The quintessentially Australian venue set an impressive and appropriate backdrop for the Pilbara Stars themed event, designed to highlight the extraordinary talent and opportunities that exist in the Pilbara.
On top of a delicious three-course meal inspired by the Australian outback, guests were treated to a showcase of Pilbara artists at the 20 November event. Performances by David Milroy’s Willara Band, Billie Court and the Ochre Contemporary Dance Company kept the crowd entertained throughout the evening.
A standout of the evening was the announcement by Barry Fitzgerald, Chairman of Roy Hill Community Foundation’s Management Committee, of the inaugural Roy Hill Community Foundation Fellowship in Precision Public Health.
The deserving recipient was Yarlalu Thomas, a Pilbara Aboriginal man currently studying a double degree in medical science and medicine at The University of Sydney. Unable to attend the event due to study commitments, in a video shown on the night Mr Thomas expressed his excitement about the fellowship which will provide an opportunity to work alongside Dr Gareth Baynam and his team on Pilbara Faces, a project on rare diseases funded by the Foundation.
Celebrations aside, the event also provided an important opportunity to raise further funds for the Foundation to invest in projects aimed at making a lasting difference in the Pilbara.
The lucky raffle winners were all smiles, walking away with a first prize of a stunning cultured pearl strand necklace, sponsored by Willie Creek Pearls; a second prize of a luxury Thai holiday for two, courtesy of Next Hotels Group and the third prize of a relaxing three-night Cape Lodge Club package, courtesy of Hitachi Construction Machinery.
The silent auction brought out an element of competition with popular themed items including two beautiful Pilbara landscape paintings by local artist Alix Korte, a Roy Hill mine to port experience package and a range of authentic handcrafted Nyiyaparli Aboriginal artefacts.
The evening was an outstanding success, with guests enjoying themselves well into the night.
Plans are already underway for the next event in early 2020, to further build on the Pilbara Stars theme.
