ABC South West

03/01/2026

A fertility mask, which is jokingly rumoured to make women pregnant and a room full of wide-eyed dolls. These are just some of the diverse items in Kevin Green's extraordinary Donnybook collection. 👇

The owner of this sprawling collection of weird, wacky and everyday items hopes it will inspire an appreciation for the past in younger generations.

03/01/2026

Ray and Brenda Farmer could only watch as two heritage homes and thousands of hectares of land were lost in a Christmas Day bushfire in Boddington.

Two heritage homes and thousands of hectares of land were lost in a Christmas Day bushfire in Boddington.

02/01/2026

Police are seeking urgent assistance from the public as they try to locate missing 15-year-old Evie Johns.

Evie was last seen at her home in West Pinjarra on December 29th and has not been contactable by friends or family since.

She is described as being of slim build, with long blonde hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding Evie’s whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au

01/01/2026

TOTAL FIRE BAN 🚫 Sunday January 4th
📍 Boyup Brook
📍 Bridgetown Greenbushes
📍 Donnybrook Balingup

🔥 DON'T LIGHT A FIRE. NO HOT WORKS, WELDING OR GRINDING
More information: emergency.wa.gov.au/total-fire-bans
👉 Check warnings for your location on ABC Emergency: ab.co/Emergency or ab.co/ABC_WA

01/01/2026

A ban on commercial demersal fishing from Kalbarri to Augusta comes into effect today.

And after more than 55 years in the industry, Bunbury fisherman Nicholas Soulos's boat will not be heading out.

From today, commercial demersal fishing is banned along hundreds of kilometres of the WA coastline in an effort to recover fish species numbers.

31/12/2025

Check out this big whale! 🐳

Locals spotted this beautiful pygmy blue whale swimming around the Busselton Jetty.

This one looked to be fully grown, given this subspecies grows up to 24 metres long.
From September, pygmy blue whales migrate south from their breeding grounds near Indonesia through Geographe Bay.

ℹ️ This post is part of our series recapping our favourite, or the most popular, stories from 2025. To get the latest south west news, visit our website https://www.abc.net.au/southwestwa

📸Megan Wood

31/12/2025

As a firefighters work to get on top of a fire north east of Bunbury, WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services says it has had no reports of property damage. 👇

More than 140 firefighters spend a second night battling an out-of-control blaze near Rockingham, in Perth's southern suburbs, as an emergency warning for a second fire in WA's South West is downgraded.

30/12/2025

Good news from the fireground!🔥👏 A fire which was burning at emergency-level in a rural area northeast of Bunbury has been downgraded.

You may have seen a a scene like this yesterday, as there was a lot of smoke around.

The blaze around the Benger area has burnt through almost 300 hectares in an area near the Albemarle lithium refinery.

Non-essential staff were evacuated from the lithium plant of Tuesday.

The fire stayed at the highest warning level for most of the night, but was downgraded just after four o'clock on Wednesday morning.

A warning for the town of Binningup and Leschenault on the other side of the highway has also been downgraded.

ℹ️ Keep up to date at https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/
📹 Supplied. Benger fire 30th of December 2025

30/12/2025

A legend of Western Australia's surfing scene has decided to hang up the board for good, retiring from the sport after seven decades.

87-year-old Kevin Merifield was among the first to discover the South West's world-renowned breaks in the 1950s, paving the way for future generations.

ℹ️ This post is part of our series recapping our favourite, or the most popular, stories from 2025. To get the latest south west news, visit our website https://www.abc.net.au/southwestwa

30/12/2025

Dunsborough locals alerted authorities yesterday to two Gray's beaked whales found stranded near Quindalup Beach.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) confirmed the adult whales were found about 80 metres offshore in waist-deep water. The animals were then placed in slings and assessed in situ by a veterinarian who determined the whales were in poor condition and unlikely to survive.

Sadly, the whales were humanely euthanised around 3pm yesterday to avoid prolonging suffering.

If you see sick or injured wildlife, please call the Wildcare Helpline on 9474 9055.

📷Image by under supervision from DBCA in accordance with approved protocols, including correct drone separation distances and wildlife safety guidelines.

30/12/2025

Firefighters are busy tackling a blaze in the Wellesley area, northeast of Bunbury.

The Shire of Harvey fire broke out last night and escalated to an emergency level warning on Tuesday morning.

People in the areas of Wellesley, Benger, Parkfield and Wokalup have been told to leave immediately, it is not safe to go back to the area.

Keep up to date with information about the fire at
https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/.

Multiple aerial supports have been assisting the blaze, which is not contained or controlled.

Non-essential workers from the nearby Albermarle lithium refinery have been evacuated.

A spokesperson for Albermarle said "Our site is currently in a scheduled maintenance shutdown, so there is no impact on operations or production,"

30/12/2025

UPDATE: A third man has been charged in relation to the incident below. A 37-year-old man from East Bunbury has been charged with littering and trespassing. He is due to appear in court next month.

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Two men have been charged after they allegedly dumped shark heads and fish remains outside the WA fisheries minister's office in the state's South West.

The pile of shark offcuts was allegedly left outside Jackie Jarvis's Margaret River office just before seven o'clock yesterday, ahead of the State Government's ban on commercial fishing for demersal fish in parts of the state.

A 36-year-old man and a 34-year-old man, both from the Bunbury area, have since been in charged with littering and tresspass.

One of the men has also been charged with cultivating a prohibited plant -and the other with two counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm or firearm parts.

They are set to appear in court next month.