Famous folk soak up sights,

It was no ordinary Tuesday in Rockingham last week as the coastal city turned into a hotspot for internationally renowned celebrity visitors.

Hundreds of people flocked to Rockingham Shopping Centre, where Australian music legend Jimmy Barnes was signing copies of his new biography, while British actor and director Martin Clunes checked out unique birdlife on Penguin Island.

The Doc Martin star was in WA promoting the premiere of his new series Islands of Australia, which went to air on Friday on Channel 7.

Clunes spent the day swimming with wild dolphins in Rockingham before heading to the islands, where he got up close with little penguins and a rare Australian sea lion colony.

Rockingham Wild Encounters director Aaron Heath hosted Clunes for the day and said he was excited to showcase the wildlife and pristine Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.

“We know Martin has a huge following in the UK, as well as Australia, so the potential exposure is great for WA,” he said.

Video content from Clunes’ visit will be circulated to the Tourism WA team in London for further promotion in the UK. While Clunes was busy taking to the water, almost 250 people lined up outside Rockingham Books to get their copies of autobiography Working Class Boy, signed by the lead singer of Cold Chisel.

Scottish-born Barnes was in town for one of six bookstore signings in WA, with publishing giant HarperCollins confirming the Rockingham event had the largest turnout.

Bookstore owner Jim Sewell said the in-store signing event made for a very busy, successful day.

“Mr Barnes was friendly and pleasant and had a great day chatting to everyone as he signed their books,” he said.

“Our store is relatively small compared with the other stops on his tour but we knew the people of Rockingham would be eager to see him, and the turnout was fantastic.

“The last time we had a signing this big was when Dr Harry was in town and that was over a decade ago.”