While Beachgoers Fled Violence, Popular Photo Depicts Lifeguard Running ‘Full Speed’ To the Location.
Alexandra Ching, a lifelong local of Bondi, views the iconic shoreline as her back yard. On that fateful Sunday evening, she, along with numerous local residents, detected pops echoing around the suburb.
“Everyone did, but I thought it was daylight and no one could see them,” she explains. She left her residence, she witnessed people “pouring up Bondi Road”. The faces she saw told her something was wrong.
While standing on the avenue, speaking to a pair who had rushed up the slope in their swimwear, she heard someone moving up from behind. This turned out to be a beach patrol officer, sprinting to Bondi barefoot from the nearby Tamarama beach – roughly 1.5km – while transporting a defibrillator.
“I caught a voice saying ‘excuse me’, and turning my head I spotted this blur of blue,” she recounts. “He was zooming past. He was the only one running in the path that the crowd was trying to get away from, while holding that big kit and without footwear … He moved towards something that certainly every fibre in your being would instruct you to run in the opposite direction.
“Absolutely no pause, but just fully full throttle sprinting.”
A Powerful Moment of Courage During Chaos
The photo taken by Ching of the rescuer, later named as Jackson Doolan, was widely shared as one of many instances of valour in the wake of the tragic event.
Andy Reid, a fellow lifeguard, says that Doolan, referred to as “Jacko”, hurried from Tamarama beach to assist the remaining crew at Bondi, as well as to help surf lifesavers, officers and medical teams attending to many those hurt.
Collective Reaction and Assistance
Doolan’s actions was part of a broader narrative to be shared by the community, with the beach facility adjacent to the location of the attack becoming a impromptu hospital. Accounts show that colleagues were also seen responding bravely, such as entering the ocean to save people needing help.
In the days after the events, comments of gratitude were shared. An online statement conveyed appreciation for the lifeguards who exhibited that “goodness will always overcome hatred”.
The team of lifeguards published a message, explaining they were “coming to terms with what occurred”.
“Our thanks go out to all for your supportive sentiments and encouragement. We are deeply moved by the care for our personnel,” the group commented. “When ready, we will share our stories in the aim that it supports those involved.”
Local Government Praise
Waverley council, the administrative organization that oversees many permanent lifeguards, remarked that the staff rose to the occasion from the second the incident began right into late that night.
“We have heard so many emotional accounts, but the widely-circulated photo of Jackson Doolan, racing from Tamarama to Bondi with a AED so he could help preserve life is extraordinary,” stated a mayor.
“Our lifeguards demonstrate selflessness every day in ensuring our iconic beaches secure for visitors, but what we saw on that day should be commended.
“While we mourn and come to terms with the atrocity of this heinous terrorist attack, I think it is crucial that we focus on just how much light we have witnessed in the presence of such darkness.”