BREAKING: Kareela Shopping Village Shaken After Rogue Shopping Trolley Actually Returned to Trolley Bay - Authorities Urge Calm as Witnesses Treated at the Scene.

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

3 December 2025

KAREELA - Scenes of unprecedented suburban chaos unfolded at 8:42am this morning when a shopping trolley at Kareela Village Shopping Centre was actually returned to the trolley bay - voluntarily, neatly, and without being abandoned in a car space, wedged under the exit lane shrubbery, or left upside-down near the loading dock like a feral steel wombat.

The event, described by several witnesses as “disturbingly out of character for Kareela,” brought the entire centre to a standstill.

Our reporter, who arrived on the scene within minutes, confirms at least three shoppers were treated for mild shock after witnessing the trolley cross the carpark and enter the bay in what one bystander called a “smooth, intentional manoeuvre that defies all known Shire behaviour.”

“I froze,” said one Oyster Bay father, still pale. “People here leave trolleys everywhere. In the bushes. In the parking spaces. Sometimes in the middle of the driveway like a medieval spike trap. I didn’t know humans were capable of this.”

CCTV footage shows the unidentified trolley-returner maintaining full control of the trolley the entire way - no letting it roll into a kerb, no dumping it near the beautician, no dramatic runaway moment heading toward someone’s Mazda CX-9.

Emergency services were not required, though centre staff set up a temporary “calming station” near Stapleton’s butcher for rattled onlookers. All are understood to be recovering well.

Council has issued a measured statement urging residents “not to get ahead of themselves,” warning that as we progress deeper into the Christmas shopping period, trolley discipline is expected to deteriorate rapidly.

“We appreciate the optimism this morning’s event has inspired,” a spokesperson said, “but statistically, all shopping centres will return to full trolley anarchy by mid-December.”

Still, locals cling to hope.

As one Kirrawee woman whispered while photographing the trolley bay like it was a wildlife sighting:  “Maybe this is our Christmas miracle.”