Poppy spectacular gets go-ahead

Some 30,000 red poppies will adorn the sand by Ellen Cove as part of the Anzac centenary commemorations in November.

The Middleton Beach Group project called Poppies in the Sand has been given the green light by the Great Southern Anzac Commemoration Events committee.

The plastic poppies, made by local community groups including the Granny Grommets, prisons, retirement villages, sewing groups, bridge players and schools, will etch the number 30,000 in figures to commemorate the departure of the Anzac contingent of 30,000 troops from King George Sound on November 1, 1914.

Middleton Beach Group member Nan Anderson said the group looked at many options for the centenary at the beach before settling on the poppy idea.

“There was a lovely thing happened in France where they did patterns in the sand and the tide washed it off, but we don’t have those tides,” she said.

“We came up with this and so many people want to be involved, it’s great.

“We’re giving out packs and we need them back the end of August.”

Ms Anderson said people had been volunteering from across the Great Southern including Kojonup and Wagin because of a family connection to the war.

More than 2000 of the plastic creations have been boxed already, made up of donated red plastic and stems of florists’ wire with black markings representing the stamen.

The poppy spectacular will be set up the Friday before the centenary by volunteers and taken down at a community breakfast on the beach Monday morning.

Kits and instruction are available from Middleton Beach Group members, call 9841 3201, 9842 2172 or 0427 807 047.