12,000 more reasons WA is ready to help 

St John WA is celebrating three key milestones on the State Defibrillator Network:  St John WA has reached a major milestone, registering more than 12,000 defibrillators (AEDs) across 10,000 locations — with more than one third of locations publicly accessible 24/7 — as part of the State Defibrillator Network.  From community halls to roadhouses, this…

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Meet the faces of St John WA’s bold new ‘Here to Help’ campaign 

This September, St John WA is hitting the road – and the airwaves – with a fresh, feel-good campaign that puts real Western Australians in the spotlight.  Forget stock photos and staged scenes put together by east coast advertising agencies.  This campaign is all about authenticity, with everyday characters from regional communities front and centre,…

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Here to Help: Outback Festival

Usually, the Goldfields town of Coolgardie has around 850 residents. When the Outback Festival is on it’s more like 7,850. People come from across WA to celebrate life in the ochre, pitching up and staying for the weekend. There’s bush cooking, blacksmithing and bulldozer racing by day, and boot scooting into the night. St John…

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Here to Help: Honey Ant Hunt

Fifty kilometres outside Kalgoorlie, Starlink is the only way to connect to the world. Major networks disappear with sealed roads. Gold prospectors check their satellite phones and snakebite kits and hope to return a little richer. Edie, Marjorie and Nikki offer visitors the chance to dig for something different. Honey ants are also shimmery, elusive…

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Here to Help: Medieval Combat

“It’s not a matter of if you get hurt. It’s when, and how much.” In the South West town of Balingup, Alpin Grant is King. He and his wife, Queen Laura, represent the monarchy at the world-famous Balingup Medieval Carnivale. The event runs for one weekend each year, but a King’s responsibilities — training, researching, creating —…

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Here to Help: Downhill Mountain Biking

Just outside Margaret River, in Bramley National Park, are the Wooditjup Trails. Created by locals, they are a challenge for experienced downhill riders and a training ground for the next generation. Meg, 15, and Sage, 13, know them back to front. Trails like Golden Carrot, Cut Cork, High Horse, and Cash and Karri have been…

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Here to Help: Lawnmower Racing

At a lawnmower racing event in Western Australia four racers speed along the track.

Lawnmowers usually try for chequerboard-straight strips. These ones follow the racing line. Starting at 17cc, the vehicles of The Western Australian Mower Racing Association (WAMRA) top out at 450cc. Tuned for the track, the smaller capacity engines are quick, and the bigger ones can hit 110kph. No blades and, sometimes, no brakes. The only thing…

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