🌄 No Bluff News #51

G'day {{first_name | Friend}}! We're back with edition 51 of No Bluff News. Happy Cup Day! This week Albany 2026 signs off with a coastline of lanterns, the City wants to hear what you want for Emu Point, and the Porongurups are about to turn 100.

What we have for you today:

Right, let's get into it!

Big news if Emu Point's your spot. The City's draft plan for its future came out last Friday, and the marina's got room to grow.

There's space for a restaurant or even a microbrewery on Emu Point Drive, and a trail that'd let you walk all the way to Collingwood Road. Up at Collingwood Heights, a café is sketched in with more than 160 new homes.

Nothing's locked in, so now's your chance to shape it. Tell the City what you want for Emu Point before mid-December.

A 200-mile trail race, the state junior sedan title and a whale documentary are all coming to Albany in 2027. They're three of the six events and films the City put $73,500 behind last Tuesday night.

The documentary got every dollar it asked for. It follows the volunteers, Noongar Rangers and researchers who track Albany's southern right whales, and it'll screen at the Historic Whaling Station.

Delirious runners cover up to 200 miles of the Bibbulmun Track from Northcliffe to Albany. Next year there's an 8km for the rest of us, and entries are open.

In the early 1920s, locals worried about grazing and logging pushed to protect the Porongurup karri. The park they won turns 100 this month, and the celebrations start at Porongurup Hall on Saturday 14 November.

The hall fills with old photos, maps and artwork, open daily until the 29th. Professor Stephen Hopper, former head of London's Kew Gardens, gives the keynote on the 21st.

The big day is Saturday 28 November, 100 years to the day since the park opened, with a 1pm ceremony at the Tree in the Rock. Every event is free, so pack a picnic.

Rob Evans' shot of the Milky Way over the Gordon River at Tambellup took out the open section of the Bloom Festival photo competition last week.

The people's pick was Lex Porebski's three emus wandering a paddock north of Lake Anderson, with the whole Stirling Range lined up behind them. The under-18 prize went to Tracks, a close-up of two paw prints in the creek sand at Sorrento Road.

Menang Noongar elder Oscar Colbung won the Local Legend Award at the 7NEWS Community Achievement Awards for regional WA on 24 October. It recognises almost 40 years of work with Aboriginal families.

He grew up on the Mt Barker Aboriginal Reserve, and has since helped build family violence support for women and mentored people who are now community leaders. The Southern Aboriginal Corporation, where he's deputy CEO, calls it "so richly deserved".

Albany angler Gideon Mettam's catch and cook in a cave has 33 million views on YouTube in seven months. His channel, Gido's Fishing Adventures, has 480,000 subscribers.

He fishes from the cliffs, sea caves and islands of WA's south coast, and cooks his catch on the spot. In last month's video, a blue whale swam past his ledge. That puts this stretch of coastline in front of millions of people.

Offers closed last Friday on the Plantagenet Hotel, long known to Mount Barker locals as the "Bottom Pub". It went to market in the low-to-mid $2 million range.

The Sounness family built it between 1912 and 1914, and it still runs rooms, a restaurant and a drive-through bottle shop. The kitchen's just been upgraded and the rooms are due for a refresh, so the next owner has a head start.

Denmark's Russell Hoffman kept getting American answers in Wordle, like "pshaw" and "maven", so he built an Aussie version. He worked through a Macquarie dictionary from Morrisons Newsagency and listed about 5,000 five-letter words in 10 days.

A second mode, Daily Slang, runs on about 500 words like bonza, bewdy and rippa. It's free with no ads, so have a crack at today's word.

