Tourist hub has leading edge tech

THE doors were opened to the Albany Tourism and Information Hub in time for the influx of Easter visitors on Friday, following a last-minute scurry to get it across the line.

With construction of the building taking just over a year to complete under the watchful eye of passers-by in the CBD, locals and tourists alike have been eager to inspect the new facility.

The Weekender was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek before the opening as the finishing touches were being applied to the state-of-the-art building.

Visitors can expect the latest in tourism technology right at their finger tips with touch screen kiosks to book accommodation, tours and to find out what’s happening in the region upon arrival.

One of the most innovative promotional tools, however, is a virtual reality experience that takes visitors to places that they just can’t get to in real life.

City of Albany Visitor Services Project Leader Hamish Fell said the VR experience was a different way of thinking about promoting the region.

“It took about a week to shoot all the footage we needed for the VR video,” he said.

“During the experience you go places where you wouldn’t be able to in real life.

“There’s a part where you go swimming with killer whales at the Bremer Canyon.

“No one has ever done a 360 degree film of killer whales before the technology only just came out and we used that for the film.”

Pedestrians along York Street will also be treated to a display, with the distinct upper-level windows fitted with special glass.

“Our windows are built with the capability to project images on to,” Mr Fell said.

“So we’ll be able to link up with social media and see what people are posting with links like #amazingsouthcoast and share the photos they’re taking.

“People are taking amazing photos and footage of the region and it will be great to share it with everyone.

“There’s nowhere else in Australia with this glass.”

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Pamper for poor pooches

FROM aspiring to be a vet when she grew up, to rescuing stray dogs off the streets in South Africa and finally opening up her own dog grooming business, Yvette Miles’ passion for pets of the barking variety has culminated in an award-winning performance at the recent Rescue Roundup Grooming Competition in Perth.

The competition is hosted by the Dog Groomers Association of WA and Ms Miles was tasked with grooming a rescue dog she had never met before.

“I was given a Pomeranian-Chihuahua cross to groom,” she said.

“When I heard what I was allocated I was very worried. I really hoped the dog took after the Pomeranian for its longer coat.

“Grooming dogs is all about building up trust with the dog, which you don’t have a lot of time to do in the competition.”

Despite some small issues with ticklish feet, Ms Miles managed to groom her way to success, coming home with the awards for Best Coat Preparation and Best Transformation.

“I really am so grateful to have my work acknowledged,” she said.

“To be grooming for 10 years and then win two awards like that really is amazing.”

But it almost didn’t happen – when Ms Miles realised she was going to be in Perth on the weekend of the Rescue Roundup, applications had already closed.

“I sent them an email with the hope that there may have been a space free,” she said.

“I immediately got an email back saying they were full, but they would let me know if a space became available.

“When I got the email a week before the competition asking if I was still interested, I immediately said ‘yes’.

“I wasn’t nervous, I just really wanted to do something nice for the rescue dogs since it’s for a good cause.”

Prior to emigrating to Australia from Jeffreys Bay in South Africa five years ago, Ms Miles built a reputation in her local area for rescuing and rehoming dogs.

“People would drop off strays they had found and we would get them healthy and rehome them,” she said.

“Some of them came in with quite matted coats and had skin conditions, so we would have to groom them.”

When the opportunity arose to be professionally trained to groom people’s pooches, Ms Miles didn’t hesitate.

“I’ve always loved animals and dogs in particular,” she said.

“So being given the opportunity to groom and work with dogs everyday is amazing.

“I’m living my dream.”

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Heroes hit the beach

YOUNG people with autism will get the chance to feel the rush of what it’s like to surf when they spend the day at Ocean Beach this Sunday with Perth-based charity Ocean Heroes.

The group was started by keen surfers Luke Hallam and Sam Moyle two years ago and aims to enhance the lives of people on the autism spectrum through involvement in surfing.

Sunday’s event is their second trip to Denmark and they are optimistic of building on last year’s effort.

“It was a great day, but we just really didn’t have the numbers that we would have liked,” Mr Moyle said.

“I’m hoping that this year there will be more people registering since everyone had such a great time last year.

“Word of mouth spreads the message very quickly that we’re coming, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.”

Mr Moyle said Ocean Heroes was equipped to cater for a wide range of abilities.

“We get people of all sorts of abilities ranging from speaking to non-speaking as well as high and low mobility,” he said.

“Every participant is different and we make sure they all have lots of fun.”

An average session with the Ocean Heroes involves kids learning how to use a surfboard, catch a wave and eventually surf.

“We’ve got these big boards that the kids learn how to stand up on that we do on the sand,” he said.

“Every kid gets a wetsuit and a life jacket that we bring and they get to have an experience that not everyone gets.”

Sunday’s free event starts at 9am at Ocean Beach and registrations can be made via email at [email protected].

