Miners flex muscles and sweet-as-pie Mayor wins
Muscles, power and determination were the necessary ingredients to succeed in Hedland's popular Australia Day truck-pull contest.
Five teams took part in this year's competition, with rivalries flaring up between the two from Fortescue Metals Group.
Last year's winners, the TPI Rope Ninjas, set the bar high with a cracking first pull of 11.84 seconds.
Rival FMG team Roped In weren't to be outdone with a time of 12 seconds fault, but no one could catch the TPI Rope Ninjas' pace, with the eight men crowned the quickest tuggers for the second year running.
Meanwhile, with a time of 13.49, the Brookdale team may not have been the fastest overall, but took away the price for the mixed category.
TPI Rope Ninjas captain Mooky Van Rysinge said the railyard workers, who were decked out in high-visibility clothing and steel-capped boots, had come straight from site to the competition.
He said the team wanted to make sure it was on hand to defend its 2014 title and ensure it still had bragging rights at FMG.
After the truck pull, attention turned to the thong throw on Kevin Scott Oval. Hedland youngster Chrissy Lewis won with a big toss of 31.8m.
Back at Wanangkura Stadium, a variety of meat, fruit and exotic pies were being judged based on their taste and appearance.
Mayor Kelly Howlett took out the title of best dessert pie with a mango creation, while Julie Rouse's Indian-inspired chicken and coriander masterpiece was the best pie with a cultural twist.
On the day, it is safe to say there was no man more excited about pies than Mick Fleay, who was crowned the 2015 meat pie champion.
Mr Fleay said he had worked for days leading up to the hotly- contested competition creating his beef and burgundy pastry delight.
"I have been the butt of numerous jokes, but winners are grinners," he said.
A super-competitive Mr Fleay only entered the world of pie making because his wife had entered a separate category. The electrical supervisor, who is also "renowned for first-class jerky", challenged the Town of Port Hedland to introduce a jerky-making contest in 2016 to increase male participation in Australia Day activities.
