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RNZ News
29-04-2025
- RNZ News
What it's like to live in the town hosting the triple-murder mushroom trial
By Daniel Miles and Bec Symons , ABC Claudia Davies has spent nearly 20 years running a small cafe in Morwell. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica On a regular Wednesday morning in late April, it's easy enough to find a park along Morwell's main street. But this week is no regular week. The regional Victorian town, just shy of two hours' south-east of Melbourne, has found itself at the centre of an international media spotlight as it plays host to the triple-murder mushroom trial . The otherwise unassuming Gippsland town is awash with journalists, bloggers, podcasters and more - notebooks and microphones at the ready to capture every detail aired in court. But for those who live in Morwell, it feels less like a case of the circus coming to town, more like an unusual sideshow. In fact, many didn't even know the trial was on. "I'll be honest with you, I only realised because I went down to the local council [building] and couldn't get a park," Latrobe City Business Chamber president Peter Ceeney said with a laugh. Media representatives from Australia and abroad have travelled to Morwell to cover the mushroom trial. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Morwell is normally home to about 15,000 people, though numbers have edged up slightly this week. Erin Patterson's trial has thrown a new spotlight on Morwell, a town better known for coal power, an old paper mill and a few handy sportspeople. Hotels and motels had their house-full signs ready well in advance, as the few accommodation options in town quickly filled. Ray Burgess runs the local newsagent. He wasn't expecting a rush on pens and paper despite the pundits coming to town. "If I look out the front door to the left, where the legal precinct is, yeah, it's certainly busier down there," he said with a wry laugh. "There seems to be a bit of a police presence and there's cameras and things … there's definitely some folk around." Ray Burgess says there has been a flurry of activity in Morwell's legal precinct this week. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Burgess is a local character and one of the first people you would call for an update via the town's bush telegraph. But he said things have stayed relatively quiet when it came to the trial. "There are a few new faces around in the street, but I don't know how long the excitement will last," he said. At Claudia's Cafe, a small single-front cafe just down the road from the courthouse, business has been less-than-booming. Like much of the town, Claudia's has been steady - if a little quiet. Chatting with one hand on the coffee machine, owner Claudia Davies said she was hoping the trial would give her tills and the town at least a temporary boost. Claudia Davies says her cafe has a loyal client base. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica "I'd imagine we'll get a little busier, we're only about 100 metres from the court," Davies said. Davies has run Claudia's for 18 years and of late, has been doing it hard, like many hospitality venues. She said she hoped to put away a little bit of the extra mushroom trial money to go towards her taxes. "The town's just sleepy, that's the way it is," she said. Across town, Christina Gu has been prepping for the arrival of the world's media and their lunch breaks. "My boss will put more staff on and when we're doing the morning preparation, we're going to make more sushi and have more staff in the kitchen," she said. After living in Morwell for a decade, Gu said she was looking forward to meeting new people and hearing fresh perspectives. "I want to know their idea of our town, our food, and why they come," she said. "I'm getting excited for everything." Some Morwell residents say the mushroom trial's media pack made finding a park on the main street more difficult. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica The consistent factor among the residents was a sense of pride in their little town. Each hoped for a glimmer of hope to come from the town's moment in the media spotlight. "Like most country towns, it has its issues but it really is a pretty little town," Burgess said. Outside the courtroom, life will continue much as usual for Morwell's residents - just with a few more newsy tourists than normal. Plenty in town remain blissfully unaware the court case is even under way. The Morwell Tigers will host Wonthaggi Power at their home ground this weekend. A few extra drinks have been ordered, but that's for a past players' function, not an expected media scrum. "We haven't got any changes with the trial coming up," Tigers president Michael Stobbart said. If anything, he said he hoped the attention on Morwell might shine a light on the region's real challenges, like crime. "I haven't really noticed anything different around town," he added. Some Morwell residents have said they were surprised to learn the trial was happening this week. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Not that there's nothing else happening. The town's rose garden, an international award winner, is still putting on a few blooms even as winter creeps closer. And for those journalists lingering through the weekend, a stroll through the local gallery might offer some unexpected inspiration. Two exhibitions are on show with free entry, including a collection celebrating wit and pun. Safe to say, the headline writers should feel right at home. - ABC
ABC News
29-04-2025
- ABC News
Erin Patterson's mushroom murder trial takes over Morwell streetscapes
