It has been a favourite spot to buy fishing gear for more than 90 years.

But the last branch of a family firm, which grew to become Australia's biggest company of its kind, is about to close for good.

Liz Harvey is the owner of Bluewater Tackle World and a former WA deputy premier. The 57-year-old blames new fishing regulations for the closure.

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Liza and her late husband Hal once ran a five-outlet firm.

But Australia's oldest fishing shop will close the doors on its last outlet in the next few weeks, bringing to an end three generations of trade.

"It's very bittersweet," Harvey told 9News.com.au.

It was Hal's grandfather, Ted Harvey, who opened what became the first fishing shop in 1932 in the Perth beachside suburb of Scarborough.

He expanded his general store and newsagency to sell fishing gear.

The business grew to two shops and when he died his sons, Jack and Ross took them over.

Jack's became Jack Harvey's Fishing Tackle.

Hal Harvey then bought the firm from his father, Jack, and Liza got involved when she met her husband in 1992.

At one point they expanded to shops in Joondalup, Exmouth, Perth CBD, Mindarie, Morley and Myaree.

Sadly Hal, who was a major force in fishing in the state, died from cancer in 2014.

All the stores have gradually closed.

Myaree is the last shop still trading, and it's set to close next month.

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The shop's lease is up, but a big change to fishing rules off WA prompted Harvey to decide to wind up the firm.

The new regulations are designed to allow fisheries to recover from overfishing, but it bans recreational fishers from catching some of the most popular fish across much of the WA coast, such as demersal scalefish.

That will have a knock-on impact of tackle and bait sales.

"Looking down the barrel at another year lease with the uncertainty of the fishing closure I couldn't make any other decision," Harvey said.

"Fisheries have made a decision to cut the quotas for what people can pull out.

"We will effectively be closed from August all the way through to December with the exception of school holidays – and then there's a closure in February and March.

"We had a 35 per cent downturn in our turnover when the government announced the consultation, it was very significant.

"It was easy to make a decision not to renew the lease and move on.

"I think we'll be the first of many to go."

Not surprisingly the fishing scene has changed "significantly" over the years, with new technology taking the guessing out of the pastime.

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"Back in the early days not very many people had boats," Harvey said.

"Most of the fishing was beach fishing. We used to sell lots of beach rods, now that's a very small component.

"Echo sounders and GPS, they change it significantly.

"You can actually position yourself directly over fish."

However, Harvey said they've always kept relics in case anybody needs them and she'll soon gift those to another tackle company.

"The early fishing reels the parts would seize up. We've got spare parts of fishing rods that haven't been manufactured for 50 years. People will have 'granddad's reel' and they'll want to use it," Harvey, said.

She said attitudes towards women in the sport have also changed.

"People in the early days would ask me, 'Who caught the fish?'" she said.

"I've never had a photograph with a fish I didn't catch."

https://omny.fm/shows/boat-dive-and-fishing/liza-harvey-shares-the-ups-and-downs-of-91-years-i/embed

The biggest thing Harvey will miss is the 17 remaining staff and customers.

Chris Still, 60, is the longest-serving employee, working at the Scarborough store for 32 years.

"We've got a lot of very sad customers. I will miss them," she said.

Other Tackle World stores in Australia, which are independent but part of a national collective, are unaffected.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in WA said: "We acknowledge that the management changes will have an impact on all sectors but these changes are necessary to meet the 2030 recovery timeframe and ensure there are plenty of demersal fish for the future.

"The WA Government has been actively promoting alternative recreational fishing opportunities encouraging rec fishers to 'switching their fish' to other non-demersal species such as mackerels, tuna, herring, whiting, squid and rock lobsters.

Feedback from tackle stores in South Australia, where a total pink snapper ban is currently in place, indicates a far worse outcome for local businesses than Western Australia's balanced approach to restoring sustainability to fish stocks, which have been under severe threat for more than a decade."

Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain at ss****@******om.au

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zekenskyy says it is clear that Russia is suffering from "full-scale weakness" after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion.

Zelenskyy said in comments posted on his social media on Saturday that "anyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself."

He said that "for a long time, Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it".

READ MORE: Putin at risk of losing his iron grip on power

"Russia's weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness," Zelenskyy said.

"And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain and problems it will have for itself later. This is also obvious."

READ MORE: Wagner mercenary group closing in on Moscow

His comments came as Russia was plunged into a crisis and on the brink of civil war.

Vladimir Putin vowed harsh punishment for the organisers of the armed rebellion, which has been spearheaded by Prigozhin, who led his troops out of Ukraine and into a key southern city.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1672543858863767552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The Russian President denounced the uprising as "a stab in the back" in an address to the nation. It was the biggest threat to his leadership in over two decades in power.

Prigozhin has denied allegations that he is betraying his country and called his fighters patriots.

In an audio message on his Telegram channel, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said: "Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland".

He said his fighters would not turn themselves in at the request of Putin, as "we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy".

As the mercenary group advance on Moscow, the government has ordered mass events to be postponed until July 1 in Moscow, the region around the capital and "a number of other regions where additional anti-terrorist measures have been introduced".

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The family of a young woman allegedly run off the road and killed by her estranged partner has spoken for the first time since the tragedy.

It's been two weeks since 36-year-old Kristy Armstrong was killed no more than 400 metres from her home at Molong, near Orange in the Central West of New South Wales.

The mother-of-three was driving home around 3.40pm on June 9 when her car collided with a ute driven by her ex-husband Troy Armstrong.

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It's alleged the couple had an argument prior at the local school.

Today, the 35-year-old was charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder after two children were injured in the crash.

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Kristy's mother Donna Thornell says she's determined to fight for justice for her daughter.

"She didn't die for nothing, we're her voice now." Donna told 9News.

Court documents reveal the mother of three applied for an AVO against her ex in November but she wasn't granted an interim order until May. Less than a month later she was killed.

Kristy's mother Donna said she feels let down by the local domestic violence services her daughter had reached out to.

"There was so many failures, so many failures and we finally gave her the courage to reach out and she did." Donna said.

Kristy's father Peter Thornell adding: "Something needs to change because Kristy's death will not be for nothing."

A GoFund Me page has already raised thousands in donations for Kristy's family.

"The community have been amazing even beyond the community, I am astounded by the GoFundMe page because I know people are struggling and they're still giving." said Donna.

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Lotto Powerball goes unstruck – but did you win first division?

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that those on "path of treason" or armed rebellion will be "punished" after the head of the Wagner paramilitary group said his troops had taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities, plunging the country into crisis.

"Renegade actions against those fighting in the front is a stab in the back of our country," Putin said in an address to the nation, pledging a harsh response and punishment to those who plan "an armed rebellion."

Putin was speaking after militia chief and once close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin dramatically escalated his feud with Moscow's security establishment over their handling of the war in Ukraine.

READ MORE: Who is the mercenary leader calling for an armed rebellion in Russia?

Prigozhin, who heads private military group Wagner, pledged to blockade the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and move on to Moscow if Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's top general Valery Gerasimov did not meet with him in the city, where Russia's Southern Military District is headquartered.

In his remarks Putin described events in Rostov as an insurrection.

"The situation in Rostov-on-Don remains difficult during the armed uprising. In Rostov, the work of civil and military administration is basically blocked," Putin said.

Prigozhin's actions come after he accused Russian forces of striking a Wagner military camp and killing "a huge amount" of his fighters – a claim Russia's Ministry of Defense has denied and called an "informational provocation."

Prigozhin, whose forces have played a key role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, warned of retribution in a series of Telegram messages Friday and Saturday, where he announced his forces were moving into the Rostov region neighboring Russian-occupied Ukraine, ready to "destroy everything" in their way.

"There are 25,000 of us and we are going to find out why there is such chaos in the country.

