What's the deal with the burnt out buses near Holy Grail in Civic?

i really hope those responsible for this are caught and given the full extent of the law!!

So do I. They deserve the 3 month suspended sentence they will get, even though
it’s probably their 6 offense.

la mente torbida said :

The reason the buses were parked up near Glebe Park is that retards had their cars parked on the bus zones outside the YHA.

Hope they catch the f#tards that torched the bus. Maybe they should also start towing away cars parked illegally.

You obviously like making stuff up. The zones outside YHA are Loading Zones and Pickup / Set Down Zones, even if there weren’t cars there, the busses would be “illegally” parked had they remained there overnight.

I used to live in Baringa Gardens after my parents split up and we lived with my mum, who had no working income as a stay at home mum. We were there until the decision was made to demolish them, and we went into other public housing for a number of years.

I’m not living in the drains or are they wearing concrete floaties at the bottom of the lake, and it’s really not a fair comment to make farnarkler.

Some people grow up in a disadvantaged situation and make it out the other end relatively scar free.

dexi said :

“The Crack Flats” on Ballumbir St.

Shanefos I assume you are referring to the poor state and neglect, of the plaster. You couldn’t be making the outrageous and false claim that crack is available from these flats. There must be an accurate, Australian insult you could sling in your generalisation.

How about this for an aussie version of what he said:

“The Crack Flats on Ballumbir St, mate”. And just so you know, Crack is available in Canberra and has been for about 5 years but people prefered to go with Ice.

As for the Mandalay bus, has anyone actually been inside in the past couple of years?

Well, I think it’s a funny story!

: )

i was at transit having a beer with work colleagues after work yesterday and there were 2 buses with a million kids milling around – one of the bus drivers joked with us about a fly going in our beer so maybe we should just donate it to him, my colleague goes (in a clearly joking way) ‘hello haven’t you heard what us canberrans do to buses, i’ll burn it if you’re not careful’ and the driver gave him a really dark look and said we shouldn’t even joke about it. then literally a minute later we hear one of the teachers on his mobile talking to someone about how everything had worked out ok after the bus was burnt last night….. oh LOL!!

p.s. before anyone flames *boom boom* me – i mean it is hilarious about the unintentional inappropriate joke – not that the poor kiddies had their stuff burnt!

No you’re not. If you truly belived in karma you’d believe they’d magically get punished somehow in the future in correct proportion to their crime, and the law would be unnecessary

‘Sheepgroper’…..oh dear me

I remember the mandalay bus. The poor bastard who ran it lost an eye after being beaten up.

Canberra has entered the big league with that bus torching. Here in South London we wouldn’t get such deviant behaviour.

What did happen to the inhabitants of Burnie Court, further back, Baringa Gardens in Melba? Are they living in the drains or are they wearing concrete floaties at the bottom of the lake (which is where the Civic druggos should be)?

langbot said :

Hey ant, no i’m from Canberra.

Are you a middle aged obese balding woman by any chance?

It’s actually middle aged men who tend towards obesity and thinning of hair. However, perhaps for a 30ish male (defending an abandoned bus?), calling someone a fat, bald, woman is a kind of a misogynistic insult that will get you a guffaw or two at the pub.

langbot said :

The Bus is an establishment of great historical significance for a lot of young (now 30ish) people.

Top food, friendly people, it deserves to live rent free forever and should be on the heritage list.

I suggest you shut your curry hole Al as you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Perhaps you should re-think your definition of “young”! 30ish ain’t young any more. It’s time to join the ranks of the grown ups now.

relle said :

i am a true beliver in karma and i really hope those responsible for this are caught and given the full extent of the law!!

No you’re not. If you truly belived in karma you’d believe they’d magically get punished somehow in the future in correct proportion to their crime, and the law would be unnecessary.

relle said :

… stop putting addicted mentally ill people in those flats to wonder the streets of civic day and night

Yeah, put them out in the suburbs so they can wander the streets there. What was your address again?

Seriously though, its not ACT Housing’s fault that a significant part of their clientele has drug problems or is otherwise mentally ill or has a criminal lifestyle. Locking sick people up is expensive and doesn’t work; locking them up in rehab is expensive and works a bit; rehab without locking up only works if the light-bulb wants to change; putting bunches of similarly-problematic people together creates slums from which escape is difficult; spreading them through the suburbs creates isolated weirdos. Similarly with the criminal lifestyle issue. What haven’t we tried?

