O ROMEO, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
At Blackbutt, of course.
Two olive pythons who slithered into Blackbutt Reserve this year to replace the stolen reptile collection have been named after a competition run by Newcastle City Council.
Leeanne Mauro was one of the lucky winners, choosing the name Romeo.
Romeo, ever the charmer, slithered all over Ms Mauro and lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes on Wednesday.
The duo were swept away.
Cr Nelmes described him as “beautiful”.
“Having joined Leeanne to meet Romeo, I can tell Blackbutt visitors that he's a beautiful snake with a very friendly nature,” she said.
“I'm very pleased that Blackbutt's new olive pythons now officially have names.”
But Romeo may have to wait a little while longer to find his Juliet.
The second snake was named Maiya, the Awabakal name for snake, a tribute to Newcastle’s Aboriginal community.
The reptile collection was stolen in September. The thief remains at large.
