Lifeguards Blake Doering, Matthew Walker and Jasper Jordan were responsible for saving the life of a 17-year-old surfer at Thirroul last year. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
A 17-year-old boy who almost drowned surfing off Thirroul survived thanks to the quick actions of three Wollongong lifeguards.
On 11 January 2025, Wollongong City Council lifeguards Matthew Walker and Jasper Jordan were headed back up the beach towards Austinmer after a training session.
They were flagged down by members of the public who said there was a surfer in trouble and the young men immediately swung into action.
Matthew dove into the water while Jasper prepared essential lifesaving equipment including a first-aid kit, oxygen and a defibrillator.
He also alerted fellow lifeguard Blake Doering.
When Matthew pulled the boy out of the water he wasn’t moving or breathing.
“We snapped into action; we knew our role,” Jasper said.
“Blake communicated and delegated tasks; he jumped on the chest.
“Matthew and I applied the defibrillator and oxygen therapy. We were swapping in an out doing compressions.”
One shot from the defibrillator saw the boy’s chest begin to rise and fall on its own, much to the relief of his rescuers.
Paramedics arrived on the scene and were able to take over his care shortly afterwards.
The lifesavers were awarded NSW Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Rescuer for their efforts.
Jasper, who was in his first season as a Wollongong lifeguard at the time, said he was grateful the situation ended as well as it did.
“We learned invaluable lessons and became much better lifeguards from that experience,” he said.
“There’s the ability to remain calm under pressure and trust your training, because you learn it does work if you apply it properly.
“It showed us the importance of communicating well with each other; there were lots of little things we took away.”
For Matthew and Jasper it was their first experience resuscitating a patient.
Matthew said receiving the Cardiac Arrest Rescuer Award was deeply meaningful, not just for them as individuals but as representatives of the city’s paid lifeguards.
“A lot of the stuff we do on the beach goes unseen,” he said.
“It’s good to have the chance to show the community our work.”
Wollongong lifeguards conducted almost 500 rescues last swim season.
They are stationed across 17 patrolled beaches from Stanwell Park to Windang, marking their presence with the red and yellow flags Monday to Saturday.
Patrols will continue until 26 April.
Beachgoers are urged to stick between the red and yellow flags, so if they run into trouble someone like Matthew, Jasper or Blake isn’t far away.
