THE IRISH GRANDMOTHER of a 13-year-old boy who is credited with saving the lives of his mother and two younger siblings in Australia said she is “very proud” of his heroic actions.
Austin Applebee swam 4km in four hours on Friday to raise the alarm after the family were swept out to sea off the Australian coast.
His mother Joanne, originally from Co Monaghan but living in Perth in Australia, and his brother and sister remained in the water for up to 10 hours before their rescue.
Austin and his mother, 12-year-old brother Beau, and eight-year-old sister Grace were on holiday and were using kayaks and paddle boards hired from their hotel at around noon when rough ocean and wind conditions started dragging them out to sea.
A search helicopter found the mother and two children wearing life jackets and clinging to a paddleboard at 8.30pm, police said. They had drifted 14km from Quindalup in Western Australia state.
Police Inspector James Bradley said that Austin’s actions “ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings”.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1′s Morning Ireland today, Joanne’s mother Doreen Cunningham, who hails from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan, described the ordeal.
Doreen said the family were at the seaside with the kayaks when Austin headed out too far in the sea. When the others followed him out, the waves grew stronger and they were pushed further out.
“They were trying to get back in and the waves kept coming and the wind started to get worse and worse and worse, and they couldn’t get back.
“So she [Joanne] didn’t decide to send Austin. He offered, would he go? She had lost her glasses and she could barely see the beach. So he said, Mam, I can see it.
“Mam, I’ll go. Mam, I’ll go and I’ll try. And she said, no, no, no, we’ll wait another wee while. So anyway, he decided he’d go and he went.”
The family were on holiday in Quindalup, Western Australia.
Austin initially tried to return to shore swimming with his kayak but ended up leaving it and his life jacket behind as both were impeding his swimming. Once he got to shore, he ran another mile to the hotel to get Joanne’s phone to call for help.
While Austin made his journey back to shore and sent for help, Joanne and her other two children remained in the rough water waiting to see if help would come.
“It was a long, long time,” Doreen said. “It was four hours. And she [Joanne] was sure that he was drowned.
“But she kept going and kept trying and keep the other two talking and singing, and praying, of course, that was one of the main things.”
Joanne tied the two children to herself and the kayak to ensure they wouldn’t drift from each other in the water. After some time, a helicopter came overhead to locate them and a rescue boat was sent out for the three.
“I’m very proud of the four of them,” Doreen said. “I think he’s brilliant, and I think the world of them.
“It’s wonderful for them to be alive and well.”
Additional reporting by Press Association
