Five brave Albany residents took the plunge on Wednesday morning as Bunnings Albany hosted a dunk tank fundraiser for the Big Freeze, raising money and awareness for motor neurone disease research.

This year’s Big Freeze has become particularly poignant with the tragic loss of AFL great and MND advocate Neale Daniher on Monday, who died aged 65 after a long fight with the disease.

His diagnosis led him to dedicate the final years of his life to the FightMND Foundation and become the driving force behind the Big Freeze at the ‘G, which has so far raised more than $100m for MND research.

He was named Australian of the year for 2025 for his work advocating and raising funds to find a cure for the disease.

Wednesday’s dunk tank at Bunnings Albany raised $1894 for the FightMND Foundation.

Albany mayor Greg Stocks was one of the five dropped into the cold water of the dunk tank to help raise money and awareness for the cause — one he said he held close to his heart.

“It’s great. It takes on a bit more significance given the events of this week, and it’s a way to acknowledge the huge effort by Neale Daniher over 13 or 14 years to raise awareness,” he said.

“I’m really glad that the Albany community has got involved in this, and I’m very happy to be a part of it and have a bit of fun at the same time.

“I think the community awareness, particularly around Neale Daniher’s passing, is a great opportunity to acknowledge that effort of an Australian of the year, and demonstrate how closely held to the hearts of Australians he was.

“So for me it was a really important thing to be part of.

“There’s plenty of people lining up to throw a ball. We raised a bit of money and had a bit of fun, which is what it’s all about.”