Earliest Australian map auctioned for 248,000 pounds
Melbourne: The earliest known map of Australia and New Zealand drawn by Dutch master cartographer Joan Blaeu in 1659 has sold for a whopping 248,750 pounds at an auction. The 1.17 x 1.59 metres Archipelagi Orientalis was one of two original and unrestored maps by Blaeu discovered in an Italian home.
The map, which was the first to name Australia as Nova Hollandia (New Holland) and Novo Zeelandia (New Zealand) was auctioned by Sotheby’s in London last week. Though only four copies of Blaeu’s map are known to exist, the auctioned map was created even earlier than the copy held by Australia’s National Library (1663). On November 24, 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman made the first recorded sighting of the Australian island state of Tasmania, ‘New Atlas’ reported.
As official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company, Bleau had complete access to the closely guarded intellectual properties of the most powerful company in the world. Archipelagi Orientalis includes the first details of Tasman’s sighting of Tasmania and the first map of the island’s coastline. (PTI)
Malaysia seizes 330 exotic tortoises from Madagascar
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities say they have seized 330 exotic tortoises from Madagascar worth 1.2 million ringgit (USD 276,721) in the latest heist of illegal wildlife and animal parts being smuggled into the country.
Deputy customs director Abdull Wahid Sulong said Monday that 325 Indian Star tortoises and five Ploughshare tortoises were packed into five boxes and labeled as stones.
He said the live tortoises, usually kept as pets, arrived via Etihad Airways from Antanaviro Airport in Madagascar yesterday. He said customs officials found the boxes at the Kuala Lumpur airport cargo warehouse on the same day based on a tip. Two weeks ago, airport customs officials seized African pangolin scales worth USD 2.1 million. Last month they confiscated 18 rhino horns worth USD 3.1 million believed to have been smuggled in from Mozambique. (AP)
Pilot lands chopper next to McDonald’s to grab quick bite!
Melbourne: Fly-Thru! A hungry pilot in Australia landed a helicopter near a McDonald’s takeaway window to grab a bite. The green chopper set down on a grassy patch outside the fast food giant’s branch in Sydney with locals left stunned by the incident.
The pilot was seen exiting the aircraft and collecting his order from the nearby McDonald’s, before getting back into the chopper and flying away, Nine News Australia reported. The pilot, who identified himself as ‘Dan’, later told a radio station that he got permission to land at premises. “Every now and then we do that sort of stuff,” he said.
“Kyle (a radio show host) if you ever need a cheeseburger give us your coordinates of where you live and we’ll drop in with it,” he said. Dan called into the show after radio show hosts Kyle and Jackie O promised the pilot of the helicopter USD 1,000 if he got in touch. Dan asked for the money to be donated to Ronald McDonald House. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said the landing was not technically illegal if the pilot had permission from the owner of the land. CASA, however, said investigations into the safety of the chopper’s landing and take-off were ongoing. (PTI)
