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The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Discover the abandoned dam in Tassie's North-East that hides plenty of secrets
Mout Paris dam. By Phillip Biggs In North-East Tasmania, a dam built to supply the Mount Paris tin mine in 1936 hides away in the bush, ununsed for decades, and is the destination for this week's road trip. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area I left Launceston on the Tasman Highway on a lovely cold, clear winter day, where the sun makes you believe it's much warmer than eight degrees. The ABC's Mushroom Case Daily podcast was keeping me company as I pulled up for the first photo stop at Nunamara, at the foot of Mount Barrow. The lamp post outside what looks like a former hotel must lead straight to Narnia, I thought. With these frosty mornings it certainly seems like we are in the land of perpetual winter. Narnia lamp at Nunamara. One of the things I used to like about travelling with kids, back in a past life, was their enthusiasm about going on drives in the country. We'd jump in the car with a picnic in the boot and go off to a play park in the middle of nowhere, with maybe a kite or a ball or bikes. We'd explore, play a game, throw a frisbee, run around. Eat toasted sandwiches or sausages in bread at a picnic table like we were royalty at a banquet. So why was I so wistfully reminiscing as I tore along the Tasman Highway? I'd just rounded a bend at Myrtle Bank Road where, triggering my memory by not being there anymore, a fallen log with a large knot at the base once lay parallel to the highway. Over time people decorated the knot to make it look like a gorilla head - a mudflap for teeth, cans for eyes - and it constantly changed as items were added and subtracted. And one day, on one of our country drives, we pulled our car over for a roadside photo with the kids. A 2005 picture of the Tasman Highway roadside gorilla face - and as I would say to my daughter to get an eye roll, also a fallen tree. In that second of driving time past a familiar, yet unfamiliar place unfolded hours of memories of a past life with the delights and demands of little kids, one that, like the roadside tree gorilla face, has long gone. And then, how was it that my thoughts had travelled so far, for so long, and yet I had to rewind the podcast only a few seconds to catch up to where I was? Tasman Highway A3 took me further up into the hills over the Sideling, through Scottsdale. The old houses I aimed my camera at roadside at Winnaleah, as I bypassed Derby, had not been lived in for quite a while. Ghost house near Winnaleah. After Branxholm, a right turn directed me onto C425, a good gravel road, minus the odd pothole here and there, towards Mount Paris Dam. About 15 minutes later I pulled into a clearing, having skirted the edge of the former lake without even knowing it. The Cascade River flows through holes in the Mount Paris dam. Built in 1936, the dam was originally called the Morning Star Dam and supplied water for the Mount Paris tin mine. In the '90s holes were cut through the base to allow the Cascade River to flow through. I walked down a track to the river and spent the next 20 minutes playing with the camera, tripod and long exposures. Mount Paris dam. Looking on a map, I was interested to see Frome Dam on the other side of the Tasman Highway. It might be worth a look too, I thought, and made my way through Weldborough to Moorina. Corrugated iron patterns at Welbborough. Frome Road started off well but soon I was down to walking pace. The slow going continued for a few minutes - maybe 10, when the shimmering blue of Frome Dam appeared through the trees. Way out in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the Frome Forest. It had certainly seen better days - broken windows, frayed curtains hanging, an untamed hydraengea in what would have been a garden. Frome dam house. Frome Dam was constructed in 1908 to power the Pioneer tin mine and is a concrete-faced rockfill dam, the first of its kind in Australia. The track to the dam wall descended steeply over a few rocks and was definitely beyond the capability of an i30. I mean, I could have got it down there without any problems, but it would be like Beer O'Clock Hill to get back up again. I couldn't imagine too many cars would come by this way at this time of day to rescue me if I was stuck. So it was out of the car for a short hike. Frome dam reflections. As I was about to leave, a small grave caught my eye. Thomas Dunsburgh, read the incription, killed by a fall of earth. The enrgaving was difficult to read. He was aged 24 years, excavating on the Frome River on January 9, 1878, when the bank collapsed. A couple of his co-workers raised the alarm and some 60 miners quickly dug him out, but the fall had already been fatal. Discover the abandoned dam in Tassie's North-East that hides plenty of secrets "The Lord