Vintage motorcycle weekend: Bikes line Stirling Terrace on Saturday, then race up Marine Drive on Sunday, from 7am | Albany | Saturday, 7 and Sunday, 8 Nov

Seniors Week: Free sessions, from oil painting and chair yoga to strength classes, bookings needed | Albany and Mount Barker | From Monday, 9 Nov

Rise of Robin Hood: John Calvin School's production, $15, 12:30pm and 7pm | Albany Entertainment Centre | Thursday, 5 Nov

Denmark Markets: Food and farm, pre-loved, art and craft, and wellbeing stalls, 9am–1pm | Denmark High School | Sunday, 8 Nov

Play, Share, Repeat: Kids' clothes and toys market, plus a car boot sale and sausage sizzle, 10am–12pm | Denmark CRC | Sunday, 8 Nov

Melbourne Cup at Boston: Sweeps, Denmark marron rolls and $15 Cup cocktails, happy hour 11am–2pm | Boston Brewing Co., Denmark | Tuesday, 3 Nov

Austen Tayshus: The comic behind the 1983 number one Australiana does one night of stand-up, 6–9pm | Denmark Tavern | Sunday, 8 Nov

Albany Shantymen: The town's own shanty crew sings sea songs in the Goldroom, free, 7:30–9pm | Six Degrees Albany | Tuesday, 3 Nov

NewFarm, New Country: Alt-country and folk camping weekend, The Red Tails headline, from $100, kids free | NewFarm Campground, Denmark | Friday, 6 to Sunday, 8 Nov

Elly McK & The Unbelievers: Free gig with an Albany choir at Six Degrees, 8:30pm. Join the choir at the 3pm workshop, 18+ | Albany Town Hall | Friday, 6 Nov

Full Noise Friday: Packhoarse, Challenge Rejected and Section Attack, $30 at the door, 7:30pm | King River Tavern | Friday, 6 Nov

Live at the Earl: Rob V on Friday, 6–9pm, then Adam Grok's folk on Sunday, 4:30–7:30pm | The Earl of Spencer | Friday, 6 and Sunday, 8 Nov

Sunday Lemonade: Indie-folk duo fresh off their first Europe tour, $20, 7–9pm | Wilson's Brewing Company | Saturday, 7 Nov

Everly Brothers & Friends and Roy Orbison: Tribute to both acts, 70 years on, 7:30pm, from $75 | Albany Entertainment Centre | Saturday, 7 Nov

Creedence Clearwater Collective: CCR's hits, covers and the songs they wrote for others, 7:30pm, from $49 | Albany Entertainment Centre | Sunday, 8 Nov

Boodja: A Goreng Woman's Journey: Goreng artist Jennifer Woods in residence, with Whaling Station entry, opening hours | Historic Whaling Station | Until Sunday, 29 Nov

Tom Stannage Memorial Lecture: Watch the livestream as Kalyagul curators talk Menang-led history, free, doors 5:30pm | UWA Albany | Wednesday, 4 Nov

Now Sounds: Local students launch their own song and video with rappers Flewnt and Optamus, from 5:45pm | Katanning All Ages Playground | Thursday, 5 Nov

Tuesday Curatorial: Remembrance Day eve talk on retraining wounded veterans, gold coin, 10:30am | Museum of the Great Southern | Tuesday, 10 Nov

Albany basketball – Round 4: Six men's A grade and women's open games, from 6pm | Full fixtures | Tuesday, 3 Nov

Corporate Cup: First of 12 Wednesday social bowls nights, teams of four, beginners welcome, 5pm | Denmark Riverside Club | Wednesday, 4 Nov

ADCA A Grade – Round 4: Mount Barker v Collingwood Park and Manypeaks v Railways, 12:15pm | Full fixtures | Saturday, 7 Nov

Bendigo Bank Shield – Round 5: Katanning Wanderers v Kojonup Cougars among three games, 12:45pm | Full fixtures and venues | Saturday, 7 Nov

Discover Sailing Day: Sail, paddle or motor the club's boats, then a free barbecue, from 9am | Walpole Yacht Club, Coalmine Beach | Sunday, 8 Nov

Riverside Club open day: Try rowing, bowls and dragon boating, then drinks at the bar, 2–4pm | Denmark Riverside Club | Sunday, 8 Nov

The Future of Rail in the Great Southern: Free forum on freight and passenger rail, keynote Peter Newman, 12–2pm | Albany Town Hall | Saturday, 7 Nov

A huge map of Menang Country, made by Elders and community members over many months, is the centrepiece of a free summer exhibition at a newly restored Strawberry Hill. Mapping Menang opens on Sunday 29 November and tells the First Nations story of Barmup through family stories, archives and art. It's open Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30am to 2:30pm, until 20 March. Plan your visit.

