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From tiny houses to the illegal wildlife trade, journalist Tom O’Callaghan says the 2017 yarns that stuck with him were the ones that unearthed the unexpected, the zany and, in some cases, the injustices we do not pay enough attention to.
1. A cracker of a Mass: Lightning strikes Sacred Heart
Vision emerged in November of a lightning bolt striking Sacred Heart Cathedral.
About 200 people were attending Mass at the time, though none were injured. Father Tony Shallue had started a homily when the lightning made contact.
“People keep asking me what I was talking about. I dare not say,” he said.
2. The price trafficked native animals fetch makes horrendous conditions lucrative
In September authorities called for locals to be on the lookout for poachers targeting rocky outcrops in bushland around central Victoria.
Lizards and other native wildlife were enduring shocking conditions as part of a clandestine international wildlife trade.
“They are stuffed into plastic packaging and posted through … Express Post and air freight,” the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s Phuong Tran said.
Read more about the fight to stop illegal trafficking here.
3. The search for a better life: Tiny housing movement gathers steam
As people explored the secrets of some of Bendigo’s most sustainable homes, some in the region were turning their attention to more novel ways of living.
The tiny houses movement beloved by lifestyle TV channels was growing in central Victoria.
“Once you do downsize you only retain the things you need for that day, plus those special things you need in life – that family heirloom you inherited from your grandmother, for example,” Tiny Houses Australia founder Darren Hughes.
4. Could you share your property with 20 other people?
Tiny homes were not the only new ways of living central Victorians were exploring.
In Castlemaine 21 people were sharing a property and redefining what it was to be part of a community.
“You get a lot of tyre-kickers. They are interested in finding out what the set-up is. But close neighbours and shared resources can be outside of people’s comfort zones,” resident Lucy Young said.
Could you do it? Read more here.
5. He was executed 150 years ago, now lawyers are assembling to clear his name
David Young was hung in 1865 for the vicious murder of a 17-year-old newly wed girl.
Yet not everyone believes he did it and 150 years after his death a team of lawyers is being assembled to exonerate him.
Author Deborah Benson said the reason Mr Young’s story resonated with people was the thought that a simple, innocent man could be found guilty of a crime he did not commit.
“David Young was an underdog, he had no-one to support him. He was an ex-convict with no family,” she said.
Read more about the exoneration case here.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
