Students from Dawul Remote Community School at the Warmun Pool

Water safety lesson for Dawul students at Warmun remote pool

Students from the Dawul Remote Community School in the Kimberley recently enjoyed learning about water safety at the Warmun Community Pool, a remote Aboriginal swimming pool managed by Royal Life Saving WA. 

Dawul School is located in the remote town of Doon Doon which is around 100km north of Warmun, half way between Warmun and Kununurra on the Great Northern Highway. School Principal Hannah, along with teachers Shanae and Tuck, visited the Warmun Pool with ten students on Wednesday 17th November to attend a water safety lesson delivered by pool manager Steve Waterman. 

“We talked about the different dangers around water and things that could be dangerous around the creek; the ‘Aqua Code’ and the importance of swimming with a mate or family member,” said Steve. “The lesson also covered three different types of rescues – Talk, Reach and Throw. With assistance from Principal Hannah and teachers Shanae and Tuck, we split into two groups and went through the various rescues.”

Talk rescues involve communicating with a person in the water to assist them to make their own way to safety by being talked through it. Reach rescues can be used when a person has fallen in near the edge or the rescuer is not a strong swimmer. The group practised this using pool noodles at the edge of the pool, before progressing to throw rescues using kickboards and rope.

“The kids had a great time and when the creek is flowing in Doon Doon I will hopefully be visiting them to conduct a River Ready course,” said Steve. “A big thanks to Hannah, Shanae and Tuck for all their help – it was a great day and I look forward to seeing them all next term.”

Water safety education is particularly important in regional and remote areas of Western Australia, where the rate of drowning is 2.3 times higher than in the metro area. The Kimberley region has the second highest drowning rate in the state. This particular session has been run as part of Royal Life Saving’s Respect The River program, which is funded by the Federal Government and aims to raise awareness of the manyhazards that underlie our rivers, lakes and streams.

Pools such as Warmun’s, which are part of the Royal Life Saving WA Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pool Project, are delivering a host of benefits to their surrounding communities. Learn more about the program at the link below.