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Perth Now
2 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Historic 1901 Perth mansion sells for staggering amount
One of the most beautiful homes in Perth — which has housed a series of prominent families — has sold for a staggering $15 million. The extraordinary Peppermint Grove mansion overlooking the Swan River on The Esplanade was built in 1901, the same year six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Motor vehicles were still a novelty in Perth at the time and women did not yet have the right to vote in Federal elections. But while the world around it changed, the home set at the highest point in Peppermint Grove was built to last, remaining one Perth's most expensive homes more than 120 years later. The limestone and brick house was sold recently by the late David Wordsworth, a former transport minister in the Court Government, and his wife Marie, who once led the Young Liberals. The Peppermint Grove home has sold for $15 million. Credit: Supplied Set on a massive double block of 3177sqm overlooking the river, it was designed in the Federation Queen Anne style. Following an extension, it now has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a wine cellar, two separate living areas, a pool, and curated gardens that were inspired by the formal rose gardens of Europe.. The interior of the Peppermint Grove home. Credit: Supplied If the home's grandeur needed any further proof, the on‑site housekeeper's quarters speaks volumes. The home was initially built for police magistrate Robert Fairbairn, who had a humble start as an assistant school teacher, and was later purchased by the Foulkes-Taylor family, who were successful merchants in the post World War II era. The buyer has not yet been revealed. Credit: Supplied In more recent years the property was home to the Wordsworth's private collection of historical treasures, which sold at an auction this year. It included a painting of WA's first Governor Admiral James Stirling, painted in the 1830s, which prompted a bidding war, plenty of gasps and sale price of $110,000. The interior of the Peppermint Grove home. Credit: Supplied Bidding for a pocket watch inscribed to Alexander Forrest in 1898 also had a few white gloves clutching for the pearls before selling for $28,000. The buyer has not yet been revealed. It was sold via property agent Willie Porteous. The Peppermint Grove home is set on a massive double block of 3177sqm overlooking the river. Credit: Supplied The back garden of the Peppermint Grove home sits on a 3177sqm block. Credit: Supplied
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Conviction, controversies and the collapse of Gareth Ward's Liberal career
Gareth Ward once said joining the Young Liberals set his life on course. That course would lead him to become one of the most powerful politicians in NSW, but it would ultimately end with him in prison as a convicted sex offender. While the 44-year-old's conviction on charges of sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault has dominated headlines, it is only another chapter in a story marked by a long trail of controversy, personal turmoil and growing political isolation. On the eve of his expulsion from NSW Parliament, Ward finally confirmed his resignation on Friday. But his time in state parliament began 14 years ago in 2011, when he was elected the Member for Kiama as a rising star of the Liberal Party. Ward's political and personal identity has always been deeply tied to the Liberal Party. In his inaugural speech to the New South Wales Parliament in May 2011, he reflected on joining the Shoalhaven Young Liberals at age 16 as a defining moment. "If ever there was a point in my life on which the rest of it turned, no doubt that was it," he said. He told the parliament of his rise through the Young Liberals' ranks, founding the first Illawarra branch, and forging friendships with future leaders like Matt Kean and Dominic Perrottet. He also showed a lighter side, sharing his love of music that, years later, earned him a reputation as a jaunty fiddle player with a witty flair at Liberal Party gatherings, a fact he joked about in his speech. "I still practise today but rarely play in public — after all, no-one is a fan of a fiddling politician," he said. In 2017, when he was the parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast, and parliamentary secretary for education, Ward revealed he had been targeted in a blackmail attempt involving a hidden camera in a Times Square massage parlour. Ward said he was on personal leave in New York and contacted police after two men turned up at his hotel room and demanded money. The MP told the ABC he had booked what he believed was a standard massage but asked the men to leave when "more was on offer." They began filming him and allegedly threatened to post the footage online unless he paid them $1,000. Ward reported the incident to hotel security and the New York Police Department, later calling the ordeal "terrifying". A factional ally of then-premier Gladys Berejiklian, Ward was promoted to the ministry in 2019 and given responsibility for the families, communities and disability services portfolio. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in March 2020, just days before the state's first COVID-19 public health order, Ward was making headlines for all the wrong reasons after he was found naked and disoriented outside his Potts Point apartment. Police escorted him back to his unit twice on the same night, following what Ward said was the after-effects of a medical procedure. In July last year, Ward was again involved in a similar incident involving public confusion and partial undress. News Corp has published details and grainy CCTV footage along with details of a report that Ward arrived at parliament early on July 21 "wearing a t-shirt, underwear and socks" and with a gash on his head. At the time, Premier Chris Minns described Ward's behaviour as a "major concern". The situation was referred to the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Ethics, which in December cleared him of any wrongdoing. On his home patch, Ward's combative style fuelled numerous disputes. In February 2016, he called neighbouring Shellharbour Labor MP Anna Watson "a grub" during a heated parliamentary clash, a feud that continued for years. In September 2018, Ms Watson asked Ms Berejiklian in question time whether she had received complaints about Ward's behaviour, including "anger management issues" and "an issue with women". Ms Berejiklian replied she had not seen such complaints but expected MPs to behave appropriately. The animosity escalated in 2022 when Ward, suspended from Parliament, called Watson "a jealous little brat with a face to match", comparing her unfavourably to his dog. While Ward appeared to enjoy the sparring with the Labor MP, more serious allegations of bullying were made by local Liberal women. Antagonism that had mostly been kept internal spilled into federal parliament in September 2018 when the Liberal MP for Gilmore, Ann Sudmalis, publicly named Ward for her decision not to recontest her seat. In a speech on September 17, Ms Sudmalis unleashed, telling the parliament, "Bullying, betrayal and backstabbing have been the hallmarks of one of my state Liberal colleagues, Gareth Ward, over the past six and a half years." She accused him of branch stacking and said it was "not the first time that Gareth has flexed his vengeance on strong Liberal women". In 2023, then-opposition leader Chris Minns told voters in Kiama he would refuse to engage with Ward if they returned the MP to parliament while he was facing the sexual assault charges. Off the back of Labor's victory, Mr Minns made good on his promise and refused to answer the MP's questions, raising serious concerns about his ability to advocate for his constituents in Kiama. Ward's newfound political irrelevance became apparent during a particularly farcical press conference later that year. The now-independent MP held a media conference announcing a $15.97 million upgrade to Shellharbour Airport — a project actually funded in the 2019-20 state budget. Ward blamed the government for providing incorrect briefing notes, but critics said there was no new money, suggesting either a misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead. Ward often tried to bait the government into action from the crossbench on issues like increased fines for driving through floodwaters and voter ID cards, but it was dismissed as political posturing and sharply shut down by the government. As the trial neared, Ward's political standing deteriorated further, with some Liberals blaming him, in part, for the party's loss of Shelley Hancock's former South Coast seat to Labor at the 2023 election. Even after the conviction, Ward fought to the end to hold on to his position of power and influence, ignoring repeated calls to resign and testing the push for his expulsion through the courts. He eventually resigned on Friday before a vote in parliament to expel him. From the power and privilege of a Minister of the Crown, to a crossbench MP facing a sexual assault trial, to the 10 long weeks in the dock and now a jail cell awaiting sentencing, Ward's story is one of shattered ambition and fallen grace.
