Australian Tornado Brings Riches to British Expat

Mr Cordall with one of the coins rained down in his garden.

Freak weather conditions are said to be responsible for raining down money in one surprised Melbourne resident’s garden.

British expat Simon Cordall, who emigrated to Australia “about two years ago”, told of how he watched from his backyard as a mini tornado whipped up by strong winds headed towards him. It was the first tornado he’d experienced since migrating to Australia.

As Mr Cordall was battening down the hatches on his rabbit’s, Mr Snufflehump, luxury hutch he suddenly heard what he presumed to be hailstones falling all around him. As he turned however, his concern changed to complete amazement as he witnessed hundreds of dollar coins raining down in his backyard.

“I looked up into the sky and was immediately hit in the eye by a coin. It was as if the sky had turned golden around me, I have never seen so many coins fall from the heavens before!”

Weather experts say the freak mini tornado had been caused by cold winds coming into contact with warm air on the ground. Such tornadoes can cause extensive damage but this one appeared to bring only luck to our British expat who said he knows how it must feel to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. “I know how it must feel to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.”

Police are also investigating where the stash of coins came from. Mr Cordall, who works on a sheep farm, initially told reporters that a thousand dollars had been recovered from his garden but he later changed this to just one hundred. “I must have miscounted.” He said when questioned. “In all the excitement I just counted wrong, there were only a hundred dollar coins that came down.”

One theory is that the tornado formed over a bank where the coins were sucked into the high pressure vacuum cloud, by the time it reached Mr Cordall’s residence, the tornado was weakening and the coins were able to fall to the ground.

In a further twist to the tale, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship expressed interest in Mr Cordall’s case saying that they could find no valid Australian visa for him. Mr Cordall today declined to comment on his Australian immigration status. A spokesman from the DIAC commented “Mr Cordall may be wishing that the same tornado would drop him down a valid visa.” Officials are now investigating the case.

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