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Hello, friends.
It's Ruby here and you're listening to an episode of Newstime.
Hey, Ruby.
Hello.
On this week's Newstime, we're going to pound the pavement to solve an animal mystery.
We'll also zoom down ski slopes with a duo who are seeking Paralympic glory.
And in our wow of the week, we'll bang the drum with a kid whose rock and roll dreams have all come true.
Okay, who's going to count us in?
One, two, three, four.
Story number five.
Here's a question for you.
What do you know about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
They were the first people to... be on Australian land?
There's no land.
I'm pretty sure they were in Australia about 62,000 years ago and then The white set was cane.
They used the land's resources to make tools like a hammer, which they would make from a thick stick, some seaweed and a rock.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have walked and worked and celebrated on this island continent for at least 65000 years.
That means this land is rich in history and there's a lot we can learn about its past.
That's the reason the ABC has created a website all about First Nations stories.
It's called Deep Time.
Can you think of who might be spending time on the Deep Time website?
Scientists who want to figure out how some Aboriginals forget out how to do things.
Being indigenous people so they can learn more about their country.
People that aren't indigenous, because then they wouldn't like know as much about their culture.
Time can help us all learn about our important histories.
For example, did you know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have lived through an ice age, extreme droughts, volcanic eruptions, And they once walked around beside giant animals that don't exist anymore?
I can see, I think, something from indigenous Dreamtime stories and emu.
The team behind Deep Time took five years to research and build this important website, and it shares more than 130 cultural stories from communities and language groups.
Proud and strong.
And brave.
Why not explore deep time with a grown-up after you listen to this episode?
You can find the link in the episode notes.
Story number four.
Okay friends, let's trim our nails and lace up our shoes, because it's time to hit the netball court.
It's like basketball sort of, except you can't like move around with the balls and there's no backboard.
Yeah, you can't run around with the ball.
You have to pass the ball.
I know that there are different positions that you stay in.
Netball is a super popular sport in Australia.
Every weekend, local courts are filled with the sounds of Australia's national team.
The Diamonds is among the world's best.
24-year-old netball player Hannah Mundy has had a big year.
She played with the Melbourne Vixens.
That's the team that won the 2025 Super Netball Premiership.
Since then, she has stepped up, playing her first game representing Australia.
Plus, there was something special about it.
Can you have a guess what?
Maybe she wasn't from Australia and she versed the place where she was from.
Ooh, good guess.
But not quite.
Hannah's mum Shelly also played for the Diamonds years ago.
That makes them the first mother and daughter to both play for the Diamonds.
What do you think of that?
I think it's pretty cool.
I think it's amazing.
I think maybe like her mum taught Hannah how to play netball.
Shelley played 84 tests for the Diamonds and Hannah says she loved growing up with a mum who played for Australia.
Now stepping out onto the netball court with the diamonds, Hannah feels like she's continuing Shelley's legacy.
Proud because she followed her mum's footsteps.
It does make you wonder, in a one-on-one contest, who would score more goals?
Shelly.
I reckon Hannah would win.
I reckon Shelly would win because Shelly's played 84 games and Hannah's only played one.
I think that Hannah would have won because Shelley would have been 30 years older.
Shelley is so proud of Hannah.
She was even in tears watching her play in the Diamonds uniform for the first time.
Well done, Hannah.
We can't wait to see what you do next.
Story number three.
We're hopping on a plane now and flying across the Pacific to the US city of Chicago, where mystery has been afoot, or rather underfoot, for decades.
Looks like an animal.
A possum, yeah.
In the concrete of a footpath, there's a hole with a curious shape.
Probably not a squirrel, because the tail would be bigger.
This hole is in the shape of an animal, even with an outstretched paw and a tail at an angle.
I reckon an animal fell from like 100 metres tall and plummeted into the ground.
Yeah, I think it looks like a possum's fell in in a weird position.
Could have been a drop there.
I wonder how deep and big it is.
Yeah, how deep is it?
How old is it?
Hold your horses, that's a lot of questions.
Let me explain.
The theory goes that many years ago, while the footpath was being built, a sneaky brown rat fell into wet concrete and left that imprint that we know today.
