Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee
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Picture
WICC caught up with Menang Elder, Lester Coyne, to talk about sustainability, resolving conflicts and solving problems as a community… 
​

WICC:  Lester, can you tell us a little bit about your family background and your connection to this area?
Lester:  I was born in Katanning and I lived there for about three years. Then we came to Albany. I'm the oldest of six. Two sisters, four brothers.  We lived on an Aboriginal Reserve alongside the highway.  I was very fortunate to go from high school straight into a job down at the golf links.  I did my apprenticeship as a greens keeper.  I loved it, probably the best job I've ever had in my life.  I made five pounds, eight shillings a week.  Didn’t question it, I was a millionaire. Mum got three pounds and I had two pounds in those days. That was a lot of money. You could buy a hell of a lot of things. So I really felt very, very, very rich.  I didn’t realise at the time that the golf club captain, Harry,  was taking money out of my pay each week.  Years later Harry called me up to go to afternoon tea.  So I rode my bicycle down and outside the window there was this magnificent FJ Holden with white sidewall tires.  This car was glistening.  The man who drove it was Jeff, a prominent Perth businessman.  Harry and I knew him from the golf club.  Jeff owned car lots.  Jeff said, “Do you want a lift home?  Will my bike fit in the boot?” I said, “Yeah.”  He said, “Do you want to drive it?”  I said, “Yeah”. So, Jeff and Harry gave me the keys and didn’t get in the car.  They said, “It’s yours, we’ve been saving all this money up.”  I couldn’t believe it.
Listen to the interview with Menang Elder Lester Coyne
  • Home
  • WICC News
  • About
    • Projects >
      • Current Projects >
        • Soils - New Horizons
        • Climate Smart Agriculture
        • Dung Beetle Soil Health Initiative
        • Wilson Inlet Management Strategy
        • Community for Cockies
        • Cockies for Cockies >
          • Plants Used by Carnaby's Black Cockatoo
        • Saving Boordenitj – Salvaging Bittern Habitat in Southwest WA
        • Healthy Estuaries WA
        • Wilson Inlet Winter Active Dung Beetles: Phase 2
        • Eungedup
      • Previous Projects >
        • Ferals
        • Waste to Net Zero (Biochar Program)
        • OKGG Owingup/Kent Grower Group
        • Soilwise
        • WIGG the Wilson Inlet Grower Group
        • UPtake
    • Our Plans >
      • Lindesay Link Conservation Action Plan
      • WICC Proteacea Vegetation Survey 2016
      • WICC Strategic Plan and Constitution
      • Wilson Inlet Management Strategy
    • Meet the Team!
    • Our Catchment
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer EOI
    • Upcoming Events >
      • Soil Testing EOI 2025
      • EW Community Update
      • Carbon in Farming
      • Holistic Management Workshop
      • Dung Beetle EOI
    • Membership >
      • WICC Membership Form
      • OKGG Membership Sign-Up
    • Funding Opportunities >
      • Soil Testing
      • Fencing and Revegetation
    • Feral Management
    • Report A Pig
  • Support Us
    • Kwoorabup Community Nursery >
      • Nursery Volunteer Register
    • Donate
  • Eungedup
    • Why Eungedup Wetlands needs to be preserved!
    • How Your Donation will be Use
    • How Eungedup Wetlands will be Managed
    • Our Donors
  • Learning Centre
    • Sustainable Agriculture >
      • Dung Beetle Farm Management Guide
      • Cartoon Collection - Earls Adventures >
        • Managing Water in a Drying Climate
        • Feral Management OKGG
        • Arum Lilies
      • Collection of Dougie the dung beetle cartoons >
        • Rotational Grazing
        • Stock Health
        • Pasture Diversity
        • Soil Chemistry/Nutrient Efficiency
        • Soil Carbon
        • Soil Biology
      • Interviews with local farmers
    • Biodiversity >
      • Interview with Marino Bocuzzi
      • The Abby Carnaby Chronicles
      • Weeds
      • Feral Management
      • Seagrass Report
      • Flora Surveys
      • Interview with Elders >
        • Interview with Elder Vernice Gillies
        • Elder Lynette Knapp
        • Interview with Dr Wayne Webb
        • Interview with Aunty Carol Petterson
        • Interview with Uncle Lester Coyne
        • Interview with Menang Elder Aden Eades
        • Aboriginal Rangers - back on country!
    • Waterways >
      • Wilson Inlet Estuary Sandbar Openings
      • Sub Catchment Reports for Wilson Inlet
    • How to Object to Mineral Titles
    • Our Data
    • Privacy Policy