Community Display | Derby & Broome WA

Tuesday-Thursday: 28-30 July

Derby: A Warm Welcome on the West Coast
The team’s first glimpse of the West Coast was in Derby, where the local SDA Church welcomed them with open arms into their church building. The facility itself was a joyful surprise – a fully functioning church home tucked inside a remodelled bakery, set in a prime spot in town. The next morning, the team drove their beloved Essie down to the local jetty for a photo shoot, and within moments they were surrounded by warm, curious locals eager to know all about the car. Hearts were open, and so were hands. The literature was gladly received, making for a heartwarming start to this leg of the journey.

Broome: Memory Lane and Nightly Meetings
From Derby, it was just a short hop around to Broome, where the team was once again welcomed into a local church family. Pastor Darren Peakall, the Western Australia ATSIM Director, was running nightly evangelistic meetings, and the team was delighted to lend their support and help spread the word. Driving Essie through the streets of Broome turned into a tender trip down memory lane for Kerry, who had lived and worked in this very town 47 years earlier. One especially sweet moment came with a photograph taken alongside a staff member at the Continental Hotel, where Kerry once worked all those years ago and the whole team there was overjoyed to receive an Overlander book as a keepsake.

Stairway to the Moon
The timing of the visit to Broome felt like a gift: the team arrived just as the town was aglow with three days of the breathtaking “Stairway to the Moon.” This rare and beautiful phenomenon happens only when a full moon rises in perfect harmony with an extreme low tide in the bay. As the moon climbs gently into the night sky, its reflection ripples across the mudflats below, creating the magical illusion of a staircase reaching up to the heavens. With this alignment occurring only two or three times a year, it felt like a true blessing to stand among the crowds and capture such a rare and wondrous sight.

The Broome Church grounds, generously equipped with power points and camping facilities, usually serve as a welcome overflow for the local campgrounds. But with peak tourism season in full swing and everyone in town eager to see the “Stairway” the grounds were bursting at the seams, and the team felt truly grateful to be squeezed in, even with a booking in hand. Between the friendly campers, the townsfolk, and everyone attending the evangelistic program, the team was overjoyed to share more than 30 Overlanders with new friends along the way.