Oh yeah, prevention maybe. But that would involve funding schools properly, supporting difficult families, staffing welfare services properly, raising taxes to pay for all this, plus a whole lot of blind and optimistic guessing as to what might work. But could it be any worse than what we do now?

ant said :

Teh Mandalay bus used to sell takeaway curry and stuff late at night. It used to be some spot else, I used to get the odd curry there (I have a stomach of steel and never got poisoned, unlike others).

There was some terrible crime there years ago, the owner got horribly bashed, can’t remember if he was actually killed. And the bus has sat there ever since.

As I recall, and I don’t recall this one particularly well, the Mandalay bus was a good place for poorly-connected teens to score weed in the mid 90s. But I could be getting my buses confused here.

OK, in hindsight I probably should have referred to it as a “bus bomb”

Are you a middle aged obese balding woman by any chance?

If you are..I’m keen 🙂

GET RID OF THE DRUG FLATS IN CIVIC PLEEEEEASE was done in Woden – Burnie Courts can be done in Civic. ACT HOUSING Please please please deal with this and stop putting addicted mentally ill people in those flats to wonder the streets of civic day and night

langbot said :

What isn’t funny about people is when they make comments in the public domain without having any real understanding or idea of what they’re talking about.

Well, that’s pretty much the nature of an open forum. 99% of everything is bumph – there’s little point in stamping our feet and demanding that people think, or research, before posting. “We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.” If you don’t like it, avoid riotact, read more heavily moderated forums instead. To learn and have fun here, better to engage the filter at your end…

We often see here on riotact and elsewhere a post like “what happened here?” followed by a few comments with poor guesses, bizarre theories, and barrows; followed by a report (sometimes from Old Media) as to what ‘actually’ happened. Then the real discussion starts. I think this is quite useful, myself. Some of us try for ‘if what I’m about to say is neither useful nor entertaining, don’t hit ‘post'”. Some of us are more useful and entertaining than others. And of course, my ‘useful’ might be your ‘verbose nonsense’…

Closer to the topic — I think a museum featuring the curry bus and Dolly’s van would make a great tourist feature in an ironic ‘we have no heritage’ Brisvegas kind of way. I remember visiting a museum in Tassie that had a wonderfully ironic section with (I think) a 1970s lounge room ‘of the type used by activists’. Taking the piss is an essential part of Australian museumism.

Oh and back to the original post — I reckon a half burnt-out bus ‘looks like a car bomb’ in the sense that a car backfiring sounds like ‘several shots were fired’. OTOH I’ve only ever seen car bomb results on telly.

the idiots that have done this are so selfish and low this is the worst act of stupidity i have heard of in some time i am a true beliver in karma and i really hope those responsible for this are caught and given the full extent of the law!!

Langbot does have a way with people ….

*chuckle*

Hey ant, no i’m from Canberra.

Are you a middle aged obese balding woman by any chance?

Methinks langbot is a trollbot. No one’s that pathetic… hang on. Langbot, are you from Queanbeyan by any chance?

“for the record, you slagged me off first but no matter”

Really? #22

I agree, the gubb’mint spends a whole lot of money attracting people here, so when something awful like this happens, they should pony up and make a contribution on our behalf.

This is not something that happens regularly in Canberra so why hasn’t the government stepped in to help in one way or another.

I don’t think it would be a waste of tax payers money to help given it’s a group of tourists who will spread the word now about the amount of generosity that has been offered in a time of need.

I’m with peterh. I feel proud to be a Canberran when the public if Canberra respond to these type of incidents.

langbot said :

What isn’t funny about people is when they make comments in the public domain without having any real understanding or idea of what they’re talking about.

Welcome to the RiotACT ! Where the truth should never get in the way of someone needing to post their opinion.

But hark! The ghost speaks ….

Hey, thanks very much for the advice, i’ll be sure to take more care next time – for the record, you slagged me off first but no matter.

What isn’t funny about people is when they make comments in the public domain without having any real understanding or idea of what they’re talking about.

This can sometimes cause others to form negative or misguided preconceptions of what to expect from something which may actually be completely the opposite – butterfly farts and whatnot.

Well langbot, I’d suggest you take more care before choosing to slag off at someone.

