Return of crustacean hat means crab races can continue

Crabs will again be racing in Broome, Western Australia, this year, following the mysterious return of a metre-long crab hat central to the show. Owen Pointer - better known locally as Rabbit - hand-made the wide-brimmed crustacean hat 21 years ago when he started hosting weekly hermit crab races at a local pub.

But this year's racing season, due to start at the Easter long weekend, may not have gone ahead because of the apparent theft of the headwear. Last Thursday Mr Pointer went to the pub's storeroom to collect his unique headgear, but it had vanished. "I went to grab the hat to do some TLC on it before we start the season, and lo and behold it wasn't there," he said.



A devastated Mr Pointer circulated the story among locals, prompting an anonymous drop-off to the hotel it had been stolen from. "From what I've heard, a red car went by and hurled the hat out there, and it landed on the hedge," Mr Pointer said. "It was a drive-by return sort of thing. I guess it might of been done as a drunken lark, and they've realised the error of their ways and returned it back to us."

The theft of the hat had thrown this year's crab-racing season into doubt. But Mr Pointer said the hat would be back in action after getting a bit of care. "The crab races will definitely be on," he said. "I'm sure security will be stepped up after this." Crab racing is a popular sport in the Kimberley region, with hermit crabs taking to an indoor racetrack in Broome, and the larger, more aggressive mud crabs raced outdoors in the nearby town of Derby.