Author: Ashleigh Fielding

IF YOU are someone who pays close attention to detail, you may have noticed pops of colour appearing around Albany on the odd electrical transformer box.

Don’t worry, you aren’t seeing things.

These new and colourful displays of art are part of the FORM PUBLIC Silo Trail, which has travelled throughout regional WA for the past three years and reached Albany earlier this week.

The PUBLIC Silo Trail has painted murals on grain silos, transformer boxes and infrastructure in Northam, Ravensthorpe, Merredin, Katanning and now Albany, in an attempt to put regional WA into the spotlight.

FORM project officer Kim Kirkman said the trail was the brainchild of the Perth art group and was aimed at making WA a more creative place.

“We want to celebrate regional WA and ultimately, boost cultural tourism,” she said.

“We’ve chosen quite noticeable and prominent places to paint.”

Perth artist Rachelle Dusting is one of the artists commissioned to paint Albany and was allocated a transformer box opposite Dog Rock on Middleton Road, and one near the UWA Albany Centre on Stirling Terrace.

The 26-year-old said her childhood memories of her Albany-based grandmother’s garden inspired her floral designs.

“My usual style is realism and portraiture, so it’s quite the contrast with this project,” she said.

Ms Dusting said one of the things she had to consider when creating her designs was the distance from which people would view the transformer boxes.

“I’ve broken apart the patterns so you can still get the full impact at a distance.

“I really just wanted to bring more dynamic to the sites, so I stayed true to the colours of the flowers [banksia and spider orchid].”

The PUBLIC Silo Trail will attack the Albany grain silos with colour at the end of the month, and move to another secret regional location in April, so keep an eye out on the website for further details – publicsilotrail.com.

ALBANY has the most restrictive shopping hours of any place with a Woolworths, Coles or ALDI in the south-western corner of the continent, and there are no plans to change the status quo.

The Weekender called every leader of the 11 local government areas with a Woolies, Coles or ALDI in the Great Southern and South West regions to gauge their views on deregulated shopping.

Of the nine leaders who got back to us, only Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington was unable to speak from a position of first-hand experience with extended hours in his area.

“I don’t know anyone that would go to a town just because it’s got seven-day trading,” he said.

One tourist who does not let his dislike for Albany’s shopping hours get in the way of visiting is Dardanup Shire President Mick Bennett.

“When I go down to Albany, I can never get anything,” he lamented.

“I come down there regularly and when I try to go shopping, I can’t.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the way Albany operates when there’s a tourist ship in; they are magnificent at that.”

In Dardanup (population 14,233), where big supermarkets have been allowed to trade 24/7 since 1994, Coles and Woolworths operate 7am to 9pm seven days a week, and Kmart opens around the clock.

“Before deregulation, we didn’t have much shopping, a bit of a dormitory suburb [of Bunbury], really, and we thought it was time we branched out and got our own deal going,” Cr Bennett said.

“When they decided to come in, Kmart said: ‘Oh, this might put a bit of pressure on Perth if we can open 24 hours in a sleepy little place like Dardy’.

“We would be hung, drawn and quartered if we said we were going to change back.”

From Cr Bennett’s neighbouring City of Bunbury (population 34,467), Mayor Gary Brennan said total deregulation of shopping hours in 2015 was a likely factor in ALDI recently opening a supermarket there.

“The longer hours give business people and the community choice, that’s the key thing,” he said.

Mr Wellington said that during his 17 years on Albany council he had always absented from voting on shopping hours because he was a co-owner of Leading Edge Hi Fi.

He confirmed the city (population 37,233) had no plans to revisit the shopping hours debate, which last occurred in July 2016.

At the time, six elected officials – including current councillors Paul Terry, Ray Hammond, Bill Hollingworth and Alison Goode – voted down a plan by city tourism development manager Matt Bird that in 2019 the council consider consulting the community on extended shopping hours.

Capel Shire President Murray Scott said his local IGA had not suffered since extended trading was introduced for larger supermarkets in 2015.

“Capel’s got an IGA that’s open seven days and there’s always people there,” he said.

In Capel (population 17,316), the Dalyellup Woolworths opens 8am to 9pm every day.

