2023 Coastal Bravery Awards Ceremony

Mr Dent and off-duty Police Officer Hawke were at Coogee Beach when Mr Dent observed a male in deep water waving his arms and appearing to be in trouble. Entering the water, Mr Dent swam some distance to reach the man who was now face down. 

Struggling to keep him afloat, Mr Dent was joined by Mr Hawke, who assisted in pulling the man to the surface, and they commenced towing him towards the shore, where witnesses assisted in moving the man onto the beach, where CPR could commence.

Joined shortly after by St John Ambulance paramedics who assisted the CPR efforts, this continued for approximately 20 minutes more before the individual was transferred to the ambulance.

While tragically, the individual passed, Mr Dent and Mr Hawke were commended for their actions in going to the man’s aid, with little thought as to their own safety.

With an early morning swell drawing many surfers to Trigg, Simon Carey was amongst them that day, enjoying the waves before he suffered a brain aneurysm. 

With the conditions becoming a little too rough, Mr Leckey and his young daughter, at the beach for a swim, had retreated to the sand to play when he noticed a surfboard floating in the water. Upon further inspection, he saw Mr Carey’s body submerged under the waves. 

Without hesitation, Mr Leckey rushed into the surf to his aid, struggling to drag Mr Carey’s heavy body through the waves to shore. Managing to get him to vomit up water and breathing again, he remained with Mr Carey to ensure he stayed conscious until the ambulance arrived. 

Despite the rough conditions and not being a strong swimmer himself, Mr Leckey showed no hesitation in going to Mr Carey’s aid. Attending ambulance officers stated, that were it not for his quick actions, Mr Carey would likely not have made it to hospital alive.

In two dinghies when a nearby swimmer was attacked by a large shark at Port Beach in Fremantle, upon becoming aware of the situation, our four recipients immediately went to the victim’s aid, attempting to circle him to lend assistance and scare the shark away.

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Losing sight of the individual and the shark, and despite witnessing the horrific event, the young men’s primary concern remained to alert others to the danger.

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Showing extraordinary composure, they called the Police, alerted other beachgoers to the threat, and assisted in evacuating people from the water. The young men’s bravery in the face of this tragedy is truly to be commended.

Responding to a police call reporting what appeared to be a capsized boat with people clinging to it in Wilson Inlet, Officers Hartfield and Smith attended the location, where they spotted a vessel some six to seven hundred metres offshore. With no marine rescue services available to respond, Officers Hartfield and Smith found a homemade kayak submerged in the mud and, after digging it out, used it to row out to the overturned vessel, which had two men clinging to it with Penny the dog perched on top!

Having seen the activity from their home Mr Dunkerley and his young daughters Maya and Samara set out to assist in their small inflatable zodiac. 

The two male victims, one of whom had an injured shoulder, had been clinging to the boat for some 40 minutes and were extremely fatigued. Officer Smith, Mr Dunkerley and Maya entered the water to assist one of the victims struggling to stay afloat, while Officer Hartfield assisted the other victim, and Samara helped raft all of the boats together so they were stable. Able to drag one of the victims onboard to safety, they were having difficulty with the second.

At Samara’s suggestion, they returned to the house to retrieve a surfboard, which they brought back to the vessel and were able to safely transport everyone to shore.

Praised for their quick thinking and group effort, the individuals involved were all commended for their willingness to put themselves at risk to go to the aid of others.

Sergeant Matt Hartfield and First Class Constable Steve Smith were awarded the Silver Medallion for Bravery - Emergency Services Award, and Samara & Maya Dunkerley were awarded the Bronze Medallion for Courage - Youth Award, for their roles in the rescue,

Kayaking at Koombana Bay, Bunbury, Mr Boshoff observed a woman fall from her stand-up paddle board, losing it in the 2-meter swell. Nearly 1 kilometre offshore at this point, the woman was struggling in the swell and rough conditions and was being pushed toward the nearby rocky groyne. 

Observing her struggle and recognising she was in danger, Mr Boshoff went to her aid, paddling her some distance back to shore, battling the strong swell and wind that threatened to push them into the rocks.

Police who had been called to the scene and had to observe events from the shore noted that the rescue required significant physical exertion from Mr Boshoff, as he battled the conditions on a kayak not designed to carry two people.

Finishing up his surf at West Beach in Esperance, Mr Slee took one last look at the ocean, only to notice two young boys in trouble. Having slipped off a narrow stretch of reef, the boys had become caught in a strong rip. While one managed to make his way to shore, the other was wearing himself out trying to swim against the current. With his surfboard, Mr Slee headed straight back into the water, going to the aid of the young boy whom he helped onto his board, paddling him back into shore. 

Heading back up the steep stairs to the carpark, he was then alerted by friends to more people in danger. Two young girls were caught in a rip at the other end of the beach. Mr Slee headed straight back out into the water, on this occasion he was able to assist the girls by talking them through swimming around the rip and safely back into the shore. Shortly after these incidents, the beach was closed due to the hazardous conditions.

Mr Slee has been praised for his selfless actions which saw him act without hesitation to go to the aid of those in trouble.