Western Australia Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has announced Collie as the 2018 Western Australia Tidy Towns winner.
“The Tidy Towns awards harness the good intent which is alive and well in our communities, giving a platform to those campaigning tirelessly for a litter free and sustainable Western Australia.” Minister Dawson commented “Congratulations to Collie on a well-deserved win – Collie residents are clearly very proud of the town they live in and are consistently working hard to make a difference.”
“I welcome the news of Collie being selected as Tidy Town of Western Australia for 2018. I can remember back in 2005 when Collie first embarked on a program led by a dedicated band of volunteers to tidy up both the surrounds of Collie and the image of Collie itself. It has been very obvious they have been successful, winning the Tidy Town award in 2005 and again for this year.” Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray commented
Mr. Murray also said that Collie residents worked on a number of significant community initiatives throughout the year including revitalising and reopening the town’s museum, improving the health of the local river and numerous community clean-ups.
“Over the last few years, Collie has gone through a major transformation making it a very attractive town for both tourists and residents. This achievement has been helped immensely by the volunteers in the Tidy Town group, and we wholeheartedly thank and congratulate them.” Mr. Murray commented.
Mr. Murray went on to explain that at one Rotary Club clean-up, 120 volunteers collected 4.5 tonnes of rubbish. The restoration of Collie’s museum took a dedicated group of 60 locals, 12 months – cleaning, cataloguing, digitising thousands of photos, and repairing and upgrading displays. The museum reopened in July 2017, and work continues to restore collections and improve accessibility for visitors. Collie also excelled in environmental sustainability, setting up the Collie Weeds and Waterways Advisory Committee to improve the health of the Collie River.

Collie will represent WA at the national Tidy Towns awards in Smithton, Tasmania in April 2019.