Courtesy of The West Australian
02.06.2025
From the beaches and red dust to the warm-hearted people, prominent Sandgropers tell us why they love WA.
CHRIS DAWSON
WA Governor
Apart from the incredible beaches, epic landscapes, perfect weather, world-class wine, unique wildlife, amazing cuisine, vibrant cities, historic townsites, valuable minerals, invaluable indigenous culture, sporting greats, scientific genius, mighty musicians, medical marvels, war heroes and nation-building business leaders – What HAS Western Australia ever given us?
One more thing. It’s greatest treasure in fact – its people.
As Governor, I am fortunate enough to meet fellow West Australians every single day. Every day, their deeds, their attitude and their spirit inspire me.
The miners and farmers who rise before the sun and then work long hours underneath it. The teachers who mould the next generation.
The café owners and restaurateurs who feed and water us.
The volunteers who put their own needs aside to help us.
The first responders who put our safety ahead of their own to protect us.
It is those people, and the over 3 million like them, which make this state not just a large space on a map.
But a place we are all proud to call home.
ROGER COOK
Premier
The laidback lifestyle we have in WA is hard to beat.
Sandgropers have always known it, now the rest of Australia is catching on. People are moving here in droves to cash in on the many rewarding, well-paying jobs on offer – whether it’s in construction, the resources industry or our fledgling creative industries.
But more often than not, the reason east coasters are choosing to stay is for the lifestyle, and who can blame them. We have beautiful beaches and world class entertainment right on our doorstep, without the soul-zapping commutes of larger cities.
And once you get here, we’re a friendly, welcoming bunch. Maybe it’s our isolation, or maybe it’s just the WA way, but our sense of community is second to none.
I love that people from all over the world have made – and continue to make – Western Australia home. It makes me very proud.
BASIL ZEMPILAS
Opposition Leader
Western Australians feel lucky to live here, we celebrate our unique identity and have great pride in our State.
Whether you were born here or you came here, if you work hard, you can build your own success.
In just four years from now is the bicentenary of Perth’s founding and the settlement of the Swan River colony.
It’s time for a mature conversation about how we might, as a community, mark this historical milestone.
In 1929, the centenary of Perth’s founding was marked by the planting of 100 scarlet-flowering gums in King’s Park along Fraser Avenue.
Some of us remember WAY 79 in 1979, marking 150 years, with, among other things, commemorative street plaques along St Georges Terrace recognising prominent Western Australians.
In 2029, we should take the opportunity to not only look back, but also look forward.
In looking back, we must recognise that British colonisation marked the foundation of modern Western Australia but acknowledge that colonisation came at a cost to Aboriginal people.
In looking forward, we must ask ourselves, what do we want this State to look like and be in 200 years’ time?
Government, Opposition and all political parties represented in the WA Parliament, as well as local governments, should start coming together to kick off the 2029 conversation.
But it is not for governments to decide how we might do this. The WA community must be at the centre of decisions about how we should best mark the bicentenary.
Four years is not far away.
FIONA WOOD
World-leading burns specialist
There’s something about the sunshine here—it brings with it a sense of optimism and the energy to have a go. In the past, our isolation as the world’s most remote capital city worked in our favour. We just got on with it—finding practical, innovative solutions to the challenges we faced.
Our vast and diverse geography has demanded that we think differently about how we deliver healthcare across all kinds of environments.
In solving those problems, we’ve gained insights and developed innovations that now have the potential to benefit others, near and far.
Across many areas of endeavour, I see that same energy and optimism driving progress. And now, we’re in an exciting position to accelerate our impact—not just locally, but across the region and globally.
The question is: do we believe in ourselves enough to take that next step forward?
FAT CAT
Channel 7 icon
Fat Cat’s favourite part about living in Western Australia? The incredible kindness and generosity of the WA community.
Whether he’s waving to fans or getting cuddles from kids (both little and big!) at events, Fat Cat feels the love everywhere he goes.
WA isn’t just home—it’s where big hearts come together to support little lives. That’s why Fat Cat is proud that Telethon’s home is WA – the giving state. Where every hug, donation and smile helps make a difference.
GINA RINEHART
Hancock prospecting executive chairwoman
“West Australians can look back with pride at our very hard working pioneers in our state’s early history, as they struggled to make a better life for their families and for the future.
They sure had it tough. But they armed themselves with common sense and lots of perseverance.
This included members from both sides of my family, generations of the Hancock’s and later, my grandfather, James Nicholas of Cobb & Co., who built many hundreds of miles of roads, without government assistance or tape, to enable his coaches to transport the equipment, supplies, passengers, gold, mail needed to open up areas outside of Perth.
In recent years, Western Australia with its world-leading mining operations has been the engine room of Australia. The mining industry contributes more than any other state to Australia’s exports and economic strength – our tax revenue helps to provide for thousands of nurses, police, our elderly, tertiary students, veterans, emergency services, sport facilities and more, across our state indeed country.
Without the revenue from our mines and energy projects, Australians living standards would be very different.
Sadly, this is not well recognised and government hurdles are increasing to slow investment and our industry and hence its many benefits.
While countries, like the USA under its current administration, now successfully welcome trillions of new investment, and others like Argentina and Saudi Arabia are welcoming and building up their mining industries. Perhaps we can learn from successful countries? Wishing all West Australians a very happy Western Australia Day.”
BRUCE REYNOLDS
Acting Lord Mayor
What I love most about WA… it’s not just one thing and it’s feelings hard to define.
