Alexandra Ching, a lifelong local of Bondi, has always considered the renowned coast as her personal space. On a recent weekend night, she, similar to other local residents, heard cracking sounds reverberating around the suburb.
“That was the initial assumption, but I considered it was still too bright and there was nothing visible,” Ching recounts. She left her residence, she saw people “flooding up Bondi Road”. The faces on display signaled something was wrong.
While standing on the avenue, speaking to a duo who had rushed up the slope soaked, she became aware of someone approaching from behind. This turned out to be a rescuer, sprinting towards Bondi unshod from the adjacent Tamarama beach – a distance of 1.5km – while holding a defibrillator.
“I heard someone say ‘excuse me’, and when I spun around I just saw this blur of blue,” she recounts. “He was zooming past. It was just him running in the direction that the crowd was trying to escape from, and hauling that large equipment and without footwear … He was sprinting at something that certainly every part of you would instruct you to go in the reverse way.
“Just no hesitation, but just completely pedal to the metal sprinting.”
The photo Ching captured of the rescuer, since identified as Jackson Doolan, quickly spread as one of many instances of heroism in the aftermath of the terror attack.
Andy Reid, another lifeguard, says that Doolan, known as “Jacko”, ran from Tamarama beach to support the remaining crew at Bondi, as well as to help surf lifesavers, law enforcement and medical teams attending to numerous those hurt.
Doolan’s account was part of a broader narrative to come out of the local area, with the patrol base beside the site of the incident becoming a makeshift treatment center. Accounts show that colleagues were also seen taking action, such as entering the surf to save people who were struggling.
Following the tragedy, messages of gratitude circulated widely. An online statement shared thanks for the individuals who exhibited that “kindness will always triumph over darkness”.
The squad of beach patrol later shared a statement, saying they were “processing what transpired”.
“We are grateful all for your kind sentiments and support. We are overwhelmed by the compassion for our responders,” the group wrote. “When ready, we will tell our tales in the hope that it helps those involved.”
Waverley council, the governing body that employs many permanent beach safety officers, stated that the staff rose to the occasion from the moment the incident started right into late that night.
“People have shared so many powerful accounts, but the viral image of Jackson Doolan, racing from Tamarama to Bondi with a AED so he could help preserve life is incredible,” stated a local official.
“The team demonstrate altruism every day in ensuring our internationally renowned coastlines protected for the public, but what we saw on that evening should be highly praised.
“While we mourn and process the atrocity of this brutal and barbaric tragedy, I think it is vital that we consider just how much light we have witnessed in the presence of such evil.”
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