WARNINGS about the pressing need to understand and appreciate the dangers of ocean beaches is the message emerging from a day of disaster on the Mornington Peninsula last week.
A 45-year-old woman drowned at Bushrangers Bay, near Cape Schanck and a man, 80, died while swimming in Port Phillip at Tootgarook.
The woman and five others were pulled from the water after being swept off rocks by waves at Bushrangers Bay about 3.30pm, Wednesday 13 January.
The drowned woman, Aida Hamed, was described as a “true angel” and much-loved staff member of the Lalor post office, by Australia Post.
Her group also included a 47-year-old woman, a 19-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl, as well as two men, aged 28 and 47, who bravely jumped in to rescue them. They, and the three women, were pulled from the water by the Police Air Wing, Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Air Ambulance as well as the Water Police and local police in an hour-long rescue effort.
Senior Constable Adam West, of police media, said the five survivors were taken to the Frankston and Rosebud hospitals for treatment. He said police would prepare a report for the coroner on the dead woman.
Bushrangers Bay, below Boneo Road, is unpatrolled by life savers and remote, making it hard for emergency services to access it if trouble occurs.
It is described by beachsafe.org.au as “moderately safe for swimming when waves are low, however stay on the bar and clear of the rocks, and rips against the rocks”.
Tourism Australia’s contentious reference to Bushrangers Bay as being “moderately safe when waves are low” in third party promotional material has been pulled since the tragedy. A spokesperson said the reference to cooling off in the water “at low tide” was in line with advice from Life Saving Victoria that Bushrangers Bay is “moderately safe when waves are low” but that the advice had since been removed.
The visitmorningtonpeninsula.org website says: “Swimming is not recommended at [Bushrangers Bay] as the beach is unpatrolled and often hazardous due to strong rips and large waves.”
Life Saving Victoria is urging all Victorians to be vigilant around water this New Year period, with the number of state recorded drownings at 38 since 1 July last year. Five – including the two last week – have been on the Mornington Peninsula.
This figure exceeds all drowning records for the period 1 July-28 December and surpasses last year’s total of 34 drownings.
This time last year a man also drowned while swimming with a friend at Bushrangers Bay and, in 2017, seven people were swept off rocks at the remote beach by a large wave, with a man later airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
