’t show a significant increase in their skin conductance levels when reading the same scenarios. There was no difference between the two groups when viewing scary pictures. This suggests aphantasic people’s lack of a reaction to these stories wasn’t due to a general dampening of emotional responses. Instead, we concluded the lack of a change in skin conductance in these people with aphantasia is specific to being unable to visualise these fear-inducing stories. What’s going on in the brain? Very little work has been done to measure neural activity in people with aphantasia to give us a firm idea of why they cannot visualise images. One <a rel="noopener" href="https://academic.oup.com/cercorcomms/article/2/2/tgab035/6265046" target="_blank">study</a> shows both the frontal and visual regions of the brain are linked to visualising images. And in people with aphantasia, the connection between these two areas is weaker. Another study found the pattern of activity in visual regions of the brain <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/37/5/1367.abstract" target="_blank">is correlated</a> with the vividness of the mental images. So any reduction in connectivity between the frontal and visual regions may result in less control over the visual regions. This might lead to the inability to visualise. So what if you have aphantasia? If you have aphantasia, it might just mean reading a <a rel="noopener" href="https://stephenking.com" target="_blank">Stephen King novel</a> is unlikely to ruffle your feathers. Theoretically, remembering fearful experiences might also be less scary. We did not test personal memories in our study, but we hope to look at these in the future. People with aphantasia report their personal memories (<a rel="noopener" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2Fs13421-014-0402-5" target="_blank">autobiographical memories</a>) are <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65705-7" target="_blank">less vivid</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945220301404?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">detailed</a> than people with visual imagery. People with aphantasia may also be less likely to develop disorders associated with fear memories, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Another possibility is they still may develop PTSD but it presents <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65705-7" target="_blank">in a different way</a> to people with visual imagery – without flashbacks. But more research is needed. <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-keogh-301841" target="_blank">Rebecca Keogh</a>, Research Fellow, Department of Cognitive Science, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/not-spooked-by-halloween-ghost-stories-you-may-have-aphantasia-170712" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Mind

Now's your chance to own a ghost town in remote WA, deserted 70 years ago

Urban explorers and the paranormal curious, listen up — you could soon the be proud owner on an entire abandoned town in remote Western Australia. The former township of Cossack, on the coast, is now up for sale after laying abandoned for 70 years. The ghost town, established in 1863, was once a thriving hub for the pearling industry, located on the Butchers Inlet. However over time, the population left to be absorbed into larger towns, eventually deserting the area completely. Today, Cossack's historic buildings all lay abandoned, trapped in an eerie timewarp. Tourists pass through, using the nearby hiking trails and paying a visit to the beautiful beaches — the town is surrounded by a coastal reserve. As well as 12 historic buildings and nearby Jarman Island, the town boasts archaeological sites dating back to the 1870s, some of which contain evidence of the impact of European settlement on the Aboriginal communities. The WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage are seeking buyers with proposals that will bring social and economic benefits to the region, so the idyllically-located town may just be a future tourism hotspot.While no price tag has been assigned to the town, proposals that prioritise innovative low-impact tourism ventures will be top of the list, with things like eco accommodations, camping, dining venues, museums and galleries that will help support the regeneration of the town among the governement's criteria. Those keen to place a bid can do so before November 20, at 2pm, with proposals and registrations of interest to go to LJ Hooker Commercial Perth. <div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"> <div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"> Written by Katherine Scott. This article first appeared on <a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/a-wa-ghost-town-deserted-70-years-ago-is-now-on-sale/44e8a83b-18fc-4c23-b84b-cfe9cd84b150">Honey</a>. </div> </div>

Domestic Travel

Italian town hopes to attract new residents by offering free rent

A town in southern Italy has joined the ranks of communities attempting to boost their dwindling populations with novel approaches. After <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international-travel/the-charming-italian-town-that-offers-free-houses">Cammarata</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/2-towns-in-italy-are-selling-homes-for-just-1-2019-4">Zungoli and Mussomeli</a> gave away homes for one euro or less, the small town of Teora in the Campania region is aiming to lure families to move in by offering to pay their rent. The town said it will pay newcomers €150 per month towards the cost of renting a house for two years, or a €5,000 lump sum to buy one. It is also offering to waive local taxes and school meal fees. However, buyers have to commit to live in the town for at least three years. They also need to have at least one child during the time of application. “I don’t believe in selling empty houses for €1, that doesn’t incentivise people to stay in town,” Teora’s mayor Stefano Farina told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/italy-teora-rent/index.html">CNN</a>. “They just come a few months a year as holidaymakers. That’s not the solution. But taking up residency and enrolling kids at the local school, that does breathe new life.” Farina said Teora’s population declined significantly after an earthquake in 1980 led many young people to flee the commune. The 1980 Irpinia earthquake destroyed Teora along with other towns, including Lioni and Conza di Campania. “Two babies are born [in Teora] each year versus 20 elders who die,” he said. “We’re down to barely 1,500 residents. “I want to invert this negative trend … New families will be the building blocks of our shrinking community, so we encourage those with more kids to apply.” According to CNN, there are nearly 100 empty buildings available. Those interested in the offer can visit the town’s <a href="http://www.comune.teora.av.it/hh/index.php">website</a> and <a href="mailto:staff@comune.teora.av.it">email the local government</a> for more information.

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