Ant (not a “he”) didn’t really say anything that warranted your reaction either.

Either way – you slag someone, rather than discussing the issue, expect a slagging back at you. People are funny like that.

oooh! a newbie!

waiting, waiting….

Apologies Al, I mistakenly told you to shut your curry hole when I actually meant to direct that comment toward Ant and his slanderous remarks against the Bus’ top quality nosh.

However, since you have just used what I can only assume to be the mind and vocabulary of a highly intelligent piece of fossilised dog faeces in calling me a “Dip Stick” I’d like to politely suggest you shud it too.

great historical significance

Sorry if I laugh. It’s about as historically significant as a Dolly’s Doghouse.

and as popular.

“I suggest you shut your curry hole Al as you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Perhaps that was why I was asking? Dip stick.

The curry thickens ….

The Bus is an establishment of great historical significance for a lot of young (now 30ish) people.

Top food, friendly people, it deserves to live rent free forever and should be on the heritage list.

I suggest you shut your curry hole Al as you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Wow. A ghost bus.

Teh Mandalay bus used to sell takeaway curry and stuff late at night. It used to be some spot else, I used to get the odd curry there (I have a stomach of steel and never got poisoned, unlike others).

There was some terrible crime there years ago, the owner got horribly bashed, can’t remember if he was actually killed. And the bus has sat there ever since.

Yeah, you’re right peterh.

I wasn’t intending to cheapen it. I was just sorta referring to the piles of merchandise that the Brumbies seem to have left over each year which they have to flog off at very cheap prices to get rid of!

Cheers to everyone that has helped the kiddies out!

If we were in the States (thank god we’re not) this city would be on lock-down from fear of terrorists. I love Canberra…and Australia for that matter. I love that we don’t live in perpetual fear!

“Jeez. Welcome to Canberra, ay.”
+1. Yep hi kids – see we have the same sorts of scum here as you do in the big cities.

On buses, what is it with the old “Mandalay” double decker permanently lodged in the pay parking in Braddon. Must be racking up a hell of a parking bill.

Mick said :

The Brumbies fan shop has also offered to replace their souvenirs. (last seasons stock I presume!)

don’t cheapen an act of goodwill. they didn’t have to offer, but they did. The kids won’t care whether they are this season’s or last, and at least they will see the caring side of Canberra – I really feel proud to be a part of the Canberra community when it steps up to the plate to help others.

much like it has over the years…

…and ups to Monaro Coaches who have offered to take the group back to SA!

Jeez. Welcome to Canberra, ay. At least now the town is doing the usual, and rallying round to help. Ups to the OPH gift shop and Brumbies. Must be upsetting, I hope none of the kids’ other belongins were in teh bus.

Looks like a tree has been crisped too? Must have been a pretty feirce fire?

“The Crack Flats” on Ballumbir St.

Shanefos I assume you are referring to the poor state and neglect, of the plaster. You couldn’t be making the outrageous and false claim that crack is available from these flats. There must be an accurate, Australian insult you could sling in your generalisation.

Heard on Triple J News this morning that the buses were for some school kids that were here on a school trip.

All their souvenirs were on the bus, and another bus company has offered to take them home (can’t remember where from).

The Brumbies fan shop has also offered to replace their souvenirs. (last seasons stock I presume!)

I will! I will! Pick me!

Has anyone thought of calling the Terrorism Hotline to report this suspicious activity?

The reason the buses were parked up near Glebe Park is that retards had their cars parked on the bus zones outside the YHA.

Hope they catch the f#tards that torched the bus. Maybe they should also start towing away cars parked illegally.

Oh! Well, I shall.

: )

Make sure you go to the Old Parliament House gift shop then, as it is the OPH shop digging deep.

It’s so nice that the Parliament House gift shop is going to replace the souvenirs and that so many other people have offered to help. I just think that’s fantastic! Next time I’m at Parliament House I’m going to buy something from the gift shop and tell them they rock!

Another good reason to bulldoze those govt flats down……..

Akuna St. is only a short stagger from “The Crack Flats” on Ballumbir St.
So I wonder where the flat-screen tv is then…

I certainly wouldn’t leave my car there overnight, but I’d never have thought a bus would be a target.

Kids smoking in the bus again!

Scumbags! I hope their ill-gotten flat screen TV falls on their heads from a great height.