Latest news with #Kojonup
West Australian
15-07-2025
- General
- West Australian
Kojonup's Libby Hardingham named as national finalist for young merino fleece Judge competition in Adelaide
Kojonup's Libby Hardingham has been selected to represent WA in the race to be Australia's best young merino fleece judge in September. The 17-year-old will compete for the honour against five other finalists from each State at the Royal Adelaide Show on September 4. For ages 15 to 25, the annual young judges competitions are designed to develop judging talent and help young people connect with and learn from industry professionals. Ms Hardingham's interest in the sheep industry started at childhood, which she spent helping out on her grandparents farm before working with stud and commercial sheep on a family friend's farm. The finalist is currently studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with the goal to become a livestock vet in the agriculture industry. Ms Hardingham said she credits her success in the young judges competition to her agricultural teacher Colin Batt, when she attended the WA College of Agriculture Narrogin. 'Mr Batt taught me all the things I needed to know about showing sheep, judging wool, merinos and meat breeds,' she said. 'He ran the sheep show team and looked after the school's Suffolk stud. He took them, as well as us students, to as many shows the school would allow him to. 'He ensured we had the necessary skills to make the stud sheep look best on show day and that we gave everything a go, even if we were unsure of our own abilities. 'Batty encouraged me to compete in the young judges competitions at all the shows and he has continued his support even after my graduation. 'If it wasn't for Batty I would not be where I am today, with the skills to pick out the best sheep or fleece in a group and without the networks he has helped me build within the sheep industry.' Other finalists include Olivia Baker, 16, from Tasmania, Miranda McGufficke, 24, (NSW), Queensland's Jaime Colley, 24, Tiffany Maestrale, 17, (Victoria) and Celia Collins (South Australia). Chair of Agricultural Shows Australia Jacqueline Wilson-Smith said the competition was a celebration of emerging national talent. 'These young competitors represent the future of agricultural show competitions, which play a vital role in advancing Australia's food and fibre industries,' Ms Wilson-Smith said. 'The nationals offer an exciting chance for participants to grow both personally and professionally while testing their skills against the very best.'
West Australian
15-07-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
KNA 2025: hotly contested senior games show big wins across the board in final round before holiday break
The Katanning Netball Association's round 12 matches marked the final round before a fortnight break for school holidays, and a very cold morning for all divisions at Katanning Leisure and Function Centre on July 5. Net-Set-Go and juniors got warmed up on the courts during the morning period, with a battle in the midst for the junior competition as teams looked eager to keep their ladder positions with only three rounds before finals. These last few rounds before finals are when the juniors seem to up the ante. Seniors had A1 teams struggling to find players across the board, but that didn't stop Kojonup 1 showing Cardinals Force no mercy, charging through each quarter with a fierce score at the end of 77-19. Te Taitonga 1 almost had Olympians 1. After a goal-for-goal battle, it was the last quarter where Olympians put their foot down, taking the win 52-42. Broomehill had to forfeit their game with Allstars 1. In A2, there was a heavily contested game between Dumbleyung and Allstars 2. Although Allstars 2 sailed through to take the win at 72-29, the scores didn't reflect the contest. Te Taitonga 2 worked hard on their game with Olympians 3, and with focus and team work, Te Taitonga came out with a 41-33 win. Kojonup 2 held a nice buffer against Olympians 2 early on, and four quarters of strong pressure allowed Kojonup to get ahead, 41-20. A3 had Kojonup 3 up against Cardinals Phoenix. It was a great performance from Cardinals but Kojonup claimed a strong 41-25 win. Te Taitonga 3 had a challenge from the start with Allstars 3. With a non-stop team effort, Allstars were just too good to get the ball forward and score, and took the win 56-23. This weekend is the Great Southern Regional Netball Association Championships in Albany, and Katanning hopes to take three teams down to represent the region. Netball in Katanning will resume on July 26.
West Australian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Old Mervs: Kojonup duo play out ‘wildest dreams' at HPC after supporting Liam Gallagher three years ago
The beloved indie rockers from Kojonup never in their 'wildest dreams' thought they'd play a headline show at HPC after supporting Oasis co-founder Liam Gallagher just three years ago. Old Mervs — consisting of Dave House on vocals and guitar and Henry Carrington-Jones on drums — wrapped up their Australian tour at the arena in Claremont on Saturday in support of their new self-titled album released this year. Appearing on stage about 9.45pm to a backing track of AC/DC, the band opened with Sweetheart, one of their popular songs that most fans knew the words to. 'How the fark are ya?' Carrington-Jones shouted their signature slogan to the hundreds in the crowd. 'We are finishing the tour in WA, in the best place in WA, let's have a bit of fun.' The duo carried on with Forget It, off the new album and Be There before addressing a huge milestone in their music career. 'We supported Liam Gallagher and The Wombats three years ago, never thought in our wildest dream we'd be here,' Carrington-Jones said. 'There's less people in Kojonup than down here tonight.' During more songs including Out Of Luck, Where I'll Go and Focus, people were getting up on friend's shoulders to party in the moment, with some fans even video-calling loved ones who couldn't be there in person. Forever grateful to their passionate fans, Carrington-Jones thanked everyone for 'coming out to a venue you have to Uber to', referring to HPC's isolated location. Not only were Old Mervs debuting new songs live, but House also debuted a new, shorter haircut. Another new addition for their show was the use of stage props and it wasn't just any regular item you might see on a live set. It was in fact Carrington-Jones' dad's relic of a car and also the very one seen on the new album cover. The drummer urged the people of Perth to appreciate the vehicle as they had to hire a specific stage for it and was an effort to set-up. It no doubt added an extra element of pizzazz to their show and something we haven't seen before. Old Mervs continued with more tracks off the album to which some fans were yet to learn the lyrics before a cover of Stuck In The Middle Of You, calling it a 'lucky day for the old people' in attendance. Wrapping up the show with What You've Lost and Cellphone, Old Mervs brought out The Vanns lead singer Jimmy to sing Real Love Baby by Father John Misty. It was a touching way to sum up the show after The Vanns supported Old Mervs along with Perth's Fool Nelson and Adelaide singer Aleksiah.
