Lifesavers: A part of Australian living

By TERRY TOMALIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 29, 2000

MANLY BEACH, Australia -- William Gocher had had enough. It was hot, the sea looked inviting, and he wanted to swim.

Everybody in Sydney knew, however, that it was illegal to "bathe" during daylight. But damn the law, Gocher told his friends, and damn the local constabulary.

So on a February morning in 1902, Gocher announced to whomever cared to hear -- including the police -- that he would be entering the water at noon. And thus began the Australians' national love affair with the beach.

It didn't take long, however, for the Aussies to discover that the ocean was a dangerous place. There were sharks, rip currents and waves that could snap a man's spine like a twig.

So four years after Gocher's historic swim, a group of men formed the world's first surf lifesaving club, on nearby Bondi Beach, starting a tradition.

Unlike the United States, Australia uses a system that employs professional and volunteer lifeguards.

"We work hand in hand," said Lawrie Williams, who oversees the professional lifeguard crew at Bondi, which easily could be the busiest beach in the world. "At the peak of the summer we can get 60,000 people moved through this beach on a single day. It is quite a challenge to make sure everybody stays safe."

In the early days, a call for distress was answered by men on the beach forming a human chain. Later, belts and rescue reels helped bring in troubled swimmers.

On Feb. 6, 1938, a day remembered as "Black Sunday," a freak series of waves hammered Bondi Beach. Before the day was over, lifeguards had rescued more than 300 people, many of whom were unconscious.

"The bulk of our time is spent rescuing people who get caught in the rip currents," Williams said. "But today we have paddleboards and Jet Skis to assist us."

Sharks are still a reality, but there hasn't been a fatality on Bondi since 1937. That is because a shark net has been laid about 150 meters off the beach. The net runs perpendicular -- not parallel -- to the beach to keep the sharks from "cruising" for a meal.

"The net is moved periodically," Williams said. "Sharks do get caught up in it. Last year we removed a tiger, a whaler and a hammerhead, all large, dangerous sharks."

About a dozen times a year the Bondi lifeguards sound the alarm to clear the water after a swimmer or surfer has spotted a shark that has made its way through the system of nets.

"We'll head out on the Jet Ski and chase it away," Williams said. "But sharks really aren't a big problem."

On weekends and holidays, the professional Bondi guards are joined by their volunteer counterparts. Surf lifesaving clubs in Australia operate as quasi-athletic clubs. Members swim, paddle, row and surf together with the goal of entering the many lifeguard competitions.

"But in order to compete, you have to put a certain number of hours on the beach," said Bruce Hopkins, a professional lifeguard who also competes in surf ski events. "It is a way to stay in shape and be a service to the community."

Hopkins, like many Australians, started off in surf lifesaving as a "nipper," or junior member of a club. Today Australia has about 90,000 volunteer lifeguards (one third of whom are women) and 30,000 nippers.

So what does it take to be a good lifeguard? Excellent water skills, a knack for public relations and, of course, a selfless determination to serve your fellow man.

Williams cited one incident more than a decade ago involving a friend and colleague named Alan Mulroy.

"The waves were big, 10 to 15 feet, and a surfer got in trouble about 500 meters offshore and was getting sucked out to sea," Williams recalled.

A lifeguard tried to reach the frantic man on a paddleboard but couldn't make it out through the monster waves.

"So Alan took it upon himself to swim out and bring the man in using nothing but a rescue tube," Williams said.

Mulroy powered his way through the waves and brought the stricken man back to the beach. For his efforts, the Governor General of Australia awarded Mulroy a medal for bravery, the nation's highest civilian honor.

"There are a lot of guys who work out here who don't look the part," Williams said. "But they are great lifeguards nonetheless because they have got what it takes in the heart."

On The Wire