Winston makes war with mental illness scourge

The eighth steer auctioned at the Perth Royal Show as a Black Dog Ride fundraiser was sold for $7000.

Winston the Steer, named after former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, has again been the project of Dardanup farmer Peter Milton.

Mr Milton has taken Winston on a tour of the South West to promote the Black Dog Ride’s mental health message.

Places visited included Iluka’s mine site and processing facility where work stopped for employees to discuss mental health over a barbecue.

“Mental health illness is a significant issue in our communities with statistics showing that one in five people in Australia will at some point in their life experience a mental health issue,” Iluka’s South West operations manager Garry Green said.

“Iluka is proud to be involved in the RU OK initiative to raise awareness with our employees and the community.”

Winston was sold to Harvey Beef at the Royal Show but his work is not yet complete, as Mr Milton will take him to schools to keep spreading the message.

“We’re finding if you can get to talk to people about mental illness, you can start to make progress,” Mr Milton said.

“We’re planning to go to as many schools as possible.”

Mr Milton said the money from Winston’s sale was “terrific”.