分类： society

A multimillion-dollar beachfront estate in New South Wales, owned by the father of Australian online gambling billionaire Ed Craven, has been completely destroyed by a suspicious fire, coming just two weeks after local officials approved a major $30 million redevelopment plan for the property. The 15-bedroom, 15-bathroom Sapphire Beach mansion, located on a sprawling 1.8-hectare block with exclusive access to a private beach stretch in the small coastal community of Korora, caught fire twice within hours on Tuesday, emergency services confirmed.

Coffs Harbour Fire and Rescue first responded to the scene at 5:40 p.m. after reports of smoke billowing from the vacant building, extinguishing what crews initially described as a small, contained blaze. But less than seven hours later, shortly before midnight, multiple emergency calls from nearby residents brought firefighters back to the property, after the fire unexpectedly re-ignited and spread rapidly through the unoccupied structure.

The property has a high-profile ownership history: it was originally developed and owned by Australian mining magnate Nathan Tinkler, who listed it for sale at an asking price of $30 million before Jamie Craven, father of 30-something billionaire Ed Craven, purchased the estate in an all-cash $16 million deal in early 2024. Even at a discount to Tinkler’s original asking price, the sale marked the most expensive transaction the suburb has ever seen — the home’s price tag was more than four times higher than the second-most expensive property ever sold in the area.

Earlier in June, Coffs Harbour City Council formally approved Jamie Craven’s $29.7 million redevelopment proposal, which would have demolished the existing mansion to make way for a custom two-story luxury residence, complete with two in-ground swimming pools and a 300-millimeter deep reflection pool. Construction had not yet begun at the time of the fire, leaving the property abandoned and unoccupied.

NSW Police confirmed in a statement Wednesday that no injuries have been reported from the incident, as the home had been empty since the sale was finalized. Investigators from the Coffs/Clarence Police District have launched a formal probe into the blaze, which is currently being treated as suspicious. Local media reports from nearby residents note that vandalism has become an increasingly common issue for empty homes in the area, and police have emphasized there is no suggestion at this time that the Craven family has any connection to the fire.

The devastating loss comes as a major surprise to the local coastal community, where the high-profile purchase and redevelopment plan had drawn significant public attention in recent months.

In the early hours of Wednesday, a catastrophic fire sparked by an exploding second-hand electric bicycle gutted a suburban family home in Sydney’s west, leaving the property completely destroyed but ending in a miraculous story of survival for all nine residents. The blaze broke out just after midnight at a residence on Harlow Avenue in Hebersham, igniting when the pre-owned e-bike suffered a catastrophic failure while connected to a charger.

Witnesses who lived in the neighborhood described a terrifying sequence of events, starting with a deafening explosive bang that echoed through the quiet street, followed by a series of smaller secondary blasts. Within minutes, flames raced through the building’s structure, engulfing the entire home in intense heat and thick black smoke. Dramatic footage captured from the scene shows towering flames pouring from the home’s roof, windows, and exterior walls, turning the two-story property into an inferno as the nine family members — two parents and seven children — fled for their lives with only seconds to escape.

Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Superintendent Peter Murray, who responded to the emergency call alongside dozens of local firefighters, confirmed that the blaze spread with unusual speed and intensity. “It was a very intense fire,” Murray told local outlet 9News, adding that crews arrived to find the structure already fully engulfed. Despite the rapid spread of the flames, every member of the family managed to evacuate before the fire reached critical sections of the home, escaping without a single injury.

A family member spoke to reporters after the fire, expressing profound relief that all seven children made it out safely. “I think we were all pretty lucky that nobody was hurt … lucky to get all the kids out,” they said. Investigators from Fire and Rescue NSW have ruled out suspicious activity, confirming that the fire was directly caused by the exploding second-hand e-bike. What was a routine overnight charging session turned into a devastating event that left the home a charred, gutted shell, with nearly all of the family’s possessions destroyed in the blaze. The incident has renewed public discussion about fire safety risks associated with second-hand e-bikes and unregulated lithium-ion battery devices, which have been linked to a rising number of residential fires across Australia in recent years.

