'Holy sh-t, it's a snake': Litchfield Town Council hopeful Plaxy Purich finds python in bag

Northern Territory council candidate Plaxy Purich got more than she bargained for when she reached into her handbag at a print shop and found a python inside.

Plaxy Purich, sister of former speaker of the house Kezia Purick, found a python in her handbag. Picture: Supplied

Most people discover old receipts, forgotten mints or even a rogue lipstick when they rummage through their handbags. Plaxy Purich found a python.

The long-time Territorian who lived through Cyclone Tracy made the scaly discovery at Zip Print, where she was collecting her Litchfield Town Council nomination papers for North Ward.

“I was fumbling around my handbag searching for my keys when I felt something cool and smooth,” Ms Purich said.

“Then I peeked inside, and that’s when I realised ‘Holy sh-t, it’s a snake’.”

“I let out an almighty scream because I obviously wasn’t expecting there to be a snake in my handbag.”

The long-time Territorian made the scaly discovery at Zip Print. Picture: Supplied

The scream sparked chaos at the unsuspecting print shop.

“Everybody from the backroom began pouring through the doors, people in the office were standing at their desks, and nobody knew what was going on,” she said.

“I basically had to try and calm everybody by saying ‘I’ve got a snake in my handbag, but it’s okay, it’s just a baby carpet python’.”

Ms Purich, displaying some kind of level-headed crisis management, decided to take the python home and release it into the bushes.

The scream sparked chaos at the unsuspecting print shop. Picture: Supplied

But this isn’t Ms Purich’s first brush with the Territory’s slithering friends.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, pythons appear to be drawn to her like moths to a flame.

In 2015, a 1.2-metre carpet python revealed itself from the engine of her car while she was driving into the Hungry Jack’s drive-through.

Ms Purich said looking back, the handbag incident was amusing, though the initial shock was very real.

“Poking my hand into my bag and not seeing what it was, then wondering what it was, and then realising what it was: that was pretty scary,” she said.

Ms Purich said looking back, the handbag incident was amusing. Picture: Supplied

But Ms Purich refuses to see her repeated reptilian run-ins as anything sinister; in fact, she’s embracing her apparent status as a python magnet.

“I don’t consider snakes to be any kind of omen whatsoever — if anything, it’s actually a very good omen because that’s what curled around the sword of the medical profession,” she said.

So, if you see a snake in the North Ward, it might just be checking out the local candidate. Just don’t check your handbag too quickly.

Originally published as 'Holy sh-t, it's a snake': Litchfield Town Council hopeful Plaxy Purich finds python in bag