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Green light for WAFL game

CENTENNIAL Stadium passed with flying colours when it came under the microscope last week ahead of the West Australian Football League’s clash between Claremont and South Fremantle on April 28.

WAFL Governance and Compliance Manager Luke Sanders spent last Thursday morning inspecting the stadium and its facilities with City of Albany staff and club representatives and said the match would go ahead as scheduled.

He said they spent a lot of time inspecting the turf to check it met WAFL standards.

“We check the hardness of the turf with a Clegg tester to make sure it’s all uniform in firmness,” he said.

“The turf can’t be too hard or too soft since we need to protect the players from injury.

“Albany doesn’t have an issue with the turf being too hard due to its high annual rainfall.

“I’m still waiting for the official test report, but the game will continue regardless.

Mr Sanders said he was impressed with the standard of the facilities.

“The playing surfaces, change rooms, coach boxes, spectator areas and bar facilities are all of a high standard,” he said.

He confirmed the City of Albany had dipped into its own pocket to host the match without WAFL grants for assistance.

“For them to host and cover costs is great for regional football and for the community,” he said.

The April 28 encounter between the Tigers and Bulldogs will only feature the league sides, but Claremont club members will be in Albany in the days leading up to the match to conduct a football masterclass.

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Comment wins judges over

VICTORIAN artist Kevin Chin was named this year’s $25,000 major acquisitive prize winner for his piece Sheltered at the launch of the Albany Art Prize exhibition at the Town Hall on Thursday.

Mr Chin was unable to accept the prize in person, but called on City of Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington to read a letter to the audience.

Mr Chin expressed his deep appreciation for his work being recognised as commenting on what he called a global migrant crisis.

Albany artist John Manson also impressed the judges and won the highly commended award for his piece Mt Clarence No. 2.

“I’ve been watching this award for years, and to even be involved is incredible,” he said.

Mr Manson said inspiration for his work came from spending his time driving and riding past Mount Clarence.

“I’ve spent years admiring the houses as I drove by and found the arrangement to be really pleasing, so I wanted to transfer that to a painting,” he said.

Finalists of the Albany Art Prize will be on display daily from 10am to 4pm at the Town Hall until May 6.

The people’s choice award will be announced at the close of the exhibition.

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Life jacket call falls short

IN THE wake of Albany’s latest rock fishing tragedy, Western Australia’s peak body for recreational fishers has stopped short of supporting a coroner’s recommendation released last week that life jackets be made compulsory.

Yesterday, Great Southern Police Inspector Danny Vincent confirmed Samuel Peter Roth, 30, of Bayonet Head was fishing alone, untethered to the shore and not wearing a life jacket when he fell into the ocean while fishing off rocks near West Cape Howe on Easter Monday.

Rescuers found Mr Roth’s body about 3pm in water near an area called ‘The Deep’.

The tragedy comes just one week after a coroner’s report into the deaths of Perth fishermen Chunjun Li and Jialong Zhang at Albany’s Salmon Holes in Easter 2015 recommended that lifejackets be made compulsory for rock fishers (‘Fishing safety plea’, The Weekender, March 29).

Albany Sea Rescue operations coordinator Chris Johns – whose testimony heavily influenced the recommendations of Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker – said conditions were treacherous as two rescue boats with seven crew, and two surf lifesaving jet skis and four riders were dispatched from Albany on Monday.

“A Denmark surf lifesaving jet ski got there [first] and recovered the body, which was transferred to the Denmark sea rescue boat and then the police asked us to take the man back to Albany,” he said.

Mr Johns repeated calls he has made over many years for life jackets to be made mandatory for rock fishers.

Tim Grose, communications manager for recreational fishing peak group Recfishwest, stopped well short of backing Mr Johns’ calls.

“We’re currently reviewing the coroner’s recommendations and will use the current trial happening in New South Wales to help better guide our position on life jackets for rock fishers,” he told The Weekender.

“At the end of the day, everyone is responsible for their own safety and all the authorities are doing a great job collectively educating and raising the awareness of safe beach fishing, especially on the South Coast.”

Mr Johns said sea rescue and surf lifesaving personnel were all volunteers, and that he had personally put 15 people in body bags.

“One thing I’ve been saying in these current coronial reports is that most people think this is always at Salmon Holes and always tourists,” he said.

“I get really offended by that because at least 40 per cent, probably 50 per cent of our jobs, if you look at our log books, are not at Salmon Holes, a case in point yesterday, and they are local fishers.

He said rock fishing deaths were on the rise around Albany.

“Since 1974, every 2.8 years we lose somebody through rock fishing here,” he said.

“It’s been disproportionally higher in the last few years.

“There have been nine deaths and about eight recoveries from 2015 back to 2011 from rock fishing alone.”