A 24-year-old school employee from New South Wales, Australia has been denied bail after facing court on five serious charges linked to the possession of graphic child and animal abuse material. Aaron Neal Hatch, who works at a school located in the Bourke Shire region, was arrested during a coordinated police operation on Tuesday morning around 11 a.m., law enforcement officials confirmed. Immediately following his arrest at the school, investigators executed a search warrant at a residential property in the same local area, where they seized multiple digital devices that police allege contain the prohibited illegal material. The five charges brought against Hatch break down into two counts of possessing child abuse material, two counts of possessing animal sexual abuse material, and one additional count of possession of animal crush material – content depicting the intentional killing of animals for exploitative purposes. Hatch made his first court appearance at the Bail Division Local Court on Wednesday, where magistrates rejected his application for release on bail. NSW Police said the arrests and charges were the result of tips received earlier this month, as part of an ongoing statewide investigation called Strike Force Trawler. The special task force, run by the NSW Police Sex Crime Squad, targets the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children distributed via internet platforms and digital telecommunications devices. According to official police records, Strike Force Trawler investigators first received a report in July 2024 flagging potential child abuse material tied to an account holder in northern New South Wales, which ultimately led investigators to Hatch. The accused is scheduled to next appear at Bourke Local Court for a follow-up hearing in September. The case has sparked concern among local communities, as the accused held a direct position of trust working at a regional school. Police have not yet released additional details about the specific school where Hatch was employed, nor have they confirmed whether any ongoing risks to students at the facility have been identified as part of the investigation.

In a startling and unusual drug bust, law enforcement in South Australia has uncovered a clandestine cannabis growing operation hidden deep beneath a rural shed, leading to charges against two individuals in their 30s who are now set to appear in court.

The unconventional discovery unfolded when officers executed a search warrant on a private property located in Penfield Gardens, a semi-rural community roughly 40 kilometers north of Adelaide. What started as a routine targeted search quickly took an unexpected turn when investigators uncovered a purpose-built secret underground bunker, carefully concealed beneath the property’s existing outbuilding shed.

Inside the hidden underground facility, police documented a sophisticated hydroponic growing setup that housed 26 mature cannabis plants, alongside a large stash of processed cannabis. In total, authorities seized approximately 24 kilograms of dried cannabis, which is estimated to have a high street value for illegal distribution.

Following the seizure, a 38-year-old man from the nearby town of Hewett was taken into custody. He faces four distinct charges: trafficking a large quantity of a controlled drug, cultivating a commercial quantity of a controlled cannabis plant, possession of unauthorized drug manufacturing equipment, and illegal diversion of electricity to power the hidden growing operation. The man has been released on bail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on September 2.

In a connected investigation, police executed a second search warrant at a separate property in Korunye, where a 38-year-old woman was identified as a co-conspirator. She has been reported for the same four criminal offenses and will appear in court at a later date, which is yet to be finalized.

In addition to the drug seizure, law enforcement also impounded a range of high-value assets linked to the alleged operation from the Penfield Gardens site. These assets include a Ram Laramie pickup truck, a utility trailer, a recreational caravan, a personal watercraft Seadoo, and an excavator, indicating that the operation was a large-scale, well-funded criminal enterprise.

South Australian police have confirmed that investigations into the illegal network are still ongoing, and additional charges or arrests may be forthcoming as the case progresses.

A high-profile Melbourne businessman facing multiple sexual violence charges is currently on trial at Melbourne’s County Court, with prosecutors pushing jurors to dismiss the defense’s argument that his accuser fabricated her claims for financial gain.

The defendant, whose identity remains protected by a court-ordered suppression order, has entered a plea of not guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The charges stem from an alleged incident in 2023, where prosecutors claim the sexual violence occurred after the pair spent an evening consuming alcohol and cocaine together. According to court documents, after the alleged assault, the accuser punched the businessman and called him a rapist, to which he reportedly responded, “It’s not rape, I was using my fingers.”

Leading the defense team, barrister Dermot Dann KC has maintained that the alleged incident never occurred, and has repeatedly questioned the accuser’s credibility and reliability as a witness, arguing she had clear motive to fabricate the story to harm the defendant or extract money from him. Dann noted at the opening of the trial that there are “massive” inconsistencies undermining the accuser’s account, and that the prosecution’s entire case hinges on jurors accepting her testimony as truthful.

In his closing address delivered to the jury on Wednesday, prosecutor Matthew Fisher openly acknowledged that the accuser’s evidence contains gaps, discrepancies, and inconsistencies. Even so, Fisher stressed that the core of the woman’s account has never shifted: “Not once did she waver from the alleged sexual offending … She’s been consistent and adamant throughout this that this is what he did to her in that room on that night.”

Fisher directly pushed back against the defense’s claim of a fabricated, financially motivated claim. He argued that if the woman had indeed constructed the allegations to get money or retaliate against the businessman, she “could have done a better job” of crafting a consistent, self-serving narrative. He pointed to key evidence that contradicts the idea of a pre-planned lie: text messages sent to the woman’s mother on the night of the incident show she had no intention of contacting police, and she agreed to keep the encounter secret to protect the defendant’s reputation. Additional evidence also shows she continued to speak positively about the businessman, who was her former boss, stating she still believed in his professional vision and that he was “greater than his actions.”

“This is a case where the defence are going to suggest to you (the woman) has an ulterior motive for making these allegations,” Fisher told the jury. “That would be the last thing she would be doing if she wanted to make all of this up.”

The trial is ongoing and is expected to conclude in the coming days as both sides wrap their arguments.