giveth, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord", finished the inscription, quite aptly, partially buried in the dirt. Retreating to the car, I had another quick glance on the map and was intrigued to see the Moorina Power Station pinpointed at a nearby bridge over the Frome River. Frome River. This didn't add up, I thought, as I stood on the bridge in the cold air looking at the sunlight filtering through the trees onto the mossy rocks. Referring to the phone, up popped few seconds of video showing an area of the forest I wasn't looking at. Even with only one bar of 4G I was able to work out that there was more to see than I was seeing. After following my nose for a few minutes - well, quite a few minutes - I found myself looking at the ruins of houses and buildings from the Moorina Power Station. It was a bit spooky out there as nature reclaimed the site. It was silent but for the wind in the trees - and the ringing in my ears. A ruin at the Morrina power station site. The power station operated from 1909 using water from the nearby Frome Dam. When decommissioned in 2008 it was the oldest operating power station in Australia. I'd easily got my 10,000 steps up by the time I got back to the car. Back in civilisation, I was able to watch the video fully and found an interesting story, with a visit to the working power station by Scottsdale High School, as well as an old ABC interview about the Pioneer tin mine. Night was falling as I drove back over the Sideling, past the ghost of the gorilla face. I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can find in the forest on my next road trip. Words by Phillip Biggs Phillip Biggs is a photographer for The Examiner
ABC News
16-07-2025
- ABC News
ABC Mushroom Case Daily continues to grow in June
Mushroom Case Daily was the third most listened to podcast in June with 670,000 listeners, according to the June Triton Australian Podcast Ranker released today. ABC Head of Audio on Demand Jessica Radburn said: 'It demonstrates again that when there are high public interest stories, Australian audiences turn to the ABC to understand them. 'Sensing the strong audience interest, months before the trial started the team developed a clear strategy for how the show could produce daily episodes during the court proceedings. 'It was important to cover this story in a way that balanced the undeniable public interest with respect to the tragic human impacts at the centre of the trial.' The ABC had four out of the top 10 podcasts in the June Triton Australian Podcast Ranker with ABC News Top Storie s taking No 1 spot, up two places from the May list. Mushroom Case Daily was No 3 with an additional 46,000 listeners from last month, ABC News Daily No 6 and Conversations No 9. The ABC had 3.1 million listeners across its podcast slate in June and had 44 titles in the expanded top 300 podcast ranker. Mushroom Case Daily follows the case of Erin Patterson, who this month was found guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder for deliberately poisoning her lunch guests' food with death cap mushrooms. Throughout the trial court reporter Kristian Silva, producer Stephen Stockwell and journalist Rachael Brown kept audiences up to date with highlights from court, breaking down the legal process along the way. 'The biggest surprise for the team was how engaged the audience was in learning more about the minutiae of daily court processes and jury logistics, as well as following Stocky, Kristian and Rachael's daily lives as they were reporting on the case,' Radburn said. 'We've had more than 8000 emails to the Mushroom Case Daily inbox from engaged audience members in Australia and around the world, which the team incorporated into the show to ensure the audience's questions were responded to daily. 'There's still more to come for the program, with the team continuing to dissect the verdict and respond to audience questions. They will also cover the sentencing.' Since it began producing daily episodes, Mushroom Case Daily has become the ABC's most successful podcast in a decade. It is the No 1 podcast on Apple Australia's podcast chart, No 2 on Spotify's Trending chart and has broken into the Spotify Top 20 –a first for an ABC podcast. Mushroom Case Daily has also been featured on The Washington Post, The Project and Mamamia. Audiences can enjoy every episode of Mushroom Case Daily for free and ad free on ABC listen. The Australian Podcast Ranker is a regular monthly snapshot of Australia's most popular podcasts. The Ranker has been reporting podcast listening in Australia since 2019 and includes a wide cross section of Australian podcast publishers, from both radio and non-radio backgrounds. The full Triton Australian Podcast Ranker can be found here. Media contact Laura Todd, ABC Communications
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Irish Times
Why is everyone around me obsessed with the Australian mushroom murder case?
