Almost a year since the day Falcon man Ben Gerring was fatally attacked by a shark at Gearies, thirteen Mandurah residents came together to receive gold and silver medallions from Surf Life Saving WA to recognise their rescue efforts.
Among those who received awards were Mandurah Catholic College (MCC) sports director Nick Jenkins, and year 11 student April McPherson.
April, one of the youngest surfers there on the day, remembers the incident in flashes. For a long while, it changed how she felt about getting into the water.
“I still think about it all the time, it makes it more scary,” she said.
However, she is determined to continue her passion for the ocean. At fifteen she already competes in state rounds and the nationals, and recently completed her first aid training.
Mr Jenkins, a keen surfer who has lived in Falcon for most of his life, said getting back in the water at Gearies was an important step for him in dealing with the tragedy.
“Gearies is such a special place, it’s a fantastic surf break… for something so terrible to happen there at our local beach, it was a huge shock, and all the circumstances surrounding it, it was terrible,” he said.
“I think because it is such a very special place to me, and has been for a very long time, it was important for me not to have that taken away.
“We’ve all really said, it cant let us stop us from doing what we love.”
Mr Jenkins and April agreed Mandurah’s surfing community had united over the tragedy of Ben’s death.
“You’ve got to try and take something positive from something so terrible,” Mr Jenkins said.
“A lot of people who may not have known each other in the water before, have now become lifelong friends.”
He said he found many people had been deterred from taking up surfing.
“It’s sad that people don’t feel safe to even paddle their feet at the local beaches when we’ve had such a sense of beach lifestyle here,” Mr Jenkins said.
“We want measures to make it safe.”
By year’s end, that desire to bring something good from the tragedy was a step closer.
Following his brother’s death, Rick Gerring devised the idea of BEN signs, to help prevent delays in emergency response times.
The beach numbering system, which now looks set to be adopted across WA, will help responders to quickly locate the closest beach access point to any incident.
“Our coastline is vast and sometimes there can be numerous access points,” Mr Gerring said.
He said to know Ben’s legacy would be to help save lives was a “proud and humble moment”.