Albany's Christmas Pageant rolls down York Street at 6pm on Saturday 5 December, with an extra $15,000 in grants behind it this year. From 3pm, the Town Square and Alison Hartman Gardens fill with live music, Christmas markets, food and activities for all ages. It's all free. See what's on.

Golden Guitar winner Tom Curtain brings horses, working dogs and two hours of live country music to the Albany Equestrian Centre on Monday 28 December, in the school holidays. His Katherine Outback Experience team runs the horse training and dog show at 6pm, with Chris Matthews and friends also on the bill. Tickets start at $28 if you book online, $10 less than at the gate. Book online.

Anh Do takes his bestselling memoir to the stage at the Albany Entertainment Centre on Wednesday 10 March at 7:30pm. The show mixes stand-up with his family's real story, told through photos and film, and it's suitable for ages seven and up. Tickets start at $75. Get your tickets.

WA's tall ship STS Leeuwin II is back in Albany next autumn, and on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March you can sail her for four hours. Help hoist the sails, take the helm, or climb the bowsprit if the weather allows. No experience needed. It's $180 for adults, $90 for kids or $440 for a family of four. Book a sail.

Albany gas users can now look up their switch-off zone: Up to $2,000 towards going electric, but wait until your zone is called before converting. Find your zone.

Albany's own Jacob's Ladder is going up Mount Adelaide: Steps and boardwalk from Ellen Cove to Convoy Lookout. Most of the trail network is open. See the project.

The 1946 Pilbara strike story is on show in Katanning: Animations, archives and Elders' storybook drawings of the walk-off, at the gallery until 28 November. Plan a visit.

Roast dinners are rolling into Weerlara Lake this week: Runnin Roasts serves roast boxes, meat rolls and loaded fries until Thursday, 4–8pm. See the menu.

A $5.5M seafood restaurant on the Albany waterfront is a step closer: The Soumelidis family behind Great Southern Seafoods hope to sign building contracts soon. See the design.

Sclater Sugar Biscuits has closed its books to new orders: After five years, Amy's stepping back for her girls. Three local shops still stock them. Find a stockist.

Track and grounds manager: run the racecourse and training tracks, full time, with a fully maintained company vehicle and fuel | Albany Racing Club | Albany

Check-in and ramp agent: Virgin Australia and Rex flights, $28 to $36 an hour, part time or casual, with full training and staff travel benefits | Aus Flight Handling | Albany Airport

Dentist: $150k to $180k at a busy practice with full books and digital scanners, visa sponsorship available | Private advertiser | Katanning

2 De Hamel Place, Spencer Park: 3-bed, 1-bath on 818m². R40 corner block with two road accesses, deep sewerage, jarrah floors and a powered shed | From $790,000

12 Johnston Street, Mount Melville: 3-bed, 1-bath on 506m². Elevated corner with Porongurup views from a glazed sunroom, jarrah floors, 1.5km from town | $685,000

29 Hambley Street, Mount Barker: 3-bed, 1-bath on 7,992m². Renovated home with a stone kitchen, a level paddock of fruit trees and a shed workshop | $799,000+

Denby Sharpe and Tea Zizek win the regional singles again: Denby, 14, took his fifth title at WA's biggest regional junior tennis event, beating teammate Dylan Stone in straight sets, and Tea won her fourth in a row in her last eligible year. The pair train together almost every day and now head to Queensland to play doubles at a national country championship.

And that's a wrap!

If you know someone who'd love the good stuff from the Great Southern, forward this their way or get them to sign up at noblufflocal.com.

Enjoy Carrying the Fire on Saturday night, and if you've got thoughts on Emu Point's future, make sure the City hears them.

See you next Tuesday!