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Morning Mail: killings hidden in coded diaries of WA settler, huge Gaza protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge, Piastri second in Hungary
Good morning. Our lead story today is a new investigation into coded diary entries from a Western Australian pastoralist. They describe a number of killings of Yamatji people in the 1850s, confirming knowledge passed down through Yamatji Naaguja families for generations. Descendants on both sides say it's time to break the cycle of shame and silence. We report from the massive crowd of pro-Palestine protesters who made their feelings about the Gaza crisis clear by marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge yesterday. And the Hungarian F1 grand prix went down to the wire with Oscar Piastri beaten by just seven tenths of a second. 'This is a big moment' | At least 100,000 rain-soaked Sydney Harbour Bridge marchers, young and old, came in full force on Sunday to protest against Israel's conduct in Gaza and to speak out about the children starving there. Anne Davies writes that the turnout highlights a failure of judgment by the usually slick NSW premier, Chris Minns. Exclusive | In a submission to the party's election postmortem, the Young Liberals are urging the Coalition to distance itself from Sky News – and blame a 'Maga mirage' for Peter Dutton's election rout. Housing crisis | New data has laid bare how a lack of stable long-term housing means more Australian families are seeking crisis accommodation options to escape the grip of homelessness. 'Ecosystem engineers' | Almost 150 brush-tailed bettongs have been released at a sanctuary at Mount Gibson near Perth, in a move aiming to help the endangered species both survive and thrive. So long, Irene | Home and Away actor Lynne McGranger has won the Gold Logie award for most popular personality on Australian television as she ends her 32-year run playing Irene Roberts. Gaza crisis | Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians at a food site while the family of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza accuses Hamas of starving him. The British government will evacuate seriously ill and injured children from Gaza to the UK for treatment under a scheme to be announced within weeks. Russia-Ukraine war | A Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi has ignited a raging fire, as the two sides traded strikes in one of the deadliest weeks in recent months. US politics | An irate Donald Trump has told Chuck Schumer to 'GO TO HELL!' after a Senate standoff over confirmations; White House officials rushed to defend Trump after a shaky economic week; and bizarre public appearances have again cast doubt on Trump's mental acuity, Adam Gabbatt writes. Royal family | As a biography of the Duke of York claims 'punches were thrown' in a heated argument, Prince Harry has denied he gave Prince Andrew 'a bloody nose' at a family gathering in 2013. Child rescued | A New Zealand woman was arrested after travelling on a bus with a two-year-old girl trapped in her luggage, after the bus driver became concerned about a bag moving during a stop. The coded diary entries of Major Logue, an early settler of the Geraldton region of Western Australia, flash up on the microfilm archives of the Battye Library in Perth. On 4 April 1852, he wrote in scrawling longhand that he and a group of other men had set out after breakfast in search of 'the natives who had taken the cattle', eventually finding and crawling up to a campsite. Then, in a modified version of the Freemason's code, he wrote: 'fired both barrels of my gun and wounded one fellow in the rump. Thomson and Dicky shot one dead.' The diary entries tell a bloody story of Australia's frontier, and one which colonial families in the Geraldton region have only just begun to come to terms with. Guardian Australia is exploring these stories in a new series called The Descendants. The Descendants episode 1: decoding a massacre Colonial pastoralist Major Logue is a figure of note in the city of Geraldton, Western Australia. But his diaries, written partly in code, reveal a dark and confronting chapter of Australia's past – a history that Yamatji people already know all too well. In this two-part special Full Story, Sarah Collard speaks to Lorena Allam about decoding the truth behind Logue's diaries – and how descendants of colonial violence are coming together to heal from the horrors of the past. Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ Brandon Jack's Pissants are a group of Australian rules players relegated to the fringe of an unnamed footy team. They cushion themselves against humiliation and ego death by getting wasted, obsessing about their dicks, and treating women like disposable props. So, is the former AFL player's debut novel a critique or a celebration of toxic masculinity? As Catriona Menzies-Pike writes, this is a book that cannot decide. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Motorsport | Lando Norris won a battle with his McLaren teammate, Australian driver Oscar Piastri, to take victory in a thrilling Hungarian F1 grand prix. AFL | The Brisbane Lions put a horror show behind them to thrive on the big stage, Jonathan Horn writes. Swimming | The US women set a world record in the medley relay at the swimming world championships, while Summer McIntosh won her fourth gold; and backstroke queen Kaylee McKeown pulled off another golden double. Cycling | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins the final stage and the yellow jersey in the Tour de France Femmes. Rugby union | Bundee Aki has revealed his wife gave birth to their daughter in the back of a car in New Zealand on the same day as the first Lions Test victory against Australia in Brisbane. Scientists have developed a world-first mRNA vaccine in NSW that protects cows against foot-and-mouth disease, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Victoria's government is failing to enforce its own health guidelines for school canteens, the Age reports. An artificial reef is at the heart of plans to help revive fishing in South Australia after the toxic algae crisis, the Advertiser reports. NSW | A trial is set to begin for a western NSW health district accused of breaching duty of care under workplace health and safety laws. NT | The Garma festival wraps up today. WA | The Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum 2025 begins today in Kalgoorlie. If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Young Liberals urge Coalition to distance itself from Sky News and blame Maga ‘mirage' for Dutton loss