Locals have known about it, but it was about a year ago that a comedian took a photo and shared it on social media.
The imprint became so popular that a public naming contest named it Splattertui.
That reminds me of the movie Ratatouille.
And that's not the end of the story.
A group of scientists from the University of Tennessee heard about Splattertui and they weren't so certain it was made by a brown rat.
They set out measuring the hole and studied 37 mammal species to find out which animal made this imprint.
And their conclusion?
This poor animal was an eastern grey squirrel.
But the tail looks really skinny and aren't squirrels' tails fluffy and big?
Well, that's what the scientists determined, and they want to rename the imprint Windy City Sidewalk Squirrel.
But there's still a mystery remaining.
What caused the squirrel to fall into the concrete?
It tried to fly, but then it splattered on the ground.
Maybe like an eagle dropped it or something.
There could have been a sandstorm that it got blown around in.
Hmm.
Well, if we're ever going to know for sure, we'll need some concrete evidence.
Story number two. on the snowy slopes of Perisher Valley in New South Wales.
And Georgia Ganev has packed her equipment ready for a day of skiing.
To move forward you need to have your skis parallel to each other.
It's kind of scary at the start but when you fall over it only hurts a little bit.
It feels like you're free when you go down a hill.
Georgia needs a combination of precision, balance and bravery to zoom down the slopes at high speed.
But there's another factor that she has to think about.
Georgia has a blind spot in the centre of her vision.
It means she's legally blind.
It's a really fun sport, but sometimes I do feel apprehensive or say you can be a little bit nervous.
I think that's OK.
Like you're looking down.
There are a lot of gates in front of you.
It's pretty steep.
Sometimes it can be a bit icy, a little bit foggy.
Georgia works with another skier named Ethan, who skis just in front of Georgia and talks to her through a walkie-talkie.
He gives her warnings like a little to the left boulder up ahead.
Take it slow around the next bend.
I would think a lot of trust, because if Ethan did say something and he's like she would be fine, she might not be fine, so she would trust Ethan.
Quite a good relationship, like maybe best friends.
Georgia and Ethan are training hard and hoping to qualify for the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina, in Italy.
Georgia says it means they have to spend a lot of the year travelling the world and skiing the slopes, chasing their Paralympic dream.
Good luck.
The kids of Australia are cheering you on, Georgia and Ethan.
Phew.
OK.
Time to thaw out my friends, because it is time for This story made me go wow, because he taught himself how to play.
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Maybe you want to find a cure for diseases or star in an action movie.
Or maybe you want to play in a band.
That's the dream of 12-year-old Noah Pope, who spends a lot of time playing drums in his bedroom.
He's never had a lesson and never played with other musicians, but he has spent the last two and a half years learning to drum by watching online videos.
That's, like, amazing.
He teaches himself how to play the drums and then he's really, really good at playing the drums.
One band that Noah loves is The Living End.
Oh, I know The Living End.
My favourite song by them is called Prisoner of Society.
Yeah, that's one of their biggest hits and Noah loves to play along.
Recently, when The Living End played a music festival near his house, Noah got tickets and went along and held a big piece of cardboard high above the crowd with a question written on it.
Can I drum with you?
The band saw it and guess what happened next?
They were like, no.
Maybe he got crowd surfed onto the stage and then he got to drum with them.
That's pretty spot on.
The band invited him up and together they played Prisoner of Society. and Noah rocked.
Mind-blowing.
They were like, wow, this person can play really well.
The band were amazed by Noah's abilities and they couldn't believe that he had taught himself how to play.
It's the first time the Living End have ever invited a stranger to play with them in nearly three decades of playing together.
And they called it a joyous moment.
That would have been really awesome to be Noah.
He probably wouldn't have remembered it for a long time.
Well done, Noah.
An experience like that would be hard to beat.
Boonk!
And with that, my friends, we are closing the curtains on this episode of News Time.
I'm afraid there'll be no encore today.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ruby.
You are very welcome.
And don't forget to ask a grown-up if you can explore the Deep Time website.
There's a lot to discover there.
Bye, Ruby.
Catch you next time.
See you later.
Or as they say in Romanian, la revedere.
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