As Swimmers Ran From Attack, Widely-Shared Image Depicts Lifeguard Dashing ‘Full Speed’ To the Location.

Alexandra Ching, a permanent inhabitant of Bondi, describes the famous coast as her own backyard. On a recent Sunday evening, she, like many neighbors, noticed pops echoing through the neighbourhood.

“Everyone did, but I thought it was still too bright and no one could see them,” she explains. Stepping out of her residence, she observed people “streaming up Bondi Road”. The faces she saw told her trouble had occurred.

As she stood on the avenue, speaking to a couple who had rushed up the slope soaked, she heard someone coming up from behind. This turned out to be a rescuer, dashing towards Bondi unshod from the nearby Tamarama beach – a distance of 1.5km – while carrying a defibrillator.

“I heard someone say ‘excuse me’, and turning my head I spotted this flash of blue,” she recounts. “He was just flying past. He was the only one running in the path that all the others was trying to flee, while holding that large equipment and barefoot … He moved into something that undoubtedly every instinct would instruct you to move in the other direction.

“Without a second thought, but just fully full throttle running.”

A Powerful Moment of Heroism In the Wake of Tragedy

The image Ching captured of the lifeguard, later named as Jackson Doolan, quickly spread as one of many moments of heroism in the aftermath of the tragic event.

Andy Reid, a fellow beach safety officer, explained that Doolan, referred to as “Jacko”, sprinted from Tamarama beach to assist the rest of his team at Bondi, as well as to work with surf lifesavers, police and medical teams treating numerous victims.

Community Outpouring and Solidarity

Doolan’s actions was a single example among several to come out of the neighbourhood, with the lifeguard clubhouse beside the location of the attack becoming a temporary treatment center. Accounts show that fellow lifeguards were also seen helping out, for instance going into the ocean to assist people in distress.

In the days after the attack, comments of appreciation circulated widely. One post expressed gratitude for the lifeguards who demonstrated that “kindness will always conquer hatred”.

The squad of rescuers later shared a message, explaining they were “still trying to comprehend what transpired”.

“Thank you all for your supportive sentiments and support. We are overwhelmed by the care shown towards our responders,” the group wrote. “In time, we will share our stories in the aim that it supports those impacted.”

Official Recognition

Waverley council, the governing body that oversees many full-time beach safety officers, remarked that the team performed exceptionally from the instant the violence started through to late that night.

“We have heard so many powerful accounts, but the widely-circulated image of Jackson Doolan, racing from Tamarama to Bondi with a AED so he could help assist the injured is extraordinary,” commented a mayor.

“Our lifeguards show dedication every day in ensuring our world-famous beaches secure for visitors, but what we witnessed on that day should be highly praised.

“While we mourn and come to terms with the terror of this heinous tragedy, I think it is important that we reflect on just how much good we have witnessed in the midst of such darkness.”