"There are 25,000 of us waiting as a tactical reserve and a strategic reserve.

"It's the whole army and the whole country, everyone who wants to, join us. We must end this debacle," he said, in a radical escalation of a longstanding feud with Russia's military leaders.

Russia's domestic intelligence service, Federal Security Service (FSB), responded on Friday, urging Wagner fighters to detain their leader and opening a criminal case against the militia boss accusing him of "calling for an armed rebellion."

Authorities in the capital Moscow, meanwhile, tightened its security measures.

Russian intelligence official, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseev, posted a video about Prigozhin's actions that day, describing it as a coup attempt.

"Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority. This is a coup d'etat. There is no need to do this now, because there is no greater damage to the image of Russia and to its armed forces," he added.

Prigozhin denied his acts were a coup, saying instead they were a "march of justice" that would "not interfere with the troops in any way."

Russia on alert

Prigozhin has asserted that his forces would receive wide backing from Russian soldiers, claiming they were given a hero's welcome when they entered the Rostov region and that by Saturday morning 60-70 had already joined up with his fighters.

"The border guards came out to meet and hugged our fighters," he said.

Military activity became obvious in Rostov-on-don Saturday morning, when images began emerging on social media of military vehicles going through the streets of Rostov-on-don and helicopters ahead Saturday morning, though it was not clear whose control they were in.

Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev earlier Saturday asked residents to stay calm and not leave their homes in a Telegram post.

The Rostov region is about 1,000 kilometers from Moscow. Its capital Rostov-on-Don has a population of around 1 million.

In the first suggestion of open armed conflict between the two sides Saturday morning, Prigozhin on Saturday said his units were hit by a helicopter on a highway. It's unclear exactly where the units were.

"The Wagner units are intact, the helicopter is destroyed and is burning in the forest," Prigozhin said, adding "we will take it as a threat and destroy everything around us."

Prigozhin also claimed a second helicopter was downed after it attacked civilians.

CNN has been unable to verify any of Prigozhin's claims.

Prigozhin also said the alleged Wagner take-over of military facilities in Rostov would not impede military operations, saying his men are not stopping the officers from carrying out their duties.

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday on Telegram that "anti-terrorist" measures to strengthen security were being carried out in the capital as a result of "incoming information."

"Additional control on the roads has been introduced. Limitations on holding the public events are possible," he added.

Social media posts showed military vehicles were seen driving around the main streets of the Russian capital in the early hours of Saturday.

Ukraine invaded under 'false pretenses'

Wagner has played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and Prigozhin, so far, has faced few consequences for his public feud with Russia's military leadership – where he has accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov of not giving his forces ammunition.

Prigozhin and Wagner have played an unusual and informal role in Putin's Russia.

He has known the president since the 1990s; both are from St. Petersburg.

Prigozhin won valuable contracts as the Kremlin's caterer and later set up the Russian troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency, whose mission was to interfere in the US 2016 election.

Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin furthered his ongoing dispute with military leaders in a highly critical video interview where he said Moscow invaded Ukraine under false pretenses devised by the Russian Ministry of Defense, and that Russia is actually losing ground on the battlefield.

Prigozhin has previously defended the reasoning for the war but has been critical of how it has been handled by the Minister of Defense, Shoigu – with whom he is directly fighting with over military contracts.

Russia's top commander in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, on Friday urged Wagner mercenary fighters to "stop" and to "obey the will" of Putin in a Telegram video.

"You can't play into the hands of the enemy in this difficult time for the country," he said.

Meanwhile, Russians watching State news TV channel Russia 24 had their evening programming interrupted with a message from the Russian Ministry of Defense saying Prigozhin's claims "do not correspond to reality and are intended to misinform."

The fallout from his comments also inspired a wave of schadenfreude in Ukraine.

"Classical Russian poetry… Tumultuous times are coming," wrote Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine's presidential office, wrote on Twitter.

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