1 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 2 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: show that pays tribute to people of the past by 3 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: sharing their stories. Today I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: looking at the largest surf rescue operation in Australian history, 5 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: a day remembered by locals as Black Sunday. The day 6 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: was February sixth, nineteen thirty eight. Three massive waves created 7 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: chaos on Australia's Bondai Beach. The wave cycle's powerful backwash 8 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: dragged roughly two hundred and fifty people out to sea, 9 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 1: but thanks to the rapid response of a local life 10 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: saving club, all but five of the panicked swimmers were saved. 11 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: The early months of nineteen thirty eight were a busy 12 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: time in Sydney, Australia. It was the one hundred and 13 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary of the city's founding, and the month's long 14 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: celebrations drew visitors from all over the country. One of 15 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: the most popular spots for tourists and locals alike was 16 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: nearby Bondai Beach, about seven kilometers or four miles east 17 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: of downtown Sydney. Its white sands and clear waters always 18 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: attracted large crowds on the weekends, but on February sixth, 19 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: the crowd grew much larger than usual. The city had 20 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: just kicked off a week long international cricket tournament, and 21 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: its temperatures rose. Many fans headed straight to Bondai to 22 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: cool off. Once there, they mingled with the usual weekend 23 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: crowd of sun bathers and surfers, and by early afternoon 24 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: there were more than thirty five thousand people clogging the beach. 25 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: The area was so congested that members of the Bondai 26 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: surf Bathers Life Saving Club wondered if there would even 27 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: be room enough to hold their weekly competition. There had 28 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: been heavy seas all that morning, but the waves eventually calmed, 29 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: breaking evenly about one hundred feet from the shoreline. At 30 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: around three pm, sixty or so of the club members 31 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: stood around watching the water, waiting for the competition to begin. Then, 32 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: out of nowhere, three enormous waves smashed into the shore 33 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: in such quick succession that the water was unable to recede. 34 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: The men, women, and children in the water were pummeled 35 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: by the powerful waves, and when there was finally a 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: lull after the third waves struck, the combined backwash of 37 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: the cycle exerted tremendous force. Hundreds of day's swimmers were 38 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: suddenly swept into a deep channel and then pushed down 39 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: into the open water. There was a moment of stunned 40 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: silence on the beach, but then the life savers of 41 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: the surf club sprang into action. Bondai's chief beach inspector, 42 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: Tom Meager, later recounted the tough fight they had ahead 43 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: of them, saying, quote, fortunately none of the swimmers were 44 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: more than about seventy or eighty yards from the shore, 45 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: but to get about two hundred and fifty people clawing 46 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: and grabbing an indescribable panic out of the surf was 47 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: a tall order, one that had not previously been attempted. 48 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: The first line of defense that day was a series 49 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: of seven surf reels, a piece of life saving equipment 50 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: pioneered by Sydney's surf clubs. Each reel spun out a 51 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: line that could be attached to a special belt worn 52 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: by a life saver or beltman. Once affixed, the line 53 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: could then be taken out to people in trouble, providing 54 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: multiple swimmers with something to hold on too. Unfortunately, the 55 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: water was so full of distressed bathers that the beltmen 56 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: were often overwhelmed by those in need of assistance, with 57 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: as many as twenty swimmers clinging to their ropes. Several 58 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: of the beltmen nearly drowned as they were pulled on 59 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: by the very people they were trying to save. Some 60 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: life savers even reported having to punch their way through 61 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: a wall of panicked swimmers in order to reach those 62 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: further out who were in even more danger. As the 63 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 1: beltman and real operators struggled to make headway, other club 64 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: members and bystanders sought to assist however they could. Some 65 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: men took to the water with surfboards, skis, or rubber rafts, 66 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: while others swam out with nothing but their safety training 67 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: to help them. Lifesaver Carl Jeppison was one of the 68 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: latter few. He reportedly dove into the surf to rescue 69 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: six people without the aid of a surf reel or 70 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: any other equipment. It took roughly half an hour to 71 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: clear the water completely, and by the end the beach 72 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: looked like a battlefield. At one point, about thirty five 73 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: people were strewn unconscious on the sand as their rescuers 74 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: worked frantically to revive them. One of the people aiding 75 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: in those resuscitatestions was an American tourist named doctor Marshall Dyer. 76 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: Thanks to the quick work of he and dozens of others, 77 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: all the unconscious patients were successfully revived. Dyer later commended 78 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: the Surf Club for its swift response, saying quote, I 79 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,160 Speaker 1: have never seen, nor expect to see again, such a 80 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: magnificent achievement is that of your life savers. It is 81 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: the most incredible work of love in the world. In total, 82 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: approximately two hundred and fifty swimmers had been rescued during 83 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: that short chaotic span, one hundred and fifty of whom 84 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: were completely unharmed. The vast majority of the others recovered quickly, 85 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: but there were five people who drowned. Their names were 86 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: Bernard F. Byrne, Ronald D. McGregor, Leslie R. Potter, Michael 87 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: Taylor Kennedy, and Charles sweet Sour, a German born chef 88 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: from East Sidney who died while saving a young girl. 89 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: Given the scope of the emergency, it's a testament to 90 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: the skill of the rescuers that the death toll was 91 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: as low as it was. For its part, The Bondai 92 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: surf Bathers Life Saving Club tried not to single out 93 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: individual heroes, maintaining instead that quote everyone did his job. 94 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: The Surf Life Saving Association of Australia honored that stance 95 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: by recognizing the entire club with a special Meritorious award. 96 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: As for what caused the disaster in the first place, 97 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: experts now believe it was the work of a rip current, 98 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: a powerful, narrow channel of fast moving water. More specifically, 99 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: the trouble at Bondai was likely an example of a 100 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: flash rip, the most dangerous and least predictable kind of 101 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: rip there is. A flash rip can be brought on 102 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: by a sudden change in the water or tide, and 103 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: can move its speeds of up to eight feet per second, 104 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: faster than an Olympic swimmer. Today, rip currents, including flash rip, 105 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: remain a constant threat on Bondai Beach. When one occurs, 106 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: it's tempting to try to fight the rip by swimming 107 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: straight toward shore, but since the water is moving much 108 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: faster than a human can swim, this only increases your 109 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: risk of drowning due to fatigue. A much sounder strategy 110 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: is to swim parallel to the shore until you've escaped 111 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: the current, and then make your way back at an angle. 112 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: Fondaye's prestigious life saving clubs will still be there if 113 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: you need them, but if you can save yourself instead, 114 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: I'm sure they'd appreciate the break. I'm Gabe Lucier and 115 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 116 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up 117 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 118 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show. You can also rate 119 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or you can 120 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: get in touch directly by writing to This Day at 121 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mean for producing the show, 122 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 123 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class.