While Swimmers Ran From Danger, Popular Photo Captures Rescuer Dashing ‘All Out’ Towards the Scene.

Alexandra Ching, someone who has spent her entire life as local of Bondi, describes the renowned beach as her personal space. On that fateful weekend night, she, similar to other local residents, noticed loud noises ringing out across the community.

“Everyone did, but I thought it was daylight and you couldn't spot any lights,” she explains. She left her apartment, she witnessed people “streaming up Bondi Road”. The looks she saw made it clear something was wrong.

As she stood on the avenue, speaking to a pair who had run up the slope in their swimwear, she heard someone approaching behind her. It was a lifeguard, dashing in the direction of Bondi barefoot from the adjacent Tamarama beach – a distance of 1.5km – while carrying a medical device.

“I caught a voice saying ‘excuse me’, and turning my head I spotted this blur of blue,” Ching describes. “He was just flying past. It was just him heading in the opposite way that the crowd was trying to get away from, and hauling that big kit and without footwear … He’s running into something that certainly every fibre in your being would signal you to move in the other direction.

“Just no hesitation, but just fully pedal to the metal racing.”

A Symbol of Bravery During Crisis

The photo that Ching snapped of the lifeguard, later named as Jackson Doolan, quickly spread as one of many instances of courage in the wake of the terror attack.

Andy Reid, a second beach safety officer, explained that Doolan, known as “Jacko”, ran from Tamarama beach to support the other members at Bondi, as well as to work with surf lifesavers, law enforcement and paramedics caring for many the injured.

Local Response and Assistance

Doolan’s account was a single example among several to come out of the neighbourhood, with the lifeguard clubhouse beside the site of the attack becoming a impromptu treatment center. Accounts show that other team members were also seen responding bravely, for instance going into the ocean to save people who were struggling.

In the days after the attack, statements of gratitude were shared. One post conveyed thanks for the responders who exhibited that “goodness will always overcome hatred”.

The team of beach patrol later shared a communication, noting they were “processing what happened”.

“Thank you all for your thoughtful words and encouragement. We are deeply moved by the compassion for our responders,” the organization wrote. “Eventually, we will share our stories in the belief that it supports those impacted.”

Local Government Praise

Waverley council, the local authority that oversees many professional beach safety officers, remarked that the staff rose to the occasion from the instant the incident commenced until late that nighttime.

“There have been so many emotional accounts, but the widely-circulated photo of Jackson Doolan, racing from Tamarama to Bondi with a AED so he could help assist the injured is remarkable,” said a council representative.

“Our lifeguards exhibit dedication every day in keeping our world-famous shores protected for visitors, but what we witnessed on that day should be celebrated.

“While we mourn and come to terms with the horror of this heinous tragedy, I think it is crucial that we focus on just how much good we have observed in the presence of such evil.”