While Sunbathers Fled Attack, Widely-Shared Photo Depicts Beach Patrol Running ‘All Out’ In the Direction of the Site.

Alexandra Ching, someone who has spent her entire life as resident of Bondi, describes the iconic beach as her own backyard. On that fateful weekend night, she, similar to other others in the area, detected cracking sounds reverberating through the neighbourhood.

“Everyone did, but I considered it was still too bright and there was nothing visible,” she explains. She left her residence, she saw people “flooding up Bondi Road”. The faces she saw made it clear something was wrong.

Positioned on the road, talking to a duo who had run up the incline in their swimwear, she heard someone coming up at her rear. The person was a lifeguard, sprinting to Bondi barefoot from the neighbouring Tamarama beach – about 1.5km – while carrying a defibrillator.

“I noticed a person utter ‘excuse me’, and as I turned I only caught a glimpse of this flash of blue,” Ching describes. “He was just flying past. He was the only one moving in the opposite way that all the others was trying to flee, while holding that big kit and without footwear … He’s running at something that certainly every instinct would signal you to move in the other direction.

“Without a second thought, but just completely maximum effort racing.”

A Powerful Moment of Courage In the Wake of Chaos

The photo taken by Ching of the rescuer, since identified as Jackson Doolan, quickly spread as a prime example of moments of valour in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Andy Reid, a second lifeguard, says that Doolan, referred to as “Jacko”, hurried from Tamarama beach to back up the remaining crew at Bondi, as well as to help surf lifesavers, officers and ambulance crews caring for many those hurt.

Local Outpouring and Solidarity

Doolan’s story was a single example among several to come out of the local area, with the beach facility next to the location of the violence becoming a makeshift hospital. It was shared that other team members were also seen helping out, for instance rushing into the water to save people needing help.

In the days after the tragedy, messages of support were shared. An online statement expressed appreciation for the responders who demonstrated that “compassion will always conquer evil”.

The team of beach patrol published a statement, saying they were “coming to terms with what occurred”.

“Thank you all for your kind sentiments and encouragement. We are overwhelmed by the kindness directed at our responders,” the organization commented. “When ready, we will tell our tales in the hope that it supports those affected.”

Official Commendation

Waverley council, the local authority that hires many permanent lifeguards, said that the team performed exceptionally from the instant the violence started through to late that nighttime.

“There have been so many moving accounts, but the popular photo of Jackson Doolan, sprinting from Tamarama to Bondi with a medical device so he could help preserve life is incredible,” stated a mayor.

“Our lifeguards demonstrate selflessness every day in maintaining the safety of our internationally renowned shores secure for surfers and swimmers, but what we witnessed on Sunday should be highly praised.

“During this time of sorrow and process the atrocity of this heinous act of violence, I think it is crucial that we reflect on just how much good we have witnessed in the presence of such darkness.”