Mr Johns said one similarity among all deaths was that none of the fishers was wearing a life jacket.

“We understand that the family would feel shattered right now,” he said.

“So do the volunteers, and SES and the police who respond at the scene.”

Tributes to Mr Roth have flowed in over social media since news of his death broke on Monday.

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Perfect pumpkins

THE heaviest and best-dressed pumpkins the Great Southern has to offer will be on display next week for the annual Lower Kalgan Community Association’s Giant Pumpkin Fair.

The Giant Pumpkin Fair will spread its roots through the Lower Kalgan Hall’s grounds on April 14 from 9am to midday, and will have many prizes up for grabs, including the heaviest and best-dressed pumpkins, best pumpkin soup and best pumpkin photos.

Young Charlie, Wesley, Louis and Marnie McGregor have worked with dad Clint to grow their pumpkins, aiming to enter into the heaviest pumpkin junior category.

They are aiming to beat their entry from last year that tipped the scales at 75kg.

“We might have beaten last years’,” Mr McGregor said, inspecting the sizeable vegetables at the bottom of his makeshift garden.

“We planted in November as it takes about four months for them to get to a good size, and I reckon this one is about 75kg at the moment.”

Mr McGregor said the necessary maintenance for the pumpkins was relatively low, using slow-release fertiliser in an old cattle yard, where he said the soil already had good poo.

And while rabbits aren’t necessarily a problem, Mr McGregor said he had enlisted the help of his young tribe to shoo other pests away.

“The kids help with the watering and shooing away the chooks and the duck,” he said.

“The only thing I have to keep an eye on is the kids walking all over the pumpkins.”

To find out more about the pumpkin competition and market stalls at the fair, you can check out the Facebook page, or contact Laura Bird on 0428 294 234 for pumpkin enquiries and Vicki Joynes for stall bookings on 0402 166 161.

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Lamp shines bright

THERE’S no such thing as a dull moment for renowned Albany author Dianne Wolfer.

If she’s not writing or editing a piece of work in her study, she’s off around the world chasing snippets of history, gathering writer’s inspiration from the comfort of a café lounge, or speaking with school students about literacy.

2018 is a busy year for Wolfer, who is releasing two new books, speaking at multiple schools and groups across the state about her books, organising her packed-out school schedule for Book Week, and launching her latest historical fiction, In the Lamplight, in both WA and in Harefield, England – In the Lamplight’s primary location.

She took a moment from her busy agenda to speak with The Weekender about her third and final instalment of the historical fiction saga Albanians have come to know and love her for.

While on a trip with her husband Peter to Peronne, France in 2003, Wolfer said the pair stopped over in London.

She said she was keen to visit Harefield, a small village north-west of London, as it housed the site of the first Australian World War I auxiliary hospital.

“It was a village that was completely changed by WWI, and I was really interested in that,” she said.

And so, In the Lamplight was born.

The first two books in her historical fiction series, Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy, travel through time from the beginning of WWI and its major events.

Wolfer said it was only natural to complete the trilogy with In the Lamplight’s plot ending in 1919.

“The war changed Australia forever,” she said.

“We often look at what happened during the war, but not always at what happened afterwards, when all these men were coming home damaged.”

When closing in on her final manuscript last year, Wolfer said she was aware of the possible timing her book launch could have – April 2018 coinciding with the centenary of the end of WWI.

“It was a three-year project, because the research was so time-consuming,” she said.

“Each little fact had to be cross-referenced, and I’d often get carried away with the excitement of it all.

“So, I knew that if I wanted it to hit the shelves in April, I had to have it to the printers by October.

“We were working around the clock.”

Wolfer explored historical war resources in Albany, Perth, Canberra and Harefield to create the beautifully-presented, Australian-English perspective on the first world war that is In the Lamplight.

She is excited to officially launch the book at Carlyles Function Centre on April 9 and in Harefield in May.

“It’s all go!” she said.

For more information on the launch or to get your hands on a copy of In the Lamplight, visit spydus.albanylibrary.com.au/events or Paperbark Merchants on York Street.

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Malleefowl love nest

RARE birds after which the Shire of Gnowangerup is named are breeding like billyo out Ongerup way.

Manager of Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre Rebecca Brady says that malleefowls Maggie, aged four, and Drei, two, have produced 19 chicks since late last year, and show no signs of stopping.

“After the Christmas break, when we came back we spotted three little chicks in the small aviary, and since then they’ve just been hatching and hatching, and every time we go out there’s been more and more, so the count now is 19,” she says.

“The last time our biologist, Vicki, checked the mound was before the last six chicks hatched. There were five eggs in it and we haven’t checked since then – so there could be more.”

Ms Brady says the 19 feathered newbies were the first chicks produced by their prolific parents.

“Maggie is about four years old,” she says.

