ANNUAL BRAVERY AWARDS PRESENTATION
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Eight residents of South Australia will be presented with bravery awards of The Royal Humane Society of Australasia: on Tuesday 7 April 2009 at Government House, Adelaide at 11.00am |
The awards, one Silver Medal, two Bronze Medals and five Certificates of Merit will be presented by His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, AC, CSC, RANR, Governor of South Australia at the investiture of awards within the Order of Australia and the Society.
The awards recognize
Details of the rescues are attached.
Contact: Colin Bannister (Secretary) (03) 9650 3233
Or visit our Web Site: www.rhsa.org.au
(see “Press Releases”)
Note: The Royal Humane Society of Australasia, formed in 1874,
is concerned with giving public recognition to acts of bravery
by making awards to those who risk their own lives to save
the lives of others.
Over 7,808 awards have been made in the Society’s 134 years’ history.
THE ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY OF AUSTRALASIA
BRONZE MEDAL
SIMON DAVID JAMES, aged 16 years, of West Lakes Shore, SA
in going to the rescue of a man from drowning in the surf at Grange Beach, SA on 23 February 2007.
At about 8pm a man decided to go for a swim, walked to the end of the adjacent jetty, stripped to his shorts and dived over the railing. Unfortunately he clipped his knee, tumbled and struck his head on a cross member of the jetty as he hit the water. He surfaced, sought in vain for a ladder, started to swim for shore then blacked out.
Simon was in the clubhouse when a woman came in to report the incident. He ran down to the beach and saw the man in the water some 80m out from shore. Simon stripped to his shorts and swam out to the unconscious man and brought him back to the beach where successful resuscitation was effected.
The man is reported to be of heavy build, some 100kgs in weight. The surf conditions were poor, with a 1.5m swell, a choppy surface, strong winds and a strong current.
SILVER MEDAL
DAVID KEVIN WILLIAMS, aged 43 years, of Daracombe, SA, in going to the rescue of a man from his burning house at Hope Valley, SA on 29 April 2007.
At about 3.30pm a man was in his lounge room when a fire started in a wall air conditioner. His son tried unsuccessfully to extinguish it with a water spray and ran out to find the meter box to switch off the power, closing and inadvertently dead-locking the front door, then tried to re-enter.
Mr Williams was driving past when he saw flames coming from the air conditioner on the side of the house and learned that a man was still inside. He tried unsuccessfully to kick in the front door and then broke a front window, and climbed into the house.
Mr Williams crawled on hands and knees through the house to avoid the drifting smoke, not knowing which way to turn. Eventually he heard a human cry and in one of the rooms saw a man kneeling with his right arm on fire. Mr Williams went to the man and dragged him back out of the house through the window where other helped to remove him to safety.
Mr Williams was evacuated to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation as was the victim who regrettably succumbed to his injuries 12 days later.
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
PETER HUGHES, school bus driver, of Macclesfield, SA, in going to the rescue of a child in a run-away bus at Macclesfield on 17 August 1007.
At about 8.00am Mr Hughes had stopped his bus at Macclesfield Primary School to pick up and drop off schoolchildren and one child was left in his bus. He noticed that another bus, travelling in the same direction, was crowded and approached that bus to encourage some of the students thereon to board his bus.
As he went to the other bus, his bus, with the 7 years old girl on board, began to roll downhill towards the local creek. Mr Hughes saw his bus begin to move and ran to try and re-board it but was knocked down by the bus and was wedged between it and a parked car. Although slightly injured Mr Hughes continued to chase the bus without success while the bus continued to roll some 200m before coming to rest on the bank of the creek. Fortunately the child was unhurt.
BRONZE MEDAL
JOHN TIMOTHY BOWMAN, aged 54 years, of Moana, SA, and
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
ENRICO FERRI, aged 59 years, of Woodville South, SA, in going to the rescue of a family from the attack of a man with a knife at Willunga, SA on 20 January 2007.
The offender arrived at a home in High Street, Willunga. High Street was lined at the time with many spectators due to the “Tour Down Under” cycle race which was due to start at about that time. The offender stopped his car in the middle of High Street outside a house and ran towards the residents of the house with a 10-15 cm blade kitchen knife raised above his head in a threatening manner.
A woman ran to the offender’s car with the intention of moving it from the street so as not to impede the race competitors. The offender chased her with the knife and assaulted her by forcing her up against the car. Mr Bowman, intervened and began wrestling with the offender and was thrown to the ground several times during the struggle.
Mr Ferri, a spectator at the race, and carrying a pannier bag swung the pannier bag at the offender numerous times in an effort to disarm him.
Another spectator, Mr Brown, came to assist and approached the offender from behind and took hold of the offender’s left arm, being the arm holding the knife. The offender was eventually forced to the ground. Mr Brown received a cut to his thumb from the knife during the struggle but was able to remove the knife from the offender.
The offender was eventually disarmed and restrained.
(Unfortunately Mr Brown was unable to attend the investiture)
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
LYNTON PETER JOYCE, farmer, aged 41 years, of Wandearah, SA,
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
JAMES PETER DOLLING, farmer, aged 33 years, of Wokurna, SA, and;
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
ROGER NORMAN BURT, farmer, aged 35 years, of Crystal Brook, SA, in going to the rescue of the occupants of two crashed sinking boats in Fishermans Bay, SA on 16 April 2006.
At 6.50pm Messrs Joyce, Dolling and Burt were fishing from the beach when they heard a loud collision 500m out to sea. They immediately motored out in their small aluminium dinghy and found a boat, half submerged with three women inside who assured the men that they were unhurt.
The tide at the time was in-coming and strong. The sea was choppy with a strong westerly wind blowing. The area was in complete darkness.
The men heard other people nearby calling for help and motored 30-40m to locate another boat upside down in the water with people sitting on the hull and others in the water clinging to the boat. Mr Burt jumped into the water and helped a man with a broken leg, another man with chest pains and two children into the boat.
Messrs Joyce and Dolling then returned to the first damaged boat, leaving Mr Burt with other men clinging to the up-turned boat. They learned from the women that a 70 years old man was missing and they searched briefly and unsuccessfully for him and then returned to the women whose condition appeared to have deteriorated. Another boat arrived to help and Mr Joyce jumped into the water and held the two boats together so the women could be transferred to the other boat.
Messrs Joyce and Dolling returned to the boat ramp with the rescued women, searching for the missing man as they went, to learn later that he had been found, deceased.
Mr Burt remained with the other men clinging to the up-turned boat until another boat arrived and took them all to safety.