Book hails multicultural community

The multicultural town of Katanning has featured in a new book by a Perth-based author who wants to share more of the stories of refugees in WA and break down the negative stereotypes often connected with this issue.

Rosemary Sayer is a former journalist and public relations professional-turned author who found herself in the Great Southern town while researching for her third book.

Sayer said after writing two biographies on prominent businessmen, she wanted to write something she was more passionate about.

"And that was the stories of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia," she said.

"I was fairly disillusioned with a lot of the negative and dehumanising stories that were being presented when I started the book three years ago.

"I thought 'there has got to be some positive stories, why don't I try and look around WA and see what I can find?'."

Sayer set off on a journey to meet refugees who had come to Australia in the past 25 years. Her book, More to the Story: Conversations with Refugees, has stories of people from Burma, Afghanistan and South Sudan and three stories about place, one of those places being Katanning.

Katanning was suggested to her by a member of the Burmese-Australian Karen community.

"I never knew there was a big Karen population in Katanning," she said.

"I made a trip down to Katanning to meet with various people from the Shire, and volunteer groups and the more time I spent talking to people, the more I realised Katanning was this extraordinary example of a town in Australia where multicultural life was just happening and nobody was making a big deal about it."

"I wrote about a lot on the Karen people and then I was introduced to members of the Hazara community.

"I wrote a chapter on John Nazary, who is one of the senior people within the Hazara community in Katanning.

"I found these extraordinary stories that I just had to write about."

Sayer said the story of Katanning needed to be told as she believed the town was a model for other country towns that may be struggling with dwindling populations.