Chela Williams

5 days ago | abc.net.au | Stan Shaw |Andrew Williams |Chela Williams

Elaine Bartles and her husband Doug are marking a year since their home and belongings were destroyed in a "freak" tornado that tore through WA's second-biggest city. Despite the time since the incident, the retired couple remains "basically homeless", living in their caravan and waiting for their home to be rebuilt. The tornado struck Bunbury, 170 kilometres south of Perth, on May 10, damaging 220 homes and destroying another nine in just 10 minutes.

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Chela Williams |Bridget McArthur

Residents in Western Australia's South West are disappointed to learn their efforts to sort food scraps and garden trimmings from general rubbish are going to waste. Bunbury Harvey Regional Council (BHRC) has been turning food and garden organic (FOGO) waste from homes and businesses into sellable compost and mulch for over a decade. Until recently, it processed FOGO for more than half of the region's 12 local governments.

Sep 11, 2024 | abc.net.au | Chela Williams

A petrol station providing Australia Post services in South West Western Australia is set to close and hand in its licence later this year. The post office in Gelorup, 180 kilometres south-west of Perth, is operated through an Ampol service station and services a shire of 18,000 people. Ampol has decided to hand the Australia Post license back and will cease postal services on November 1.

Sep 6, 2024 | abc.net.au | Jacqueline Lynch |Chela Williams

After shocking wildlife carers by surviving outside of its only known habitat, a rare western swamp tortoise has returned home to Western Australia's South West. The endangered reptile was found near Northcliffe, 400km south of Perth, last year, an unexpected survivor of a 2018 reallocation program to see if the species could survive in other wetlands. The tortoise has spent months having its shell repaired at Perth Zoo.

Aug 22, 2024 | abc.net.au | Jacqueline Lynch |Chela Williams |Stan Shaw

The WA government has admitted it played a role in destroying the ancient 'Bob Brown' peppermint tree in the Ferguson Valley, believed to about 800 years old. A stump of the tree was discovered by local tourism operator, Peter Murphy, who had planned to proudly show the tree to a group of overseas visitors. "I was completely devastated," Mr Murphy said.