Ken Hawthorne


Black Sunday at Bondi Beach, 6 February 1938.

Ken Hawthorne, born in February of 1920, first took a position as beach inspector during the busy Christmas holidays. He was one of the lifesavers on the scene during the events known as Black Sunday. “A chap came up from Bondi, and said “quick, quick, quick, we’re in trouble up there, send all your swimmers up there, and need all your reels. Hurry, hurry.” … So I was built swimmer, a good built swimmer, and so I raced up there firstly, and a couple of reels came up after me, and all I could see was a mass…”

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