ABC Great Southern

07/09/2026

Have you ever heard a noise like this?!

As a part of the Sunnydale Vintage Day, 100 chainsaws roared to life in unison to set a new world record.

Organiser Sean Treasure said the sound was amazing.

"Everyone had their hearing protection in because the vibration just went through your body," he said.

"It was like going into space or going into a rocket, I suppose.

"The noise and the vibration just shook the whole area."

To hear more on this story, check out WA Country Hour at 12pm, with ABC Great Southern's own Kate Forrester stepping in as host: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/greatsouthern

07/09/2026

What's making the news today? 📻🗞

▪️The owners of a community-owned pub in Woodanilling plan to consolidate ownership to accommodate a multi-million-dollar redevelopment.

▪️Several birds have been taken for testing after being found dead on Western Australia's southern coastline.

▪️Emergency workers from across the Great Southern have been recognised at this year's fire and emergency service awards.

👉 Get today's Local News Briefing: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-07/south-west-and-great-southern-wa-local-news-briefing/107123658

07/09/2026

An excerpt from surveyor John Septimus Roe's journal, dated October 22, 1848, described Yarramoup-Jerramungup as "a large extent of good grassy country … well watered by a river and its numerous branches".

But by 1950, the Hassell Estate was sold to the state government and mass clearing began to make way for post-war soldier resettlement.

Aunty Carol and her siblings are among the last to remember what it was like before that time.

Menang elder Aunty Carol Petterson remembers when her family worked as shepherds, driving sheep through the bushland and along rivers towards the coast in southern Western Australia. Decades later, she recalls in vivid detail the natural abundance of the landscape.

06/09/2026

"You can see it in their eyes. It's just devotion, isn't it?"

Despite their age, these semi- retired dogs are loved by their owners because they refuse to be left out, always turning up on the back of a ute the moment they sense there's work to do.

Arthritis and other ailments cannot stop these faithful companions, who are still pulling their weight on farming properties.

05/09/2026

Jim Pohl has been running pubs across WA for more than six decades.

He's still rattling the pans in WA's Wheatbelt, some nights helping turning out more than 100 meals in a sitting and has no plans to retire.

From the air force to abattoirs, Jim Pohl has had a colourful career, but a chance comment saw him become a country pub icon in Western Australia.

04/09/2026

What's making the news today? 📻🗞

▪️The sentencing of a WA speedway driver on child s*x offences has been delayed, after concerns about the prison system's capacity to treat his complex medical needs.

▪️The state opposition has accused the Cook government of failing to foresee an influx of infringement notices from AI road safety cameras.

▪️A new report says Western Australia's agricultural industry has an economic footprint of more than $44 billion.

👉 Get today's Local News Briefing: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-04/south-west-and-great-southern-wa-local-news-briefing/107115276

03/09/2026

Albany residents say "plague-level proportions" of rabbits are damaging a premier golf course and nearby farms.

One of Australia's worst invasive species, rabbits cause millions of dollars in damage to the environment and agriculture.

03/09/2026

What's making the news today? 📻🗞

▪️A South Coast historian has welcomed formal recognition of Albany's Parade Street as WA's oldest street, but cautioned against creating a false narrative, noting Indigenous tracks pre-date colonial occupation by thousands of years.

▪️A WA gold miner is aiming to begin producing gold and copper products in the Great Southern before July next year.

▪️Farmers say August rain has failed to wipe away the effects of a record dry July in Western Australia's south.

👉 Get today's Local News Briefing: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-03/south-west-and-great-southern-wa-local-news-briefing/107110270

02/09/2026

Albany residents say "plague-level proportions" of rabbits are damaging a premier golf course and nearby farms.

There are fears out-of-control rabbits and the unexpected holes they keep adding to the greens will threaten the legacy of one of the oldest golf courses in Western Australia.

02/09/2026

Is the Aussie 'outback wave' finished?👋🚗

After a 10-hour road trip and a bit of investigative work, Bunbury local Brodee Cooke thinks people may be moving on from the wave.

She surveyed drivers during her road trip and found she didn't always get a wave back.

Do you still do the ‘outback wave’ to other country drivers?