The Australia Day Coogee Beach Festival is back! 

Looking for a family-friendly morning filled with sun, sea, and free fun? Head to Coogee Beach on Sunday 26 January from 8am until midday and enjoy:

• Free sausage sizzle (while stocks last)
• Various food trucks
• Water slides, mechanical surfboards and splash zones 
• Face painting, mermaids and pirates 
• Live performances, including the Bindjareb Middars Performance Group and Jetty DJ.

Assisted by the Australian Government through the National Australia Day Council. 

Help stop the spread of Queensland fruit fly

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has declared a Quarantine Area to contain the spread of the Queensland fruit fly (Qfly), which has been detected in nearby Willagee and Palmyra.

Qfly is a significant pest of horticulture and home gardens that infests more than 300 types of fruit, including fruiting vegetables like chillies, capsicums and tomatoes. Residents and businesses in the Red Zone, which includes Coolbellup and North Lake, must take action immediately.

What you must do if your property is located in the Red Zone:

• Remove all fruit and fruiting vegetables – regardless of maturity – from Qfly host plants as well as fallen fruit. We understand that removing all host fruit from your garden is a sacrifice – it's a temporary measure but a powerful one designed to limit the risk to your garden in the long term. See the full list of host plants

• Homegrown fruit and fruiting vegetables inside the Red Zone can be consumed or treated by cooking, processing, freezing or solarising (secure in a black plastic bag and place on a hard surface in direct sunlight for more than seven days).

Changes to waste collection

• Fruit not consumed or treated must be disposed of by securing in a black plastic bag and disposing in the general waste bin – but not into the recycling or food organics, garden organics (FOGO) bin.

Moving fruit and host plants

• Residents and commercial operators in the Red and Orange zones wishing to move fruit and host plants within or outside of the zones are urged to consult the DPIRD website for movement requirements

• Both homegrown and commercial fruit coming into or passing through the Quarantine Area must be securely covered to ensure the produce does not become infested.

Find out which zone you are in and what you need to do to help eradicate the pest via the DPIRD website. Thank you for your cooperation.

Public waste drop-off changes location

We're relocating the Public Waste Drop-Off at Henderson Waste Recovery Park. In mid-February, residents will need to take their trailer passes and waste to Dalison Avenue, roughly 1km south of the original location. The Reuse Shop will stay at the old site. An exact date for the change will be confirmed shortly. 

'Spud king' Tony Galati is Quintessentially Cockburn

“Spearwood is where my roots are and it’s where my home is.” Those are the words of legendary West Australian 'spud king', the inimitable Tony Galati.

It’s not hard to see that this Quintessentially Cockburn character was heavily influenced by the responsibility that comes with being the firstborn son of Italian immigrants, where family duty and hard work go hand in hand.

Today there are 17 Spudsheds between Australind and Wanneroo and with Bunbury and Geraldton stores opening next year, it’s a far cry from the $12,000 income from his firm’s first year of operation in the early 1980s.

Fringing reef off C.Y O'Connor Beach doubles scale of trial

Stage one of an engineered fringing reef installed at C.Y. O'Connor Beach in March 2022 for coastal erosion research has blossomed into a snorkellers' paradise.

Research indicates the reef has contributed to a 10 per cent reduction in wave height, while also reducing wave energy reaching the shoreline by 20 per cent.

Another 135 concrete modules were installed in the $1.3m+ project's second stage in November 2024, doubling the size of the reef. 

March babies, read on!

Calling all Cockburn residents born on 21 March to mark your calendars! We’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of Memorial Hall with a special Centenary High Tea, and you’re invited. 

This is a unique opportunity to celebrate your birthday alongside a local landmark reaching a momentous milestone. For more information or to secure your spot at the high tea, please RSVP by Friday 28 February. You need to include proof of your birthday with your email registration.