Alone Australia season three winner sets massive show record to claim whopping $250,000 prize money
In a true testament to grit and survival, professional trapper Shay Williamson has been crowned the winner of Alone Australia season three – outlasting nine competitors to set a new record for the brutal reality show.
The 30-year-old New Zealand man braved the unforgiving wilds of Tasmania 's rugged West Coast Ranges for an astonishing 76 days, taking home the season's $250,000 prize.
Viewers were on the edge of their seats during Wednesday's nail-biting finale as Shay, who had endured over two and a half months in isolation, finally hit the ultimate jackpot.
After a gruelling period subsisting on a truly unique diet, he managed to bag a pademelon – a small marsupial – securing him a much-needed substantial feed and cementing his place as the ultimate survivor.
Shay's remarkable endurance was fuelled by an incredibly resourceful and unconventional menu.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
His impressive tally of provisions included 23 trout, 13 eels, two whitebait and freshwater shrimp, and a staggering 1100-plus worms.
Not to mention a brave foray into consuming grubs and moth pupae, which he valiantly attempted to make more appealing by dubbing them 'cheese fries.'
'I tasted hard times and joyful times as I clawed out the other side and figured out where I could fit in, sustainably live, even forever out there, if need be,' Shay said in a statement released by SBS on Thursday.
'I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to help my family in this way, doing what I love for the people I love.'
Shay's first meal upon returning to civilisation was 'KFC at the airport,' and he said strangers were smiling at him and giving him the 'thumbs up'.
His victory marks a new benchmark for Alone Australia, with the season delivering a ratings bonanza for the public service broadcaster.
More than 3.5million Australians tuned in to the finale, with 41 per cent watching via SBS On Demand.
This multi-platform success is proof Australian audiences have a real appetite for under- produced and genuinely unscripted reality TV, in addition to glossy formats like Married at First Sight.
In a heart-warming moment that had viewers reaching for the tissues, Shay was delivered the news of his win by his wife, Abby.
What Shay believed was a routine medical check-up in the rugged Tasmanian bush turned into the surprise of a lifetime.
He had vowed before the season began to last a staggering '300 days' in the wilderness if necessary to secure the win.
As Abby emerged, the shock on his face quickly turned to joyous realisation that he had outlasted all the other competitors.
Continuing in his statement, Shay revealed his lifelong connection to the land was his secret weapon.
'Living in the bush and off the land has been my life's passion since I was a kid,' he said.
'I built my life around the bush back home and became intimately connected to the land I come from, learning how our ancestors gathered food and lived in nature.'
He added, 'I got the opportunity out there to put all that to the test, in a completely foreign environment.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island star Anna McEvoy announces birth of first child with husband Michael Staples: 'He is our everything'
Anna McEvoy has announced the birth of her first child. The Love Island star, 33, and husband Michael Staples revealed back in November that they were to become parents for the first time. The couple took to their respective Instagram stories on Saturday to announce the good news. Anna and Michael both shared a simple clip that revealed they were now proud parents to a baby boy. 'Baby Staples and Anna are happy and healthy,' the simple post read. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'We adore our little man. He is our everything.' The couple stopped short of announcing their precious newborn's name or sharing photos of the little one. It comes after Anna shared a cute clip on Thursday, revealing that her son would be delivered by C-section. The video showed Anna and Michael beaming broadly and hugging close as the blonde beauty showed off her baby bump in a black sports bra. She then held her hand up to the camera and the scene then cut to the pair wearing hospital scrubs. Text on the clip revealed that their son arrived on the same day. 'We are meeting our son in 30 minutes,' the caption read. 'Who is he going to look like.' The post was met with a flurry of anticipation from friends and followers with Tammy Hembrow chiming in with: 'Ah how exciting.' Anna and Michael both shared a simple clip that revealed they were now proud parents to a baby boy Another follower offered: 'This makes me so emotional! Such a surreal feeling. Happy baby day.' A third summed up the sentiment of many with: 'Good luck guys, so excited for you. Watched your pregnancy journey from the beginning, so excited to meet the little guy.' Anna revealed in November last year that she and Michael were expecting. Clips saw the happy couple looking loved up as Anna flaunted her growing baby bump. The footage began with what appeared to be throwback footage of Anna and Michael as children, before it cut to Anna and Michael sitting in their car. 