On a regular Wednesday morning in late April, it's easy enough to find a park along Morwell's main street. But this week is no regular week. The regional Victorian town, just shy of two hours' south-east of Melbourne, has found itself at the centre of an international media spotlight as it The otherwise unassuming Gippsland town is awash with journalists, bloggers, podcasters and more — notebooks and microphones at the ready to capture every detail aired in court. But for those who live in Morwell, it feels less like a case of the circus coming to town, more like an unusual sideshow. In fact, many didn't even know the trial was on. "I'll be honest with you, I only realised because I went down to the local council [building] and couldn't get a park," Latrobe City Business Chamber president Peter Ceeney said with a laugh. Media representatives from Australia and abroad have travelled to Morwell to cover the mushroom trial. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Welcome to Morwell Morwell is normally home to about 15,000 people, though numbers have edged up slightly this week. Erin Patterson's trial has thrown a new spotlight on Morwell, a town better known for coal power, an old paper mill and a few handy sportspeople. Hotels and motels had their house-full signs ready well in advance, as the few accommodation options in town quickly filled. Ray Burgess runs the local newsagent. Ray Burgess says it feels a little like business as usual in his newsagency, other than some increased road traffic down the road. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) He wasn't expecting a rush on pens and paper despite the pundits coming to town. "If I look out the front door to the left, where the legal precinct is, yeah, it's certainly busier down there," he said with a wry laugh. " There seems to be a bit of a police presence and there's cameras and things … there's definitely some folk around. " Mr Burgess is a local character and one of the first people you would call for an update via the town's bush telegraph. But he said things have stayed relatively quiet when it came to the trial. "There are a few new faces around in the street, but I don't know how long the excitement will last," he said. Ray Burgess says there has been a flurry of activity in Morwell's legal precinct this week. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Sushi rolling out the door At Claudia's Cafe, a small single-front cafe just down the road from the courthouse, business has been less-than-booming. Like much of the town, Claudia's has been steady — if a little quiet. Chatting with one hand on the coffee machine, owner Clauda Davies said she was hoping the trial would give her tills and the town at least a temporary boost. Claudia Davies says her cafe has a loyal client base. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) "I'd imagine we'll get a little busier, we're only about 100 metres from the court," Ms Davies said. Ms Davies has run Claudia's for 18 years and of late, has been doing it hard, like many hospitality venues. She said she hoped to put away a little bit of the extra mushroom trial money to go towards her taxes. "The town's just sleepy, that's the way it is," she said. Claudia Davies says Morwell has become quieter during her 18 years in business. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Across town, Christina Gu has been prepping for the arrival of the world's media and their lunch breaks. "My boss will put more staff on and when we're doing the morning preparation, we're going to make more sushi and have more staff in the kitchen," she said. After living in Morwell for a decade, Ms Gu said she was looking forward to meeting new people and hearing fresh perspectives. "I want to know their idea of our town, our food, and why they come," she said. "I'm getting excited for everything." Some Morwell residents say the mushroom trial's media pack made finding a park on the main street more difficult. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) The consistent factor among the residents was a sense of pride in their little town. Each hoped for a glimmer of hope to come from the town's moment in the media spotlight. "Like most country towns, it has its issues but it really is a pretty little town," Mr Burgess said. Weekend wanders Outside the courtroom, life will continue much as usual for Morwell's residents — just with a few more newsy tourists than normal. Plenty in town remain blissfully unaware the court case is even underway. Some Morwell residents have said they were surprised to learn the trial was happening this week. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) The Morwell Tigers will host Wonthaggi Power at their home ground this weekend. A few extra drinks have been ordered, but that's for a past players' function, not an expected media scrum. "We haven't got any changes with the trial coming up," Tigers president Michael Stobbart said. If anything, he said he hoped the attention on Morwell might shine a light on the region's real challenges, like crime. "I haven't really noticed anything different around town," he added. Not that there's nothing else happening. The town's rose garden, an international award winner, is still putting on a few blooms even as winter creeps closer. The travelling media has cut a lonely figure at times outside Latrobe Valley courthouse. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) And for those journalists lingering through the weekend, a stroll through the local gallery might offer some unexpected inspiration. Two exhibitions are on show with free entry, including a collection celebrating wit and pun. Safe to say, the headline writers should feel right at home. ABC Gippsland — local news in your inbox Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Tuesday Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
RNZ News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Hecklers boo Welcome to Country address at Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service
