Donna Demaio: Australia Correspondent on the record low temperatures in south-east Australia

It’s not just New Zealand who’s been experiencing an icy start to Spring. 

Australia has seen record low temperatures across the southeast, with an icy blast catching several states unaware.  

Canberra marked its coldest September morning on record, with Monday hitting –6.9C, and many regions were hitting below 0. 

Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge that the system has come almost from Antarctica, and the temperatures are sitting about five to eight degrees lower than average. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Donna de Mayo, our Australia correspondent, Donna, very cold over
your way.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Oh, you wouldn't believe it, but Australians just love talking
about the weather and we have had record load temperatures
across Southeast Australia. This icy blast has struck several states
in fact, and these freezing temperatures have pretty much caught
us unawares. In the capital, for instance, in Canberra minus
six point nine degrees, Inland, New South Wales below zero

(00:26):
across many areas and in a South Australia town the
coldest September in sixty two years. As I mentioned New
South Wales, you know areas minus eight, minus six in
Bathist minus four degrees. Victoria regional areas had minus four
point five and minus four in the Mali Region in

(00:47):
the heart of Victoria the coldest in twenty nine years.
So the way the Bureau says, oh, this system has
come almost from Antarctica and these temperatures about five to
eight degrees below average. Frankly, it's all taken. It's all
been a bit of a shock, to be honest. And
the weather forecast for today it's going to be a
frosty morning but thankfully by tomorrow it should start warming up.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
I was going to say, is this really news, but
it's cold in Australia. Yes, there is news. Let's go
to trot warn tropical Queensland. There's a famous island that's
been sold.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
So this Queensland island inspired scenes in Chronicles of Narnia,
a film that came out I think around twenty ten.
It's just sold at auction. There were about two hundred
and eighty seven inquiries. Now sadly I wasn't one of them.
But this place is called Little Green Island. It's owned
by a film producer and actor called Douglas Gresham. Happens

(01:44):
to be the stepson of Narnia's author C. S. Lewis.
It's just south of the wit Sunday Islands on the
Grape Barrier Reef. A beautiful, beautiful part of the world.
Well Gresham happens to live in Malta, but he bought
this sixty three acre private island for two point four
to five million about fifteen years ago. And what's their well,
tropical forest, lagoon, pristine beaches, one house and a caretaker's

(02:05):
cottage and a pool. And the family said that they
relay to the agent that this island had inspired these
scenes in this film, The Chronicles of Narnia. The agent
said it was unspilt and secluded and it was quite beautiful.
But they're very very thankful. Locals are anyway, that the
buyer came from Macai in Queensland, so I didn't go

(02:26):
to an international buyer. As I mentioned, many many people
wanted to get their hands on this beautiful, beautiful part
of the world.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
It sounds like it. Donna, thank you very much for that.
Don and our Australia correspondent.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
For more from News Talks, the'd be listen live on
air or online, and

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Keep our shows with you wherever you go with our
podcast on iHeartRadio