I can’t resist this next story.
A New Zealand man who claimed to have been left speaking Australian after being raped by a wombat has been sentenced to 75 hours community service.
Arthur Ross Cradock, a 48-year-old orchard worker, admitted in the Nelson District Court yesterday to the charge of using a phone for a fictitious purpose, after calling police with the message, “I’ve been raped by a wombat”.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer told the court that on the afternoon of February 11 Cradock called the police communications centre, threatening to “smash the filth” if they arrived at his home that night.
When asked if he had an emergency, he replied “yes”, Mr Stringer said.
On a second subsequent call to the communications centre, Cradock told police he was being raped by a wombat at his Motueka address, and sought their immediate help.
He called police again soon after, and gave his full name, saying he wanted to withdraw the complaint.
“I’ll retract the rape complaint from the wombat, because he’s pulled out,” Cradock told the operator at the communications centre, who had no idea what he was talking about, Mr Stringer said.
“Apart from speaking Australian now, I’m pretty all right you know, I didn’t hurt my bum at all,” Cradock then told the operator.
I don’t know what’s more offensive – the claim he was raped by a wombat or that the rape made him Australian.
And in perhaps the biggest understatement of the day..
Mr Stringer said alcohol had played a big part in Cradock’s life.
Update: By the way, Cradock would have been in a more trouble than he thinks had his claims been true.
A complicated dance, a bite on the rump and ferocious backward kicks are all part of the wombat’s lovemaking repertoire, a new study has revealed.
Until recently, there were no recorded observations of mating between wombats.
But the director of Nocturnal Wildlife Research Ltd, biologist Clive Marks, found wombats were more likely than the average Aussie male to emulate moves from the Kama Sutra.