Are we okay? I ask this because water-cooler chat in Australia has changed in recent times from the AFL (Australian Football League), Survivor, the Australian Open and Married at First Sight to: 'Yeah, nah, she definitely did it, didn't you hear about the dehumidifier the cops found?' 'She literally served the beef wellington on an orange plate, everyone else had grey plates, it's sooo obvious.' READ MORE 'She pretended to have cancer, that's so Belle Gibson .' I once pretended to like AFL (although I hate sport) to connect with potential Australian mates, why not a mushroom murder case? I googled details from the above snippets and began to weigh in. I ran out of steam promptly. Frankly, I believe I'm above true crime as a source of entertainment. It's ethically ambiguous at best and downright abhorrent at worst. Podcast hosts, series makers, book writers always start their piece with something along the lines of: 'Remember that the victims were real-life people, okay.' One of the top five podcasts in Australia, Mushroom Case Daily, began its series with: 'We know people are obsessed with this case, it's really captured the imagination of so many people, it shouldn't be forgotten that three people died, and all the people that loved them in the community are devastated by their loss.' By episode eight of Mushroom Case Daily, the hosts gleefully finish proceedings with, 'We got some plans to catch up with some pretty 'fun guys'.' So begins the reality-TV-esque content marketing wheel. Interviews with biologists, foragers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, one individual who had served on a jury in Texas that one time. True crime as entertainment can only prosper if we maintain a safe distance from those most affected. We mustn't think too deeply about the victims to really enjoy it. It doesn't matter how reverently anyone approaches this subject matter, it's all about profit, ratings, ad spend. Erin Patterson on trial: Latest in mushroom poisoning murder case Listen | 26:35 Three days before Erin Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, it was reported that the Mushroom Case Daily podcast producers received the green light for a new drama series called Toxic which will be based on the true story of Patterson. It's a media frenzy, a multimillion-dollar industry with a primed audience. Some 53 per cent of Australians engage with true crime content and the lion's share of the audience are female, reports B&T, which describes itself as Australia's leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries. The reasons for such high engagement with the genre have been studied to some extent. One psychological study, Out of the Dark – Psychological Perspectives on People's Fascination with True Crime by academics at the University of Graz, Austria, cites morbid curiosity, defensive vigilance and emotional regulation. [ Death cap mushrooms: Are they in Ireland and how do you spot them? Opens in new window ] Melbourne-based clinical psychologist at Integrate Therapy and Psychological Services, Mel O'Shea, unpacks these concepts: 'Cases like Patterson's allow us to psychologically stare into the abyss and get close to events that are shocking and unthinkable in a safe way. Essay author Hannah Kingston, a freelance writer living in Melbourne since 2020. 'Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung theorised that we have a 'shadow self' which is a part of our selves that holds thoughts, feelings and impulses that are unacceptable and shameful and that we deny and disown. Keeping an eye on the Erin Patterson case allows us to project our own shadow self impulses on to someone else and means that we can explore our own hidden feelings like rage and envy and control without acting on them.' There's more, and it's primal: 'From an evolutionary psychology perspective, humans have a desire to pay attention to people who violate social rules and norms as a way to protect ourselves by internalising what not to do. 'It means that we can protect our place in the group – society – and reinforce group norms and safety and keep the population populating. This stuff harks back to caveman days when our very survival meant relying on being part of a group, and conforming to group norms as there was safety in numbers against all those predators we faced in our early existence.' According to a study by Pennsylvania State University, sci-fi movie watchers fared better during Covid-19 because they had effectively lived and relived their new reality many times before. The study states that 'after factoring out personality influences, which were actually quite strong, we found that the more movies about zombies, alien invasions and apocalyptic pandemics people had seen prior to Covid-19, the better they dealt with the actual, current pandemic.' Mural by street artist Jarrod Grech of Erin Patterson - now stamped with a guilty sign - after she was found guilty of murdering three members of her husband's family with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington lunch. Photo by William West/AFP) O'Shea says: 'There is a level of preparedness that comes with the engagement. Exploring true crime helps us identify what the risk factors were of victims, and more closely understand the modus operandi of perpetrators so that we can make adjustments and ensure our own safety. True crime engagement easily and readily gives us a long list of red flags that we can draw on to keep ourselves safe.' I cast my mind back to waking up on a couch one Saturday morning at a friend's house. I have The Fear, and I think it's caused by Pinot Noir until I notice that there's a podcast about Ivan Milat (commonly known as the Backpacker Murderer) softly playing in the background. My friend needs gore to sleep. She can't exactly put her finger on it, but she says it helps her to relax. For me, not so much. Milat had pierced my veil of sleep, leaving me full of anxiety before I even started the day. Who needs to be making a concerted effort to feel anxious when the majority of us already spend our lives in fight or flight, because we have access to the internet? I need to know why everyone around me is obsessed with the 'mushroom case', why one of my best friends who offers only kindness and light loves the gritty details. I ask O'Shea for details on the function of true crime. She says: 'I think the level of engagement in true crime by Australians speaks to that morbid curiosity and collective fascination with the darker parts of human nature. With disbelief also comes a desire to understand those who are unable to inhibit and control the shadow parts of themselves. 