Cr Scott said extended trading may have been a factor in Coles’ recent decision to buy a block of land across the road from Woolworths.

Murray Shire President David Bolt said that since seven-day trading was introduced there in 2012, ratepayers had embraced it.

“Seven-day trading supports increased visitation, in line with the shire’s and its community’s awakened tourism focus for Pinjarra and the wider Murray district,” he said.

From Augusta/Margaret River, where Woolworths and Coles trade 8am to 8pm seven days a week, Shire President Pam Townshend said locals and visitors “loved” the longer hours.

“I think the IGA was the one that struggled the most, but there’s such a big ‘shop local’ campaign in Margaret River from people who want to support the IGA, and they’re doing okay,” she said.

From Busselton (population 26,355), Mayor Grant Henley said he had not noticed any impact on small businesses since trading hours were extended in February 2015.

“Interestingly, we just had an ALDI open last year and an additional Coles supermarket,” he said.

“When the ALDI opened, they chose not to go on the full hours available.

“They’re more interested in the customers coming to them when they’re open, rather than because they’re open.”

In Manjimup, with a population of 9404, Shire President Paul Omodei said extended trading had worked “extremely well” since being introduced in September 2014.

“It certainly was a big step for a community with a lot of small businesses, but I certainly think it is working,” he said.

Harvey Shire President Tania Jackson said extended trading had probably been a factor in ALDI deciding Australind would be its first location in south-western Australia.

“We have certainly had some benefits, but I do feel the local smaller shops have either had to come along for the ride or deal with stiff competition from the [bigger players] now,” she said.

The shire presidents of Katanning (Liz Guidera) and Collie (Sarah Stanley) – where extended trading also occurs – did not return calls.

EMU POINT resident Emily Elsasser came home from dinner on Friday night to a surprising encounter and may have inadvertently captured the first photographic record of a motorbike frog (litoria moorei) eating another.

With more than 40 years’ experience in studying zoology and the biology of frogs, Dr Dale Roberts from the University of Western Australia was surprised to see the behaviour of two motorbike frogs in a photo taken by Ms Elsasser on Friday.

“I’ve seen plenty of large frogs consuming smaller frogs, and frogs of similar size before,” he said.

“But this is the first photographic evidence I’ve seen of a litoria moorei, or motorbike frog, consuming another.”

Dr Roberts said he had heard previously from people that they had seen motorbike frogs eating each other, but had no actual proof.

“To my knowledge there aren’t any scientific papers in circulation that dissect the diet of these frogs,” he said.

Ms Elsasser had to grab her glasses to make sure she knew what she was looking at when she arrived home.

“We live near a big wetland area, so we’re used to sharing our backyard with frogs in the evening,” she said.

“After getting that little bit of rain the last few evenings, all kinds of frogs have been coming out to sit on the lawn or on our window sills.

“They love to sit there and eat the bugs attracted by our lights.”

Friday night was a first for Ms Elsasser though, after she spotted a small motorbike frog seemingly being devoured by a larger one.

“I didn’t have my glasses on, so all I saw was this strange two-headed frog on the window sill,” she said.

After racing back inside, Ms Elsasser was surprised to see the cannibalistic action.

“I had to be quick to take the photo before they noticed me,” she said.

“I went back a bit later and they were gone.

“I’m glad that I don’t know what happened to the poor thing.”

Photo: Emily Elsasser

A YACHT gutted by a fire that killed a man and his dog at Little Grove last week has been moved to Emu Point for in-depth Arson Squad investigation, but police do not think the blaze was suspiciously lit – at this stage.

Great Southern Police Superintendent Dom Wood said the yacht Freelander had been taken to Emu Point and lifted from the water to be secured so Arson Squad could do a thorough investigation.

Earlier, police spokeswoman Susan Usher said the yacht had burst into flames about 8pm on February 15 at Princess Royal Sailing Club.

She said that after fire fighters extinguished the blaze, the yacht’s owner, a man in his 70s, was located on board.

Ms Usher said the cause of the fire was undetermined and police would prepare a report for the Coroner.

Arson Squad attended the yacht club on February 16 to undertake a preliminary investigation.

