Broome soiree boosts Telethon kitty
It began with bids for the privilege of sitting on the flight deck as the plane landed at Broome and ended 30 hours and $111,000 later at Perth Airport.
The annual Rob Broadfield Dinner for Telethon at Broome's Cable Beach Club - a weekend of fashion, food, celebrity chefs and generosity - culminated this year in a fundraising dinner cooked by top chefs Guillaume Brahimi and Adriano Zumbo.
The flight deck jump seat went for $600 after an impromptu, in-flight auction.
The most coveted auction item of the night - dinner for six at Brahimi's Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant in Sydney - went for $15,000.
The auction winners will dine before point-blank views of Circular Quay, from where they will watch Australia's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks.
The restaurant, one of the nation's finest, will close the next day.
"It's our last night of trading - we're pursuing an exciting new Sydney venture - and we have 400 Sydneysiders on the short list," Brahimi said. "It's a great feeling donating six seats to Telethon though."
Fashion designer Aurelio Costarella unveiled his cocktail and evening wear collection with a glamorous show at Sunday's fashion lunch.
"It has been a terrific weekend," Cable Beach Club and Hawaiian Investments chief executive Russell Gibbs said.
"It's like a holiday house beach party with your mates . . . very exclusive, lots of fun and, of course, a hugely generous occasion as the cream of Perth dip into their pockets for the Telethon kids."