'The baby is ten weeks old and 3cms tall,' the podcast host said with a bright smile. Other clips in the montage also featured sneak peeks of the lovebirds attending doctor's appointments, including an ultrasound. In March, Anna revealed revealed the details of a shock health scare that sent her to hospital. Anna shared a video to Instagram while lying in a bed at Cairns Hospital and wrote: 'Our little guy was being a rebel and stopped moving in the last 48 hours. 'The midwife told us to go to Cairns Hospital for some monitoring. After an hour of monitoring they were happy with what they saw,' she continued. 'When we left, they said "I think you have a cheeky boy". We weren't surprised. 'Ironically, he started kicking and partying when we got back to Palm Cove. Officially in the third trimester!!' Anna and Michael were married at a glamorous ceremony in Greece in 2023. The couple opted to hold their ceremony in May at the upmarket Courti Estate, described as a 'Luxury Corfu Villa' with nine bedrooms for guests. The couple were pelted with petals after they said 'I do' as the bride carried a white rose bouquet. 'Our wedding day at The Courti Estate was magical,' Anna told the Herald Sun at the time.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Labor reveals plan to deliver 1.2million new homes
Breaking ground on delivering 1.2million homes starts by untangling the maze of bureaucratic approvals, the federal government says. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has signalled a second-term Labor administration will move quickly to boost construction. 'We've just been elected with a really clear mandate to improve our housing system in this country,' she told reporters on Saturday. 'We've got big reforms to implement, and not a day to waste in getting on with them.' The minister vowed to simplify local, state and federal planning regulations by leading a council of planning ministers. 'If we are going to address the housing needs of Australians, it is going to require the three levels of government to work together in new ways,' she said. She will work with the building sector to implement innovative technologies to move past time consuming and costly methods of construction. Her comments come after an interview with ABC on Friday where she said 'builders face a ridiculous thicket of red tape that is preventing them building the homes we need.' Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the cost of building a home had skyrocketed by 40 per cent over the past five years while construction times had ballooned by 80 per cent over the past decade. 'It is critical that we remove the red tape that is hampering our capacity to build homes,' she said. Ms Wawn was hopeful the ambitious goal of 1.2million homes coming onto the market would be achieved, but said the group's projections showed there could be a slight drop-off. She argued that along with the focus on reducing red tape, there was an urgent need to apprenticeships and fast-tracking migration for skilled people. 'For the first time, the federal government is leaning in and trying to ensure that there is a focused attention on housing,' she said. But opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said the government's plans were a 'joke' and described Labor as 'red tape champions.' 'Labor's signature housing policy, the Housing Australia Future Fund has built zero new homes in three years,' Senator Bragg said. 'Approvals are way down under their watch and their 1.2million new home target is a dead duck.' The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Australia on Tuesday to boost housing supply and address falling affordability. The OECD said easing zoning restrictions would strengthen competition and productivity, as well as raise housing investment to 'reverse the long-standing decline in housing affordability'.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Beware moving to the 'wrong' country in retirement... you could miss out on £70k in state pension
Choosing to retire to one of the 150-odd countries around the world where the state pension is 'frozen' could prove a £70,000 mistake, new research reveals. That is the vast sum you stand to lose if your state pension stays stuck at the current £230.25 a week, and misses out on the increases everyone else receives for the next 20 years. Many elderly expats live in a country where their state pensions remain at whatever amount they were set at when they moved - including popular destinations like Canada and Australia. Those people have lost out on an estimated £26,000 over the past 15 years, as attempts to persuade successive governments to unfreeze their state pensions have failed to date. Around 450,000 pensioners are presently affected, according to Interactive Investor, which looked back to work out what this has cost them, and ahead at the potential impact on people retiring abroad now. 'Many pensioners dream of spending their golden years overseas - whether it's for a warmer climate, an improved quality of life or to be closer to family and friends,' says Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at II. 