Inspector Wood said the man’s pet dog also perished in the fire.

Photo: Chris Thomson

AFTER The Weekender revealed that works on the Middleton Beach jetty would require a month-long, one-metre hole in the Ellen Cove shark net, the City of Albany has abandoned plans to access the jetty by barge.

This week, acting city CEO Michael Cole said contractors would no longer need to lower the shark net to access the jetty.

Mr Cole said the jetty would instead now be accessed from the beach and boardwalk pathway.

As previously reported (Hole in the shark net, February 8), the jetty upgrade will occur from February 19 to March 23.

The original plan was to up- grade the jetty from a barge, which would have required the shark net to be lowered by a metre during the month-long project.

Mr Cole said those plans had changed “after the contractor decided it was more efficient to carry out the works from the beach due to tides and the sand levels around the jetty”.

“Swimmers will now be able to continue to use the swimming enclosure with peace of mind it is secure; however, a 10m exclusion zone around the jetty will still apply,” he assured.

“There will be minimal disruptions to beach access.”

Contractors closed 10 parking bays adjacent to Albany Surf Life Saving Club on Sunday night to allow access for a crane and sea container on the beach on Monday morning to prepare for the project.

The parking bays were re-opened after the sea container and first materials were delivered to the site.

Mr Cole said workers would close the pathway to the Ellen Cove boardwalk for short two-minute intervals about four times a day to facilitate delivery of materials.

“We urge visitors to the area to show patience and observe work site exclusion areas,” he said.

“Signs at Middleton Beach to inform the public of the work will be updated.”

DENMARK may soon enter the small bar era, with the town’s first one planned for its main street not far from two existing liquor dispensaries.

At a Denmark council meeting on Tuesday night, shire planner Annette Harbron said the venue, at 89 Strickland Street, would be a café by day, and small-cum- tapas bar by night.

“The applicant has confirmed he will apply for a small bar licence,” she added.

Ms Harbron said that despite marketing itself as a wine bar, the existing Stomp’d venue at 27 Strickland Street was not a small bar as it operated under a restaurant licence.

She said the only other existing establishment in town to resemble a small bar, Freehand Wines at 69 Strickland Street, operated on a satellite cellar door licence linked to a producer’s licence at a nearby winery.

Despite not being “all that excited” by the bar’s built form, Cr Kingsley Gibson said he looked forward to its eventual development.

“I think, in general terms, something like this is a really exciting and positive thing for the town,” he said.

Cr Ian Osborne said the shire had “no part to play” as an “arbiter of taste”, and that the architect, from Hillarys-based firm MJBA, was “very experienced”.

A document tabled by MJBA said the bar would “provide a bit of life, albeit low key, at the southern end of Strickland Street”, which is “rather quiet”.

“It is intended to be a social venue for local people to congregate, socialise and promote local culture,” the architects continued.

If eventually approved by the shire and Western Australia’s liquor licensing director, the bar will be part of a broader commercial and residential project.

The shire councillors unanimously agreed that the bar be advertised for public comment for a minimum 21 days.

AS THE Mount Barker community garden bites the dust, another in Denmark is set to spring forth.

The Weekender recently revealed that Plantagenet shire would direct operators of the community garden on Albany Highway in Mt Barker to return it to its original state after it had, quite literally, gone to seed.

Now, Denmark councillors have agreed that another garden, to be operated by the shire’s Community Resource Centre, be advertised for public comment.

If eventually approved, the 800sqm garden planned for the rear of the historic Morgan Richards Community Centre on Strickland Street will provide fruit, veggies and fungus for its members, who will be drawn from the Denmark community at large.

Like the existing Mt Barker gar- den, the area of the planned Den- mark one is currently unkempt.

At a council meeting on Tuesday night, Denmark shire planner Annette Harbron said the garden idea had been “on the books for many a year”.

“But the difficulty has been to find a partner to take it on,” she said.

Cr Mark Allen said the garden would suit Denmark’s ageing population, but that the CRC and shire would need to ensure ad- equate physical access to the site.

“I just think this is a great community initiative,” he said, before councillors unanimously agreed to put the garden idea out for a minimum 30 days of public consultation.