The Young Liberals want the Coalition to distance itself from Sky News and appeal to voters through a wider variety of media outlets, blaming Donald Trump-style culture wars for Peter Dutton's historic election rout. In a submission to the party's election postmortem, obtained by Guardian Australia, the New South Wales Young Liberals division said the 'fringe right' of the Liberal membership had too much influence over policy and campaign media, causing 'a mirage of the Maga movement' which turned off women and multicultural voters. The 31-page assessment, handed to the review being led by Liberal elders Pru Goward and Nick Minchin, is scathing of the campaign run by Dutton and his frontbench team, describing them as badly outplayed by Labor and out of touch with traditional Liberal constituencies. The document has not been released publicly and was provided to Guardian on the condition of anonymity. 'The 2025 election proved that being one of the loudest media voices in the room does not mean voters are listening to you,' it said. 'Viewership data shows that most Australians do not engage with overtly political commentary on traditional media, such as evening commentators on Sky News. Yet much of our party's policy agenda and media appearances during the campaign were stuck in a conservative echo-chamber.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email Labor won 94 seats, its biggest victory in decades, while the Coalition was reduced to 43 seats in the lower house. Pointing to Dutton directly, the submission said the parliamentary leader must 'front up' to a range of media outlets, including those not considered 'traditionally friendly' to the Liberal and Nationals parties. Ahead of his 3 May defeat, Dutton did the opposite. He was criticised for not regularly fronting the Canberra press gallery in the lead-up to the campaign and dubbed the ABC and Guardian 'hate media' in the final days before the poll. The Young Liberals called out senior figures for demonising Chinese-Australians and exacerbating division related to war in the Middle East. Frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was criticised for declaring a Dutton government would 'make Australia great again,' echoing Trump's slogan just as the Coalition was trying to distance itself from the unpopular US president's policies and rhetoric. 'The Coalition must refrain from pursuing culture war issues and respect the intelligence of the Australian people by formulating nuanced, meaningful policy,' it said. On promises to voters, the submission was equally downcast. It said major policies should be announced with more lead time and accompanied by sufficient costings detail. It criticised Dutton's signature plan for development of nuclear power in Australia, and the decision to oppose Labor's tax cuts. 'Coalition policies such as the promise to cut 40,000 public service jobs, Peter Dutton's refusal to stand before the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander flags, and a crackdown on 'woke' culture in schools all reinforced the perception of a party more interested in symbolic battles than addressing serious domestic and international issues,' it said. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has commissioned Minchin and Goward to assess the loss, and ordered a second review into the Liberal party's structure. One question being considered is how to boost female representation in Coalition ranks. The Young Liberals have called for a 2015 party review to be implemented, including an aspirational national target for 50-50 gender parity in parliament, but suggested Labor-style quotas could be required. 'Ultimately, the Liberal Party doesn't look like modern Australia. Australians notice, and it matters,' the submission said. Submissions to the review were due by Friday, with a report expected by the end of the year.
The Age
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
MP put his hands down teen's pants, court told
A young man claims former Liberal MP Gareth Ward sexually abused him when he was a teenager, telling a jury the politician put his hands down his pants then took him to bed. The second complainant in Ward's trial said he felt compelled to remain 'Gareth's bro' in the years that followed, exchanging 'cringe' and 'degrading' messages to remain in the good graces of the Young Liberals. Ward has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent against a man who was 24 at the time, as well as three counts of assault with an act of indecency involving the then 18-year-old man, and an alternate charge of common assault against the younger man. Ward, the MP for Kiama, met the teenager at an event in late 2012. The following year Ward allegedly paid for a taxi to collect the 18-year-old from a party, to bring him to the MP's Meroo Meadow home south of Wollongong so he could comfort the teenager about his girlfriend. The complainant told the court Ward had 'fixed us drinks' before they moved outside where the boy pretended to pass out on the grass as a prank. Ward rushed to his side, the complainant told the court on Wednesday, as he lay on the grass. 'I thought this prank is going well, I got him,' the complainant said. 'He put his hand down my pants, I felt his hand go onto my buttocks. I basically froze. I went from being in a bad mood earlier in the night to being very positive, fun, joking with Gareth.' The complainant said Ward's hand moved around to the front of his shorts, touched his thigh and then brushed his genitals.