'At one point in our lives, we'd all like to tell a boss or a family member what we really think of them, but we disavow this and we repress it so that we can maintain our jobs, meet our basic needs, and maintain our connection to kin. When we engage in true crime, we really let the Jungian shadow self come out to play and we can look into the mirror of another who shows us what it would really be like for us should we let our inhibitions go. True crime reinforces to us why we repress those dark parts of ourselves along with our own moral position of never letting the shadow of ourselves creep out.' Would it not be better that we swap society's current insatiable appetite for brutal content that will entertain us, with empathy for a wider brutal reality that begs for, deserves, our attention? True crime is steeped in reality. Is that where the crossover comes from, the selective detachment from those affected? I think of reality TV shows centred around love and dating; the ones where you get to see someone's full naked body before deciding if they're the one for you; the one where you don't see them until you're standing at the altar; the partner-swapping one; the island one. There's no denying that reality is a ripe market but don't be silly enough to forget that while Machiavellian brands clean up on the misery of others, the families and friends of the individuals will need to relive the horror afresh with each new repackaging of their real life, through each hot-take and TikTok video. What bearing does this have on our collective future? Is it time for a risk-benefit analysis? O'Shea says: 'Constant exposure can activate the brain's threat system, making it a little more sensitive and resulting in increased hypervigilance, anxiety and mistrust. This might become a problem if it impairs functioning such as not going out after dark, which has implications for social and occupational functioning if you have to work the night shift as part of your regular routine. 'On the other hand, constant exposure to murder case details and true crime might actually result in a bit of a desensitisation. When we are desensitised we can become apathetic. If nothing shocks us any more, that apathy can lead to a learned helplessness and may stop us from believing that our actions matter, maybe making it less likely for us to intervene or speak out or show empathy when others are hurt. These are constructs that we call bystander effect and compassion fatigue.' Bystander effect and compassion fatigue? The data keeps the score, as this graph comparing online searches in Australia for true crime and the situation in Gaza shows. I asked as many people as I could why they think they care about the mushroom case. The majority of them 'don't know', just think 'it's mad', or were hooked because 'everyone's talking about it'. I believe I'm well versed to comment on this case because I know everything about it. They got me. I even tuned in while I was on the way to a Palestine protest. Would it not be better that we swap society's current insatiable appetite for brutal content that will entertain us, with empathy for a wider brutal reality that begs for, deserves, our attention? I'm saying this because this case, the frenzied excitement around it and the detachment from its devastating realities , makes me wonder if we as a society are okay, that's why I asked. Hannah Kingston is a freelance writer living in Melbourne since 2020
ABC News
08-07-2025
- ABC News
Exhibits revealed: the evidence that swayed the jury
As Erin Patterson has spent her first night in prison a convicted murderer, the prosecution's exhibits from the trial have been released to the public. In this episode Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell reveal the panicked triple-0 call from a doctor in Leongatha, and bring you reactions from the police and the community in Korumburra. If you've got questions about the case that you'd like Rachael and Stocky to answer in future episodes, send them through to mushroomcasedaily@ - It's the case that's captured the attention of the world. Three people died and a fourth survived an induced coma after eating beef wellington at a family lunch, hosted by Erin Patterson. Police allege the beef wellington contained poisonous mushrooms, but Erin Patterson says she's innocent. Now, the accused triple murderer is fighting the charges in a regional Victorian courthouse. Investigative reporter Rachael Brown and producer Stephen Stockwell are on the ground, bringing you all the key moments from the trial as they unravel in court. From court recaps to behind-the-scenes murder trial explainers, the Mushroom Case Daily podcast is your eyes and ears inside the courtroom. To catch up on all the evidence from the case, go back and listen to all our Friday Wrap episodes:
ABC News
07-07-2025
- ABC News
Guilty: The Jury returns its verdict
After more than 10 weeks, the jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial has found her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Rachael Brown was in the room as the verdict was handed down. She tells Stephen Stockwell how this dramatic moment unfolded, and shares a statement provided to Mushroom Case Daily from Erin Patterson's close friend and supporter. If you've got questions about the verdict that you'd like Rachael and Stocky to answer in future episodes, send them through to mushroomcasedaily@ - It's the case that's captured the attention of the world. Three people died and a fourth survived an induced coma after eating beef wellington at a family lunch, hosted by Erin Patterson. Police allege the beef wellington contained poisonous mushrooms, but Erin Patterson says she's innocent. Now, the accused triple murderer is fighting the charges in a regional Victorian courthouse. Investigative reporter Rachael Brown and producer Stephen Stockwell are on the ground, bringing you all the key moments from the trial as they unravel in court. From court recaps to behind-the-scenes murder trial explainers, the Mushroom Case Daily podcast is your eyes and ears inside the courtroom. To catch up on all the evidence from the case, go back and listen to all our Friday Wrap episodes:
