Brave at heart recognised at 2023 Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards

On Friday 6 October, Royal Life Saving WA hosted its annual Bravery Awards ceremony at the State Reception Centre in Kings Park.

50 heroic Western Australians were recognised for their outstanding efforts in providing emergency care in rescue and resuscitation. The proceedings were attended by His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM, Governor of Western Australia and his wife Mrs Darrilyn Dawson, who are joint patrons of Royal Life Saving WA.

Over the past year, 24 incredible acts of bravery occurred in incidents across WA in both community and professional settings, with Royal Life Saving WA CEO Peter Leaversuch commending the actions of those involved.

"These individuals are an excellent example to all Western Australians. What is striking is that these emergencies occurred at home, at work and at leisure. Some in the city and some in the country where help is not so often readily at hand. The reality is emergency situations can occur to anyone, at any time and any place," said Mr Leaversuch.

With summer just around the corner, the amount of people in and around the water is set to significantly increase, creating an increased risk of aquatic emergencies.

Despite the recent 2023 National Drowning Report showing a 14% reduction in drowning-related deaths for WA, Royal Life Saving is urging everyone not to be complacent and to think about how you might, in your own way, contribute to drowning prevention and saving lives.

Although, we are extremely fortunate to have so many brave community members and professionals willing to risk their lives to save others.


This year's award recipients included:

• Eli and Ethan Bellegarde (Gold Star Bravery Award): An overnight stay at their grandparent’s house turned into an emergency for 13-year-old Eli and 11-year-old Ethan when their grandmother Robyn slipped on a wet surface at the top of a staircase, causing her to fall down the stairs. Robyn hit her head and sustained a severe leg wound. Under their grandmother's direction, they found the first aid kit, wrapping her leg before she was taken to hospital going into immediate surgery. Robyn made a full recovery thanks to the quick actions of her young grandsons.
• Connor Butson (Gold Star Bravery Award): While at home in Warnbro, 16-year-old Connor rescued his one-year-old brother Silas after he managed to get outside the house unnoticed by the family and fell into the backyard swimming pool. Connor went looking and immediately saw that a baby gate and door had accidentally been left open, so went straight outside to find Silas floating in the backyard pool. Silas was floppy and blue by the time Connor pulled him from the pool and rushed him to their dad for help. He was treated by paramedics at the home and went on to make a full recovery. Connor’s quick response and vigilance resulted in him saving his brother’s life.  
• Millie Dickenson (Gold Star Bravery Award): While completing a teaching placement Millie attended a week-long outdoor education camp at Rottnest Island with students. While on a ride around the island, a teacher experienced a medical episode which led to him being taken to the Settlement in an ambulance and leaving Millie responsible for 24 shaken students. On their way back, one of the students fell off her bike and started bleeding severely from injuries to her knee, hand, shoulder and face. Millie quickly responded and provided first aid to the student, having to improvise as their large first aid kit was with the ill teacher. Millie organised for the student to be taken to the Nursing Post for further treatment and ensured that other students were okay before getting them safely back to camp. Given the severity of the injury, Millie monitored the student throughout the night before she was transported back to Perth the next morning.
• Jesse-Jayne Maclardy (Gold Star Bravery Award): Jesse-Jayne was at Gloucester Park racecourse when she found a patron unconscious and not breathing after suffering a cardiac event. She ran into Steelo’s bar to alert staff that the defibrillator was needed. She quickly began CPR before attaching the defibrillator and continued to work on the woman until the ambulance officers arrived.  The patron was hospitalised, but thankfully made a full recovery thanks to Jesse-Jayne’s fast and responsive actions.
• Anthony Lynch (Gold Medallion Bravery Award), Janelle Hartnett, Kerry Robinson, Aimee Moss, and Katharina Peters (Gold Star Bravery Award): Anthony, Janelle, Kerry, Aimee and Katharina were competing in the Dwellingup 100 Mountain Bike race when they came across a man who had collapsed and lost consciousness after suffering a severe heart attack during the event. The group of riders, with off duty nurse Janelle taking the lead, quickly took charge and performed CPR for around 20 minutes until emergency services arrived and transported the rider to Royal Perth Hospital for further treatment where he made a full recovery.
• Sang Hong Khou, Kyle Johnstone and Gemma Cashman (Bravery Commendation Award): An elderly male member reported feeling a jolt of pain through his chest while using equipment in the gym and then fainted, losing consciousness while in the care of gym staff. Hong was first on the scene and alerted Gemma and Kyle, who were working in the office. Together they called an ambulance and assisted the gentleman by placing him in the recovery position and ensuring the defibrillator was on hand if needed. The gym goer was taken to hospital where it was determined he had suffered an aortic rupture which could be fatal if not treated immediately. Thanks to the quick actions of staff, he made a full recovery.
• Jess Cox and David Moore (Gold Star Bravery Award): A patron at Swan Active Ballajura experienced a seizure in the deep end of the lap pool. David quickly responded, jumping into the water to support and reassure the patron. Jess quickly called an ambulance and retrieved the first aid equipment. When the seizure ended, the patron became unconscious and the two staff removed him from the water. They commenced CPR which continued until the patron started breathing again.  Ambulance officers arrived and transported him to Joondalup Hospital where he later made a full recovery.
• Helen Turner (Bravery Commendation Award) and Joe Skehan (Gold Star Bravery Award): When a member of the public started showing stroke-like symptoms during a Zumba class, staff at Swan Active Beechboro were quick to respond. Helen and Joe provided first aid and contacted an ambulance when she started to lose consciousness. They administered oxygen and provided CPR, including the use of a defibrillator for 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived. They were asked to continue CPR until the paramedics had set up all their equipment. Unfortunately, due to underlying health issues the patron later passed away.
• Flynn Throssell, Sophie Eden, Jessica Nalder (Bravery Commendation Award) Tyler Parish and Christian Lawalata (Gold Star Bravery Award): A day at the local swimming pool almost ended in tragedy for one family, when their two-year-old was found floating face down in the water by patron Christian. The young child was being supervised by a family member at the time, however the child had wandered down to the pool’s deep end without the caregiver noticing. Christian pulled the child from the water and quickly alerted lifeguards Tyler, Flynn, Sophie and Jessica to the incident, who then provided first aid and oxygen to the child. The child quickly regained consciousness and began breathing normally. He was transferred to hospital and was released the next day.
• Jake Dwyer (Gold Star Bravery Award) and Cade Ferguson (Bravery Commendation Award): When Jake was visiting the Bold Park Aquatic Centre, he saw another swimmer in trouble and went to assist. The man was coughing and holding onto the lane ropes. Although he claimed to be fine, Jake realised that the situation was becoming serious when the man began slurring his words and becoming less responsive. He waved down Cade who was on the lifeguards on duty and quickly assisted the swimmer to the end of the pool, where together they removed him from the water. Cade then assessed the swimmer’s condition and administered oxygen until the ambulance officers arrived. It was later determined that the swimmer had suffered a stroke. The man went on to make a good recovery thanks to their timely response.  
• Makinley Minchin, Breanne Mitchell, Robyn Chaisty, James Stimson (Gold Star Bravery Award), David Bodmer and Wayne Weller (Bravery Commendation Award): A patron, Michael collapsed due to a suspected cardiac event while walking laps at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre. Patron David noticed that Michael was unresponsive and called for help from lifeguard Makinley. He was quickly removed from the water with the assistance of another patron Wayne. Breanne, Robyn and James responded to the call and along with Makinley commenced CPR. Michael received three shocks from the defibrillator before an ambulance arrived. The paramedics continued resuscitation and when they left to transfer him to hospital, Michael was breathing on his own. Thankfully, Michael has since made a complete recovery.
• Senior Constable Kelsey Timms and Constable Dalton Wynen-Gaugg (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): Senior Constable Kelsey Timms and Constable Dalton Wynen-Gaugg were alerted to a missing three-year-old child. By the time they arrived, the boy had been found in a neighbour’s swimming pool, which he had accessed through a hole in the adjoining fence. The officers checked for signs of life and finding no pulse or breathing, they immediately commenced CPR. When ambulance officers arrived at the scene, they assisted the paramedics in providing further treatment.
• Samantha Milos-Brown, Ashleigh Polinelli and Sharryn Ellis (Gold Star Bravery Award): While participating in a dance class in August, assistant dance teacher Donna suddenly found herself short of breath and collapsed. Fellow dancer Sharryn immediately commenced CPR and was quickly joined by Samantha and Ashleigh. As the team worked tirelessly to revive the dance teacher, they encountered a major roadblock as there was no defibrillator available on site. They remained undeterred and continued working together to perform CPR until an ambulance arrived. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of everyone involved, the dance teacher was unable to be revived.  
• Richelle Dunn (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): When Richelle returned home, she never expected to be confronted with a dangerous situation. As she pulled into her driveway she saw a commotion outside a neighbour’s house, with more than 30 people who were armed with weapons brawling. Richelle saw that a neighbour’s family member had been stabbed – he was bleeding heavily and going into haemorrhagic shock. With no one else taking action, Richelle called for her sister to bring the first aid kit outside and rushed over to assist. She performed first aid on the man, using bandages to control the bleeding until police and paramedics arrived. The man lost consciousness in the ambulance but went on to recover.
• Alanah Dunstan (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): A man had been running to catch the train and once onboard, he started struggling to breathe and collapsed. Luckily for him, 18-year-old Alanah had accidentally gone into work on a public holiday so happened to be on the train. Immediately recognising the seriousness of the condition, Alanah took control of the situation, directing other passengers to call an ambulance and alert the train driver. She then commenced CPR and continued to perform it single-handedly for 15 minutes while the train was diverted back to Perth. The passenger was transferred to hospital where despite initial assessments he went on to make a full recovery.
• Zavier Cullen (Bravery Commendation Award), Ozcar Cullen and David Cullen (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): Ozcar and Zavier’s mum suffered a heart attack while at home. Their dad David immediately started CPR while Zavier called for an ambulance. When David grew tired, 16-year-old Ozcar took over, despite never having been trained in CPR. The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and transferred their mum to the hospital where she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, she experienced a second heart attack whilst in hospital and passed away the following morning.
• Damian Cato, Ainslie Mitchell (Gold Medallion Bravery Award), Alexis Bell, Alex Ferris, Scarlett Walker and Mahana Roy (Bravery Commendation Award): While on a snorkelling excursion at Turtle Bay in the Abrolhos Islands holidaymakers Damian and Ainslie and crew from Eco Abrolhos Cruises found themselves responding to an emergency after a fellow snorkeller was found unconscious in the water. The crew members - Alexis, Alex, Scarlett and Mahana – removed him from the water with the help of other boat patrons. Damian and Ainslie stepped in to commence CPR. Meanwhile, the crew radioed for assistance, organised a defibrillator and ensured other passengers were okay. Damian and Ainslie continued CPR until the defibrillator arrived. The man began breathing following three shocks from the defibrillator. He was then administered oxygen and monitored until emergency services arrived and airlifted him to the mainland. Thankfully, the snorkeller survived the incident.
• Billy Fraser and Stephen Waterman (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): While driving along the Great Northern Highway between Warmun and Doon Doon Roadhouse, mates Stephen and Billy spotted an overturned car down an embankment and immediately turned around to assist. Billy was first down the embankment and found a child trapped in the vehicle. Stephen then joined him and discovered the driver was unfortunately already deceased. Stephen immediately called 000, then ran onto the road and flagged down two other cars for assistance. Worried that the car might roll and fall further down the embankment, Stephen and Billy worked quickly to remove the child. They pried open the car’s windscreen and were able to safely remove the child from the car, caring for the child until they were transferred to the local hospital where they made a full recovery.
• Dilan Hankinson and Nick Grant (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): Dilan and Nick were enjoying a day in the water at Margaret River’s Rivermouth Beach when an emergency occurred. Hazardous conditions at the popular surf spot had created a whirlpool, which sucked 16-year-old Holden Ross under when he entered the water on his bodyboard. He managed to resurface after being dragged under but couldn’t escape the vortex or stay above water long enough to breathe. Witnessing the unfolding situation, Dilan entered the water to help. Despite finding himself in difficulty, he managed to pull Holden’s bodyboard out of the swirling waves, before struggling to his feet. Nick then stepped in, moving towards the wave to pull Holden’s board out. He was then able to grab hold of Holden’s hand and assisted him out of the water.  
• Leanne Gwynne (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): While enjoying dinner with her grandparents, Leanne’s grandfather Stephen suffered a heart attack and collapsed, hitting his head on the floor. While Leanne and her father checked Stephen’s responsiveness, he experienced a seizure and stopped breathing. Leanne and her father began CPR which resulted in her grandfather regaining partial consciousness. They continued to monitor and reassure him until the ambulance arrived. Stephen was taken to hospital where he made a full recovery.
• Daniel Snell (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): Daniel was out boating with his father, brother and grandfather off Dampier heading towards the Montebello Islands when the boat was flipped upside down by a freak wave. Daniel was the only person to surface after the boat flipped. He dived underneath the boat multiple times to rescue first his brother and then his grandfather, while his dad managed to resurface by himself. In addition to his brave actions rescuing his family, he also managed to activate the EPIRB alarm on the boat enabling Search and Rescue to dispatch a helicopter to locate them and transport them back to safety.
• Dion Brahim, Kieran Massam and Mark Potter (Gold Medallion Bravery Award): While on a camping trip, friends Dion, Kieran and Mark were travelling in convoy on an unsealed gravel track back to their campsite near the Fortescue River mouth after a day of fishing. While travelling, one of their friends, Kieran misjudged a turn and his car rolled down an embankment, pinning him underneath the car. The group used a snatch strap to pull the car off their friend who was unconscious and not breathing. They commenced CPR which continued for around 20 minutes until Kieran began breathing again. Due to the remoteness of the location, there were delays in an ambulance attending, so Dion, Kieran and Mark continued to monitor him until police and paramedics arrived. Kieran was flown to Perth by the RFDS and although his prognosis seemed very poor, he rapidly improved and survived with only some broken bones and ongoing memory loss.
• Leah Pieterse and Poppy Simmonds (Gold Cross Bravery Award): After a night out with friends, Leah and Poppy were travelling home along the Mitchell Freeway when they saw people gathered on the side of the road. A man had been hit by a car while changing a flat tyre in the emergency lane. Leah, a student nurse and Poppy, a trained lifeguard, both stopped and approached the scene. They took control of the situation, instructing others to contact emergency services and performing CPR until an ambulance arrived and took over. The injured man was conveyed to Royal Perth Hospital where unfortunately he later passed away. However, the efforts of Leah and Poppy gave his family time to say goodbye to him.  
• Ella McIlveen (Gold Cross Bravery Award): While 17-year-old Ella was driving along the Kwinana Freeway with her brother, she witnessed a significant collision between a pedestrian and truck. Ella stopped her car and approached the pedestrian who was unconscious on the ground and not breathing. She quickly took charge of organising bystanders and called emergency services. Ella then rendered first aid to control bleeding from a head wound and began performing CPR. After a few minutes the injured man began breathing independently and Ella continued to provide first aid until emergency services arrived, ultimately saving the man’s life.

If you know someone who has saved, or attempted to save, someone's life you can nominate them for next year's Bravery Awards by following the link below.