'But while the lifestyle may be appealing, it's vital to consider how such a move could affect your state pension entitlement.' > Beware moving to a 'frozen' country: Scroll down to find a map and a full list Your browser does not support iframes. The Government has struck deals to uprate state pensions with some countries, including the US and all those in the EU, but left many others out in the cold. If you move to a frozen destination, II estimates you face a near £70,000 deficit over 20 years. That is based on a 3.7 per cent state pension rise from April 2026, and a fairly conservative assumption of only 2.5 per cent-a-year increases after that. The full new state pension is currently almost £12,000 a year, and the triple lock means it is increased every year by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5 per cent, according to the prevailing economic data each autumn. The Government has promised to stick to the triple lock for the whole of the current parliament, and it will be politically difficult for Labour or any other party to drop it at future elections. II factored in a 3.7 per cent state pension rise for next year because that is the Office for Budget Responsibility's current inflation forecast for September 2025, which is the decisive month. Its figures above show the impact of a frozen state pension over shorter timeframes too, with the loss of £433 over just one year. What is your dream retirement destination? Check your state pension rights before deciding if it's affordable Your browser does not support iframes. II also calculated the effect of a frozen state pension on someone who moved to an affected country in 2010. That was the year before the triple lock was introduced by the Coalition government in 2011/12, meaning they wouldn't have benefited from any uprating under the pledge. Those expats have received nearly £26,000 less than someone with a National Insurance record that also earned them a full basic rate state pension, but who stayed in the UK or moved to an unfrozen country like Spain in retirement. II calculated the 15-year figure based on the old full rate basic state pension, which was reformed in April 2016. This is currently around £9,200 a year - though people on the basic rate also get hefty top-ups, called S2P or Serps, if these were earned earlier in life. II also worked out the impact if you moved to a frozen country 10, 5 years or one year ago, but based those figures on the full rate new state pension for this period. Myron Jobson of II says: 'If you move to a country where the UK has no uprating agreement, like Australia or Canada, your state pension will be frozen at the level you first receive it. 'That means you won't benefit from the valuable triple lock increases that pensioners in the UK enjoy each year, and over time, that can seriously erode your spending power.' Therefore, Jobson says planning ahead is key, and you should check whether your chosen destination is affected (see below) and make financial decisions and arrangements with this in mind. 'Consider topping up any gaps in your national insurance record to maximise what you're entitled to,' he says. 'Deferring your state pension can boost the amount you get, though it won't help with uprating in frozen countries. 'Most importantly, building a strong private pension pot can help provide the financial cushion you'll need to maintain your standard of living abroad, regardless of state pension freezes. 'It is worth considering seeking advice from a financial adviser to fully understand the implications of retiring abroad and plan accordingly.' Last year, a This is Money reader asked whether the then very new Labour government would end the freeze on state pensions if you move to some countries. Well-connected pension industry expert Henry Tapper, chair of AgeWage, replied: 'I'm sorry but I can give you no expectation that the Labour Government will be any more generous on this matter than its predecessors. 'While no civil servant I spoke to ruled out the possibility of rules changing, no one would give you any hope and the Labour party manifesto is silent on this matter.' Tapper noted: 'If you return to the UK or go to live in a country where the UK does pay state pension increases to UK expats, you can have increases for the time you are resident at your new location.' Regarding the 70-year history of state pension uprating overseas, he said: 'Whether you get state pension increases (lately with the triple-lock) or not, depends on a tax-treaty lottery. Some countries, including the US and Switzerland have treaties, some don't.' Tapper quoted a Government response to a petition which put the cost of paying expat pension increases between 2023 and 2028 at over £4.5billion, and a research briefing to MPs which stated: 'The Government has no plans to change the policy on up-rating UK state pensions overseas; the policy is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years.' Will you get state pension rises if you retire abroad? Where are state pensions frozen? Whether an expat's pension is frozen or not depends entirely on where they move (Source: International Consortium of British Pensioners)
