The year that was — the Albany Advertiser looks back at the stories that made front page headlines in 2021

It was a year most of us spent entirely within the walls of Fortress WA.

As the pandemic wore on, other States and Territories started to tweak their approach to dealing with the virus.

But WA remained steadfast in its “crush and kill” strategy.

Change is just around the corner, but 2021 was another year dominated by COVID-19.

On New Year’s Eve, the Advertiser looks back at the stories that made front page headlines in the past 12 months.

PS. If you’re more interested in the back page headlines, click here for our sports year in review.

January

— A Vietnamese crewman jumps from a bulk carrier ship and swims to shore in Albany, receiving a suspended prison sentence for breaching quarantine laws. Read more.

— An Albany domestic violence perpetrator becomes the first person in the Great Southern convicted under WA’s new non-fatal strangulation laws. Read more.

— CinefestOz announces a new Albany festival to be held in April and May. Read more.

— Police plea for patience after the worst start to a year on Great Southern roads in more than a decade. Read more.

February

— Two dogs are reunited after they were left for dead by Narrikup man John Druin Hooper who was later banned from owning pets. Read more.

— Menang Noongar elders take the stand to give expert evidence in a sexual assault trial involving former tour operator Joseph Luke Williams. Read more.

— One young man is killed and another is rescued from the Southern Ocean in a rock-fishing tragedy near Cheynes Beach. Read more.

March

— Indigenous leaders celebrate the historic start of the South West Native Title Settlement. Read more.

— Albany Army veteran Timothy D’Arcy urges the community to roll up their sleeves as he becomes one of the city’s first residents to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Read more.

— Albany fisher James Stuart Tindall is fined $12,500 for taking two great white sharks then posing for photos with the dead sharks. Read more.

— The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine becomes the first vaccine made available to the general public in Australia. Read more.

— Labor’s Rebecca Stephens becomes Albany’s new MP, Terry Redman loses Warren-Blackwood and cannabis activist Sophia Moermond wins an Upper House seat in the South West as Labor complete a Statewide election rout. Read more on Stephens, Redman and Moermond.

— Tambellup man Gregory John William Quartermaine is sentenced to life behind bars for the gruesome murder of family friend Wilfred Williams. Read more.

April

— The Advertiser gives its readers a first look inside The Premier Hotel as its $4 million redevelopment is completed. Read more.

— Albany’s rental crisis deepens with the city’s 0.5 per cent vacancy rate forcing families into tents. Read more.

— WA honours the Anzacs with a snap COVID-19 lockdown in Perth leaving Albany as the host of WA’s major dawn service. Read more.

May

— Self-proclaimed Indigenous healer Joseph Luke Williams is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting six women. Read more.

— Albany paedophile Michael Robert Carroll is sentenced to more than four years behind bars after sparking a Statewide manhunt in 2020. Read more.

— An Albany church comes under fire for hosting an event likened to “gay conversion therapy”. Read more.

— The collapse of WA builder Pindan Group puts the brakes on the construction of Albany’s Hilton Garden Inn. Read more.

— Ambulance ramping hits a record monthly high at Albany Health Campus. Read more.

— The Federal Government announces funding for a new domestic violence crisis accommodation centre in Albany. Read more.

June

— Protestors chain themselves to equipment in a stand against a lime pit development on the Nullaki Peninsula. Read more.

— Liquidators probe the trading history of Schlager Homes after the Albany builder’s collapse. Read more.

— A wild storm causes widespread flooding and wind damage from Albany to Denmark. Read more.

— Elleker residents demand answers as their town remains inundated for days after the storm that lashed the south coast. Read more.

July

— The City of Albany seeks public comment on its plan to tackle erosion around Emu Point as the damage threatens paths and beaches. Read more.

— The widow of a Great Southern police sergeant speaks out after two police officers take their own lives in two weeks. Read more.

— Albany bids farewell to World War II veteran Allan Hawkins and Vietnam War veteran Harley Webb after their death on the same day. Read more on Mr Hawkins and Mr Webb.

— A street brawl in the Albany CBD leaves one man fighting for his life and weapons strewn across Stirling Terrace. Read more.

August

— Locals councils vote on their 2021-22 budgets, with rates rising by 1.5 per cent in the City of Albany, 3 per cent in the Shire of Plantagenet and 4 per cent in the Shire of Denmark. Read more on Albany, Plantagenet and Denmark.

— The collapse of Amazing South Coast leaves a vacuum in the region’s tourism co-ordination and promotion. Read more.

September

— An Albany man is charged with a string of sexual offences after an early-hours incident near Scots Church on York Street. Read more.

— Mira Mar residents call for support as a landslip forces the evacuation of homes. Read more.

— Labor passes its one vote, one value Upper House reforms, described as “an attack on regional WA” by Opposition Leader Mia Davies. Read more.

— Albany performers Vikki Thorn, Donna Simpson and The Albany Shantymen sing at Optus Stadium on an historic AFL grand final day. Read more.

— Albany hosts a fundraising event for the region’s Afghan Hazara community after the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan. Read more.

October

— Star cyclist Craig Wiggins is injured in a crash while riding his bicycle on the Sunshine Coast, with a motorist charged with his attempted murder. Read more.

— An Albany man is charged for allegedly stealing a great white shark’s monitoring tag and using it to set off shark warnings. Read more.

— Albany Woolstores owner Mark Dyson starts the demolition of the woolstores to make way for a multi-use development. Read more.

— The State Government commissions an independent geotechnical report on the Mira Mar landslip crisis after sustained pressure. Read more.

— An Albany man saves his workmate’s life by driving a vehicle into another man who was allegedly stabbing him in Katanning. Read more.

November

— A climate activist allegedly defaces the office of O’Connor MP Rick Wilson then superglues her feet to an outside wall. Read more.

— Shadow health minister Libby Mettam hosts a public forum on Albany Health Campus, as a leaked survey paints a damning picture of staff morale. Read more.

— Albany’s five-storey, 108-room Hilton Garden Inn opens on the waterfront. Read more here and here.

— Menang Noongar elders call for the indigenous community to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect their families. Read more.

— An Albany paeodphile is jailed after a tip-off from the US led to his arrest. Read more.

— Mt Barker man Mark Frederick Burt is declared a serial family violence offender for his sickening attacks on multiple women. Read more.

December

— Serial fraudster Rochelle Phyllis Arends is jailed for taking more than $100,000 from vulnerable seniors. Read more.

— A Denmark couple praise the local hero who came to their rescue and saved a life on a rough day at Lights Beach. Read more.

— The new licensees of Albany’s redeveloped Premier Hotel reveal their vision for Bar 1891 — a second-storey whisky and cocktail bar. Read more.