An Aussie town is scared of being wiped off the map – the shoreline shrank from 15m to 7m in just months… this is their desperate plea for help

Desperate locals say their town is crumbling into the ocean while the government does nothing – and it is now only metres away from being swept into the waves forever.

Lancelin, a popular holiday spot 125km north of Perth, has been slowly deteriorating for the last six years.

The shoreline was 15m away from the Lancelin Sands Hotel in March, but that distance has now shrunk to just seven metres after recent severe weather.

Pub owner Glen Trebilcock said he was over waiting for government assistance, with locals banding together to launch a GoFundMe and raise $150,000.

‘It’s ridiculous; anywhere else and no worries at all, it would have been rectified or dealt with a long time before now,’ he told Perth Now.

‘However, WA’s adventure playground has just been left to its own devices.

‘It’s definitely something you can’t ignore because further north, you’ve got the caravan park being affected.

‘You’ve got all these people that are looking at buying houses, you’ve got all these sort of single retirees that are saying, do we need to sell up now?’

The donations will be used to build a 100m seawall that will protect the pub, caravan park and dune system to the south.

More than $65,000 has been raised so far. 

The Shire of Gingin previously attempted a temporary fix in September 2025 by carrying out sand replenishment to the tune of $150,000.

Sand was also stockpiled to protect the coast.

Mr Trebilcock noticed it had been washed away six months later and tried to fix the problem by using a small front-end loader to shift sand and fortify the area.

A Shire of Gingin Council spokesman said that even if the GoFundMe raised enough money, approval was still likely needed from multiple government authorities.

‘In addition to the Shire, the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage have roles in assessing and endorsing coastal protection works on the coast,’ he said.

‘Whether individual buildings can be protected depends on site-specific engineering.

‘These matters require detailed technical assessment and are not matters that the Shire can determine in isolation.’

Time is against the locals, who fear that costs to save their town will blow out if they don’t take action now.

‘Engineers warn that once the dune is breached, any defence becomes harder, slower and far more expensive to build,’ the GoFundMe reads.

‘The alternative – “managed retreat” where the state eventually has to buy out and demolish properties – has been estimated at over $20million for a stretch like ours, plus the human cost of families losing their homes and businesses. 

‘For the residents of Lancelin, this is simply not an option.

‘We are not willing to gamble the town’s future on waiting to find out which way that goes. 

‘We’re acting now, ourselves, and asking our community – locals, visitors, anyone who has ever loved Lancelin and for future generations – to help us get ahead of it.

A Western Australian government spokesman said decisions are made after technical assessment, planning and approval processes.

‘In addition to the $150,000 emergency support provided in 2025, the state government continues to support the Shire of Gingin through the CoastWA program, which provides funding, coastal data, technical expertise, and planning support,’ he said. 

Daily Mail contacted Shire of Gingin Council mayor Linda Balcombe for comment.