It’s that first swim of summer in the blue Indian Ocean – crisp, exhilarating and alive.
It’s the burnt orange sunsets, or the red dirt under your fingernails, and the scent of rain as a storm rolls in from the north-west. It’s endless reef breaks, road trips, and bakery pies in country towns.
It’s big-city energy, just hours from the quiet of the outback. It’s hot Christmases, larrikin humour, and banter with your mates. It’s backing the underdog. Believing in a fair go. Having a crack.
This state has a wildness to it, a vastness but also a warmth. A community spirit that’s generous, honest, and quietly proud.
It’s home.
MITCH MARSH
WA cricketer
I love Western Australia. Whether it’s spending time down south or adventuring up north in my favourite place in the world, Coral Bay.
Our relaxed lifestyle here is something I always look forward to coming home to. On a nice day in Perth there’s nothing better than being out on the boat with my family at Rottnest island, one of our great treasures. West, really is best.
BRIANNA THROSSELL
Olympic swimmer
Some of my favourite things about WA are the coastline: nothing beats a morning walk along Cottesloe or City Beach. Down south: spending time in the Margaret River region, especially around Yallingup, is my happy place. Surf, wineries, and sunsets it’s unbeatable.
And honestly, the space and lifestyle, WA has this balance of calm and energy that I’ve never found anywhere else.
KAV TEMPERLEY
Eskimo Joe frontman
When we first started Eskimo Joe in 1997, we were faced with a big decision: move to the east coast or stay in Western Australia. We chose to stay. Even back then, we felt as we still do, that there’s a power and sense of place in being a band from Fremantle.
It wasn’t a hard choice, we’d all grown up here.
Our friends and family were here and we’d been to school and uni in WA, spent summers down south on the beaches of Yallingup, and gone on adventures up north. This place was in our bones.
The most powerful thing we discovered early on was that when we started writing about where we lived, we tapped into something special.
You can hear it all over our album A Song Is A City it’s a love letter to Fremantle in our twenties. The landmarks, the heroes, the villains, they all found their way into those songs.
Now, nearly 30 years later, that connection still runs deep. Every night we walk on stage, every summer festival we play, whether it’s across Australia or somewhere overseas we still begin the same way: “Hello, we’re Eskimo Joe from Fremantle, Western Australia.”
ANDREW FORREST
Fortescue founder and chairman
Western Australia may be the envy of the world for its rare unspoilt natural beauty, vast bounty of resources beneath the ground but it’s true wealth walks above it — our people.
We are tough, resilient, and hardworking.
I see that spirit every day in the more than 15,000 people working across Fortescue’s sites in the Pilbara – operating in remote conditions, managing complex systems, and getting the job done.
But what I love most about this State is our relentless drive to build new industries, pioneer new technologies, and solve big problems.
We are a powerhouse of resources, talent, and innovation and we’re only just getting started.
Bold thinking and bold action will keep Western Australia at the centre of the nation’s economy and that’s why we must act now to leverage our renewable resources and build a green iron industry in the Pilbara that will power Australia for decades to come.
KATE WALSH
Actress
I love the diversity of WA, both geographically and culturally.
I have never seen a place like Margaret River or Denmark or the Kimberley, or the simple beauty of the moonrise over the Perth River, and how the light makes everyone look pink and beautiful when they have a sunset swim in April.
I love seeing generations of people fishing at dusk and I love going to Rotto. I also love WA’s history, from the First Nations to the first settlers to the migration of peoples from all over the world that come to make a life here, bringing their cultures (and foods!) with them.
I love that I can be a beginner again at the Multicultural Language Centre and at the Drink and Draw at a pub in Freo.
I love WAAPA, the State Theatre, the great talent of WA Opera, WASO and WA Ballet, and the infinite world of indigenous art. I love the Biennale and the Ellington Jazz Club. And I love how the people of Perth have such pride and civic love.
NINA KENNEDY
Olympic pole vaulter
I love WA for its laidback lifestyle, stunning coastline and diverse landscapes. I couldn’t be prouder to call WA home and to be a West Aussie.
OZZY MAN
Comedian
Sunshine.
LIAM DUGGAN
West Coast Eagles co-captain
I love the relaxed nature and cruisy atmosphere. Being 20 minutes from just about everything you need is a massive bonus. The coastline is absolutely incredible.”
NATALIE BARR
Sunrise host
We can almost pick each other out of a crowd. There’s something about West Australians.
I didn’t realise it when I was hooning around Bunbury in my Gemini as a teenager or riding my bike and racing through the shallows in dinghies for weeks during the long, hot bare foot summers down south.
I took Sunday sessions for granted. And the beach sunsets. Thought the jokes about the dry heat were just a laugh until I hit my first sticky summer in Sydney, and worked out what a whole wardrobe full of mouldy clothes looks like.
But over the years I’d see the common thread we all had. A sense of genuine pride and excitement that wherever we are in the world right now, we’ve all experienced something special – part of life in a state that is out on its own but offers so much.
We tell it like it is. We own what we say. And I reckon that’s because we know deep down that we come from the best place on earth. Happy WA Day Sandgropers.
CALEB HARPER
Spacey Jane frontman
The more time I spend away from home, the more I fall in love with WA.
As a Freo resident, I love coming home to see that there’s yet another incredible place to eat and drink every few months.
One of life’s greatest joys is South Freo in the summer.
Nothing beats drying off at south beach and wandering over to one of half a dozen pubs filled with friends.
