What’s Leavers like in 2023? A Perth nurse-to-be lifts the lid

Anyone with fond memories of a booze-soaked, lawless Leavers week in (let’s say) the 1990s and 2000s will be either impressed or horrified by the 2023 version.

The worst debauchery experienced by this year’s recruits so far is excessive sunbaking sessions resulting in some nasty burns, thanks to the unseasonal heatwave, says leaver Katie Milne.

Katie Milne and her friends are celebrating Leavers in Busselton.

Milne is one of a group of six girls staying in a villa at Busselton’s Amalfi Resort, with other girls from her school also staying at the same place.

“Two of the mums are also staying down here and are staying in case something bad happens, which I’m sure it won’t,” Milne said.

They expect their marks in mid-December, but Milne is sitting pretty with an early unconditional offer to study nursing at Notre Dame University.

And no matter what the future held, she said, all the girls were enjoying the sudden lifting of the ATAR stress that has marked the last few months.

Standard daily routine included rising at 10am or 10.30am, eating breakfast and cleaning up from the night before, then arriving at the beach around midday for a lazy, blistering afternoon.

Then it was time to get ready for The Zone.

The Zone, for the uninitiated who spent leavers rampaging unchecked through Rottnest, Margaret River or Dunsborough without an organised gathering in sight, is a place guaranteed to repel the dreaded Toolie.

“There are buses to The Zone, it’s like a massive party, or festival,” Milne said.

“You get a wristband and there are bumper cars and food trucks and all that kind of thing.

“There are police and a whole medical tent. It’s a pretty safe environment.

“I haven’t seen too many old men lurking around. Though there are people walking around handing out condoms.”

But be it 2003 or 2023, the aim remains the same: bond with your besties before the real world comes knocking.

“I just want to have fun with my friends, come out closer together, and have a good time before we all have to go out and get work,” Milne said.

Amen to that.

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