Residents of a remote mining town that hosts an annual charity event for fallen police officers say they are shocked by a decision to move the event 1,500 kilometres away.
The annual Bloody Slow Cup has been held in the northern West Australian mining town of Newman for 19 years.
The event, which culminates with a rugby union match between Australian and New Zealand teams, commemorates the lives of four police officers killed in a plane crash near the town in 2001.
WA Police Legacy took charge of the event last year but recently announced via social media the event would be moved to Perth from 2025.
"I was really disappointed," Newman local Samantha McLaren said.
"It's a really big community event that brings everyone together every year."
WA Police Legacy said the decision had been made "with respect and consultation with the families and local police".
Patricia Dewar, whose son David Dewar was killed in the plane crash, said she was not among those consulted.
"[Newman] is where the accident happened, and that's where it should be — Perth has got nothing to do with it," she said.
"That's why we are so angry about it, and we were not consulted," Ms Dewar said.
Ms Dewar said the Bloody Slow Cup had always been a community-led event and it should stay in the Pilbara.
"It was the people involved in it — that was the reason we went up there, because they were the ones organising this memorial, and it happened in their area."
Officer David Dewar's brother Mark Dewar agreed.
"It's Newman's history, and I don't really want to see it go away from that," he said.
"It's a good weekend for everyone to come together, and it's a good opportunity to celebrate what the boys sacrificed serving the community in the Pilbara."
WA Police Legacy declined to be interviewed by the ABC and did not respond to specific questions.
Community to launch local efforts
In the wake of the announcement, local residents held a meeting to plan the next steps for the Newman community.
Samantha McLaren, who called the meeting, said the community wants to maintain some version of the event beyond this year.
"We had a good chat about what we can do as a community moving forward — the shire got on board and there's sporting groups that want to get on board," she said.
"There's talk about getting a committee together — we've got over a year now to plan it and make it amazing.
"We just wanted to make sure that all the other sporting events and activities for the weekend would still go ahead."
Ms McLaren said the event held a special place in the Newman calendar, and it was important to keep the legacy of the four officers alive in the community.
The community plans to meet again later in May to continue discussions.