THE South West town of Harvey played host to what is expected to be listed as a world record auction last Friday night.
It was part of a charity event to raise much-needed funds for the farmers affected by January's devastating Waroona-Yarloop-Harvey bushfires.
A total of 155 people watched on as a single hay bale sold for a record $30,000 at auction.
It was one of the last to be baled by farmers Graham and Mia Rose as the fire bore down on their Myalup property.
The bale was purchased by the Western Meat Packers Group CEO Andrew Fuda on behalf of the company.
One of the event organisers, Landmark Waroona agent Richard Pollock, said he had the idea to auction the bale after Mr Rose sent him a photo of his hay baler as the fire loomed, with the caption "making hay while the smoke is around."
Mr Pollock said his initial thought was how lucky would the livestock be who got to eat this hay which had been smoke infused with the flavours of thousand year old jarrah, peppermint and red gum trees.
Fellow event organiser auctioneer Tiny Holly, Have Gavel Will Travel, said he received a call around the same time from the West Coast Eagles, offering assistance in the wake of the fires.
The duo then set about making the event come together.
Eagles players Sam Butler, Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey, Will Schofield and Mitchell Brown all offered their services for the night, attracting businessmen and South West locals to the event which raised in excess of $155,000.
Both Mr Pollock and Mr Holly said they initially hoped to raise about $10,000 but were overwhelmed by the amount of support and money raised.
Mr Holly said he was blown away by the generosity of the crowd, which included some locals who had been badly affected by the fires.
"We are very happy that history has been made, with the hay bale reaching a world record price of $30,000," Mr Holly said.
He said the paperwork was currently being done to ensure the sale would be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Other items up for auction included memorabilia such as Nic Naitanui's autographed shoes and a photo of Bart Cummings Melbourne Cup winners, autographed by the jockeys.
The organisers thanked the major sponsors including Western Meat Packers Group, Landmark, Amana Inn, Waroona Rural, West Coast Eagles, Café 140, the Rose Family, Stoney Pastoral Company and Wedderburn Transport.
"Without these invaluable supporters, the event would not have been such a huge success," Mr Holly said.
All funds raided on the night will go to the local Lions and Rotary Clubs, which will distribute the funds to farmers in need.
