Daniel Goodall

Daniel Goodall came to the Lake King district in 1990, to work for Rob and Judy Hetherington. After some research, he bought 35 yabbie traps and a trailer and started a yabbie business on Hetherington’s farm. Over time, he expanded his operations taking on other farms in the district, paying royalties to these farm owners. He established a yabbie depot in 1992 to export live yabbies from Perth.

By 1993, Daniel had expanded his operations to include the 200 and 300 acre lakes in the Gairdner River and employed two people on a full time basis. In 1994, he took up land on the corner of Phil and Margaret Hetherington’s block.

Tragically, Daniel Goodall drowned, when his small fibreglass dinghy was overturned at one of the lakes known as Campbell’s Lake. This occurred sometime between 26 July 1995 and 28 July 1995.

Campbell’s Lake was located on “Coromandel Stud” Swamp Road at Gairdner about 33kilometres West North West of Bremer Bay.

After an excessive underwater search by divers from the Police Department, his body was recovered on the 28 July 1995. He was found approximately 60 metres from his upturned dinghy. He was 27 years old. He had been wearing rubber boots and a jacket and these were found nearby.

He would go out in his dinghy to retrieve his catch, putting the yabbies into plastic crates, before rebaiting the traps and returning them to the water. He would travel back and forth from his ute, putting the yabbies into a large esky until he had caught a suitable amount.

Following Daniel Goodall’s death, the Department of Transport conducted an examination on the dinghy and its motor, which revealed that the excessive heel of the boat could cause it to take in water, and there was insufficient buoyancy to keep it afloat in an upright position if swamped by water. The Department also found that the motor was too large for the dinghy, and the probability of the vessel tipping, or taking water was extremely high.

The water temperature of the water on the lake was, under normal conditions, cold enough to reduce the time someone could be exposed before hypothermia takes effect. The Magistrates Court recommendation resulted in the development of a Safety Code for the yabbie industry, recognising the various hazards and requirements of the industry.

It was also recommended that the Department of Fisheries and Department of Transport develop a joint strategy to advise anyone applying for a new licence of the safety requirements.

Finally, it was recommended that yabbie farmers intending to employ people, or allowing self-employed people to farm and harvest yabbies, develop contractual agreements that outline the necessary safety and health requirements.

Following Daniel Goodall’s death, his widow continued to run the business.