Perth Now
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
WA indie band play new songs at gig from ‘wildest dreams'
The beloved indie rockers from Kojonup never in their 'wildest dreams' thought they'd play a headline show at HPC after supporting Oasis co-founder Liam Gallagher just three years ago. Old Mervs — consisting of Dave House on vocals and guitar and Henry Carrington-Jones on drums — wrapped up their Australian tour at the arena in Claremont on Saturday in support of their new self-titled album released this year. Appearing on stage about 9.45pm to a backing track of AC/DC, the band opened with Sweetheart, one of their popular songs that most fans knew the words to. 'How the fark are ya?' Carrington-Jones shouted their signature slogan to the hundreds in the crowd. 'We are finishing the tour in WA, in the best place in WA, let's have a bit of fun.' The duo carried on with Forget It, off the new album and Be There before addressing a huge milestone in their music career. 'We supported Liam Gallagher and The Wombats three years ago, never thought in our wildest dream we'd be here,' Carrington-Jones said. 'There's less people in Kojonup than down here tonight.' Fans sung their heart out to classics. Credit: Andrew Briggs During more songs including Out Of Luck, Where I'll Go and Focus, people were getting up on friend's shoulders to party in the moment, with some fans even video-calling loved ones who couldn't be there in person. Forever grateful to their passionate fans, Carrington-Jones thanked everyone for 'coming out to a venue you have to Uber to', referring to HPC's isolated location. Not only were Old Mervs debuting new songs live, but House also debuted a new, shorter haircut. Another new addition for their show was the use of stage props and it wasn't just any regular item you might see on a live set. The car from their new album cover made it on stage. Credit: Andrew Briggs It was in fact Carrington-Jones' dad's relic of a car and also the very one seen on the new album cover. The drummer urged the people of Perth to appreciate the vehicle as they had to hire a specific stage for it and was an effort to set-up. It no doubt added an extra element of pizzazz to their show and something we haven't seen before. Old Mervs continued with more tracks off the album to which some fans were yet to learn the lyrics before a cover of Stuck In The Middle Of You, calling it a 'lucky day for the old people' in attendance. Wrapping up the show with What You've Lost and Cellphone, Old Mervs brought out The Vanns lead singer Jimmy to sing Real Love Baby by Father John Misty. It was a touching way to sum up the show after The Vanns supported Old Mervs along with Perth's Fool Nelson and Adelaide singer Aleksiah.
West Australian
18-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
KNA 2025: Cardinals Force fight for A1 win, Allstars and Kojonup boast confident A2 wins
Katanning Netball Association are more than halfway through their 2025 season and round eight proved to be a busy week for everyone involved. Another round of mid-week games for both juniors and seniors with everyone on the sidelines rugged up in jackets, beanies and blankets. On Tuesday afternoon the juniors cranked up the leisure centre and on Wednesday evening it was the seniors' turn. In A1 Te Taitonga 1 and Cardinals Force battled it out, and with some extra drive Cardinals nabbed a 51-38 win. Allstars 1 had no mercy for Olympians 1, winning 71-27 in a one-sided result. Kojonup 1 kept Broomehill at bay with a big 76-31 win. A2 had a nice tough game between Te Taitonga 2 and Olympians 2. Olympians had the answers in a close contest 34-32 while Allstars 2 had a massive win against Olympians 3, dominating all four quarters to win 70-21. Dumbleyung faced Kojonup 2, and the scoreboard at the final whistle did not reflect the game itself. Greatly contested from both teams, it was Kojonup that managed to sink the most goals with a strong 51-20 result. In the A3 competition Allstars 3 sealed the deal with three wins for their club. Up against Cardinals Fever, Allstars did not let up to claim a 42-28 win. Te Taitonga 3 had a great battle against Kojonup 3. Always showing a tough game, Kojonup grabbed the win with both hands 42-31 at the final whistle. On Sunday the KNA had two teams attending the Albany City Nissan Junior Netball Carnival. With an under-11 and an under-13 side representing the association, Sunday was a massive day for some of Katanning's youngest talents. A number of players in the under-11 team had not been teammates before, but rather opponents in local competition. The unity the young players displayed and encouragement with each other was great to see. Taking court and playing five games, the under-11s were undefeated in their games, leading to the grand final where Katanning brought were victorious against Royal Saints. The under-13s were unfortunate not to bring home a finals win for their division, however with two wins and a couple of losses, it was never a dull moment watching these girls. With another carnival around the corner in Albany, development training will be back in full force.