“She’s been here a while, and Drei was a chick from the 2015/16 breeding season.

“He’s only two, so we didn’t think it was possible just yet.”

Roughly translated from the local Noongar language, ‘Gnowangerup’, the name of the shire in which the Ongerup-based centre sits, means ‘Place of the malleefowl’.

According to Birdlife Australia, the malleefowl – which ranges from Victoria and South Australia, up to the Northern Territory and through to Western Australia – is vulnerable nationally, and rare and likely to become extinct in WA.

“In the wild, the chick survival rate is only two per cent because they have no parental control or anything,” Ms Brady explains.

“Once their mum lays the eggs, that’s her job done.

“The father then adds dirt or removes dirt to keep the temperature in the mound between 32 and 34 degrees, and when they hatch they need to work their way out of the mound, which could be 1.5m high, all by themselves.”

Ms Brady says that when the chicks hatch they have to walk up to a metre from the mound, making them vulnerable to foxes and feral cats.

It is partly for that reason that an annual fox shoot that has been arranged for the night of April 7 by the local Community Resource Centre, which Ms Brady also manages, is so important.

“We feel like the local farmers are really helpful in realising that foxes are major predators, not just of livestock, but also of malleefowl,” she says.

Yongergnow plans to release malleefowl currently at the centre into mallee country in Gnowangerup Shire and beyond.

“Around northern Ongerup there have been sightings of malleefowl, including a male who had a mound,” Ms Brady says.

“He was unfortunately hit by a car so we’d like to think if we could put another male out there that male could then work on that mound again.”

Ongerup locals looking to participate in the April 7 fox shoot, and free brekky early the next day, can call 9828 2326 for more details.

Photo: Rebecca Brady with Maggie, Drei and the mound where the 19 chicks were born. Credit: Chris Thomson

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Lid lifted on dirty toilets

AN ALBANY resident has stepped forward and aired her disgust about the current state of a toilet block in Albany’s CBD, which she says has been left unattended for weeks.

Joy Graham told The Weekender she often walks past the toilet block, located behind Wake’s Music on the corner of Lockyer Avenue and Albany Highway, and says the state of the toilets has severely declined.

“There’s crap all over the toilet bowls and over the tops of the bowls, and it’s been like that for weeks,” she said.

“There are leaves and debris inside, so it hasn’t been swept, and there’s broken glass, rubbish, and there’s no soap or toilet paper.

“It’s disgusting.”

Ms Graham said she had spoken with the toilet block landowner, proprietor of Wake’s Music Eric Wake, and had also contacted the City of Albany regarding the state of the toilet block.

“They [City of Albany] said it was private property and they’d handballed it to Mr Wake, and said they’d talk to him about it,” she said.

Mr Wake told The Weekender that he and the City of Albany had an agreement on the toilet block’s maintenance since he purchased the land from the City about 15 years ago.

“We bought the land off the City, and as a public gesture, we allowed the toilet block to stay open, and the City did the cleaning,” he said.

“We paid council rates and overheads for the block, and they provided the toilet paper.

“All of a sudden, out of the blue, the City said they could no longer clean the toilets, as it was costing them $15,000 a year.

“It costs me more than $15,000 a year in overheads for the block.”

Mr Wake said the City ceased maintaining the toilet block about two months ago, right in the middle of the tourist season.

He said he carried out maintenance for a while, but was unable to continue as he did not have all the keys to the block’s amenities.

“We had someone sweep through about once every 10 days and check the toilet paper,” he said.

“But, when they [City] locked it up and put up the private sign, they gave me the keys to the door but didn’t give me the keys to the appliances, so we physically can’t replace things like the toilet paper.”

Mr Wake was not impressed with the City’s efforts to maintain public facilities at the upper end of the CBD.

“I get people and tourists coming in all the time asking to use the toilet,” he said.

“When we get a boatload of 500 to 2000 people coming in, we’ve only got one toilet for them; this is Albany central… I think it’s very poor that a tourism city has one toilet block at this end of the street.”

Mr Wake also raised the issue of providing a 24/7 facility for homeless people to use.

“I see the City wasting money on other projects around town, but not spending it on toilets,” he said.

“If they’re not going to maintain this facility, they need to provide another facility for the top of York Street.”

City of Albany Executive Director for Infrastructure and Environment Matt Thomson confirmed the toilet block was privately owned and the City previously had an understanding with Mr Wake regarding maintenance, but it was no longer responsible for servicing the facility.

“Given the facility is not a public asset, it was determined that the ongoing costs of servicing this facility were excessive and did not provide the community with best value for that spend.

“With shopping centres, fast food outlets and the Town Square facilities in close proximity, the City could not justify continuing to service the privately-owned facility.”

Mr Thomson said the City had not received any complaints from the community regarding the toilet block.

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