A police investigation has been launched into the incident at the dawn service. Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Political leaders have condemned hecklers who booed Indigenous Australians at Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service. About 50,000 had gathered at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on Friday morning for the dawn service. Follow updates on RNZ's blog But the solemn mood of the event was broken during a Welcome to Country address given by Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown, when members of the crowd began to jeer and heckle. Some hecklers demanded the Welcome to Country be stopped, but were drowned out by applause from the rest of the gathered crowd. Photo: ABC News / Nicholas Hynes Police were later seen escorting prominent neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant away from the service. In November, Hersant was the first Victorian found guilty of performing an illegal Nazi salute in public has been jailed for one month. The ABC understands a group of far-right extremists were present at the Shrine. In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed a 26-year-old man from Kensington was being investigated over the heckling. "Police are aware of a small group of people disrupting the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance this morning," a Victoria Police spokesperson said. "He has subsequently been interviewed for offensive behaviour and police will proceed via summons." "To pierce the sombre silence and to pierce the solemnity of the dawn service isn't just disrespectful, it dishonours the very thing that the men and women who fought and lost their lives is about," Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said. "For a neo-Nazi to come along and show that level of disrespect and dishonour to every man and woman who has served our nation with pride, honour and dignity - I absolutely condemn this behaviour." Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the presence of neo-Nazis was "a disgrace." "They have no place at all and they're a stain on our national fabric and they are not part of the Australian culture," he told reporters. "Nothing should overshadow what it is to be here to commemorate and to celebrate the contribution over successive generations of those that have served in uniform... I'm sure that every right-thinking Australian would be disgusted and appalled by the behaviour." Dutton said the Welcome to Country was "an important part of official ceremonies and it should be respected" and said he did not "agree with the booing". Victorian governor Margaret Gardner was also booed during her speech at the service, after acknowledging the traditional owners of the land. Defence Minister Richard Marles was present at the Shrine of Remembrance and called the incident "an outrage", but said only a tiny section of the crowd was involved. "The vast majority of the tens of thousands of people who were here at the Shrine of Remembrance this morning were here to commemorate," he said. "It's really important that as we should rightfully condemn the actions of those few idiots, we don't let it take over what is a really sacred and significant day." Photo: ABC News / Danielle Bonica Veterans Minister Matt Keogh said on the ABC's Radio National Breakfast the booing was "completely disrespectful, and is not something that's welcome at Anzac Day commemorations ever". Shadow Veterans Minister Barnaby Joyce said Anzac Day was "the most sacred day for us... and the dawn service is probably our most sacred ceremony, and any person who desecrates that in any way, shape or form is a complete and utter disgrace." RSL Victoria president Robert Webster was also quick to condemn the disruptors. "The actions of that very small minority was completely disrespectful to veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day," he said. "In response to that, the applause of everybody else attending drowned it out and showed the respect befitting of the occasion." Military veteran and Kamilaroi man Dean Duncan said the incident at the Shrine of Remembrance was incredibly disappointing. "It's a day that we're proud of, particularly as Aboriginal people, that we've served our country," Duncan said. "When you've got people who disrespect the whole of the Anzac concept by doing that, it just erodes any positives on the day." Duncan said the heckling had detracted from the true focus of the day. "It is a pretty solemn occasion for us to come together to celebrate and commemorate the Anzacs," he said. "The whole focus should be on that, not on one particular item on the agenda, which was the Welcome to Country." -ABC
ABC News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Hecklers boo Welcome to Country address at Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service
Premier Jacinta Allan has condemned hecklers who booed Indigenous Australians at Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service. Thousands had gathered at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on Friday morning for the dawn service. But the solemn mood of the event was broken during a Welcome to Country address given by Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown, when members of the crowd began to jeer and heckle. Some hecklers demanded the Welcome to Country be stopped, but were drowned out by applause from the rest of the gathered crowd. The dawn service was disrupted by boos and jeers at points throughout the ceremony. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) 'To pierce the sombre silence and to pierce the solemnity of the dawn service isn't just disrespectful, it dishonours the very thing that the men and women who fought and lost their lives is about,' Ms Allan said. 'It's beyond disappointing and again, runs counter to why we gather at the Shrine at dawn.' Victorian governor Margaret Gardner was also booed during her speech at the service, after acknowledging the traditional owners of the land. RSL Victoria president Robert Webster was also quick to condemn the disruptors. "The actions of that very small minority was completely disrespectful to veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day," he said. "In response to that, the applause of everybody else attending drowned it out and showed the respect befitting of the occasion." Thousands of people attended the dawn service in Melbourne. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed a 26-year-old man from Kensington was being investigated over the heckling. "Police are aware of a small group of people disrupting the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance this morning," a Victoria Police spokesperson said. "He has subsequently been interviewed for offensive behaviour and police will proceed via summons."
