Bega Tragedy

[aquaman]

Hi Fishraiders,

Did anyone hear about the Tathra Warf Tragey?

Very sad to hear things like these, especially if

it involves the children.

here's the link :

http://www.theage.com.au/national/father-s...81119-6ak9.html

anglers, pls take care at all times, don't let your guards down.

thanks.

[craigtempo]

Hi Fishraiders,

Did anyone hear about the Tathra Warf Tragey?

Very sad to hear things like these, especially if

it involves the children.

here's the link :

http://www.theage.com.au/national/father-s...81119-6ak9.html

anglers, pls take care at all times, don't let your guards down.

thanks.

words cannot descibe how tragic this is . my heart goes out to everyone involved .

craig

[Lukeanna]

This story is tragic, I take my son (10) fishing from Stockton Breakwall quite regularly, I will be taking extra care in the future. We can't begin to imagine the pain the family and friends of the man and his 2 children are going through. My condolances to all who have been touched by this. And gratitude to the heroic efforts of the second man who tried to help.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Lukeanna

[On The reds]

My kids wear self inflating jackets at all times when we are near water.

[Dhutchy]

This terrible tragedy is a graphic reminder to us all. To those of us who have kids and those of us that don't that we just can't take safety for granted. We've all been careless at times, but perhaps the one good thing that might come from the Bega tragedy, is that maybe everyone will take more care.

Its hard to say it, but how powerful is the 20/20 hindsight that says, one bloke taking a 4 year old and a 15 month old onto a jetty, 4-5 metres above the water, at 8pm in windy choppy conditions, might be hazardous? The answers are soul rattling.

My condolences to all the families and folk touched by this terrible event, but I urge all fishers and boaties to exercise appropriate care, particuarly when there's little kids involved

Dhutchy

[stephan]

CANT GET OVER IT WE GO DOWN THERE TWICE A YEAR FOR A WEEK OF FISHING , JUST DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THAT COULD OF HAPPEN GOD BLESS, ILL PRAY FOR THE FAMILY

[mrmoshe]

Appeal for help after wharf drownings

AN appeal has been launched to help the devastated fiancee and family of a man who drowned with his two young sons off a wharf .

Shane O'Neill, a butcher from Kalaru near Bega on the New South Wales souith coast, dived into dark, choppy waters to try to rescue four-year-old Riley and 15-month-old Travis after they fell from the fishing wharf on Tuesday night.

All three drowned despite the efforts of lifesavers and a heroic onlooker who also dived in.

Mr O'Neill, who would have turned 29 on Saturday of next week, was to marry his long-time love Stacey Lambert in March next year.

An appeal has been started to raise funds for funeral expenses and other financial burdens resulting from the loss, south coast-based Horizon Credit Union said.

People who wish to make a donation to the O'Neill/Lambert family appeal can do so through the Horizon Credit Union or by electronic funds transfer.

Ms Lambert's family and friends were last night rallying around her at the family home in tiny hamlet of Kalaru, on the road between Bega and Tathra.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donations for the Shane O'Neill Family Appeal can be made to:

Account Name: Shane O'Neill Family Appeal

BSB: 802-124 Account No: 90058

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We are just all gutted," long-time friend Steven Meaker said yesterday.

"To lose a family, I couldn't imagine what Stacey is going through. They have just built a house."

Meanwhile lifesavers who helped pull the three from the ocean said the odds were fatally stacked against the father and his sons once they went into the water

"They all had their shoes and clothes and everything on, so in those sort of conditions they didn't really have much chance," Tathra lifesaver Scott Meaker told ABC.

"I've never been so scared in my life. I jumped in and didn't even realise how cold the water was," fellow lifesaver Shane Rettke said.

Onlooker hero

Mr O'Neill was fishing off the wharf as Travis sat nearby in a pram held by Riley when the pram and boys tumbled into the water.

The panicked father quickly dived in, and a 37-year-old man, identified by The Sydney Morning Herald as Canberra man Robert Brown, also jumped into the water to help.

Mr Brown, a protective services officer with the Australian Federal Police, was reportedly "groaning" in the water when rescuers found him.

He was taken to hospital on Tuesday night but discharged early yesterday morning with minor injuries.

The water temperature at the time was estimated to be about 15C, with a 1.5m swell running.

Police said members of the public who wished to nominate Mr Brown for a bravery award could contact Bega police.

"He risked his life to save others and he could have had a very different outcome for himself," lifesaver Mr Rettke told the ABC.

NSW police Superintendent Mick Willing said the people involved knew each other and the tragedy had impacted on the whole community.

The reality of Tuesday night is just starting to set in for some.

"My wife came home, she dropped the kids off at school and said the (deceased) little fella was actually from my young bloke's pre-school and that's when it hit home," Mr Meaker said.

With AAP and The Daily Telegraph

[Land based]

Appeal for help after wharf drownings

AN appeal has been launched to help the devastated fiancee and family of a man who drowned with his two young sons off a wharf .

Shane O'Neill, a butcher from Kalaru near Bega on the New South Wales souith coast, dived into dark, choppy waters to try to rescue four-year-old Riley and 15-month-old Travis after they fell from the fishing wharf on Tuesday night.

All three drowned despite the efforts of lifesavers and a heroic onlooker who also dived in.

Mr O'Neill, who would have turned 29 on Saturday of next week, was to marry his long-time love Stacey Lambert in March next year.

An appeal has been started to raise funds for funeral expenses and other financial burdens resulting from the loss, south coast-based Horizon Credit Union said.

People who wish to make a donation to the O'Neill/Lambert family appeal can do so through the Horizon Credit Union or by electronic funds transfer.

Ms Lambert's family and friends were last night rallying around her at the family home in tiny hamlet of Kalaru, on the road between Bega and Tathra.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donations for the Shane O'Neill Family Appeal can be made to:

Account Name: Shane O'Neill Family Appeal

BSB: 802-124 Account No: 90058

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We are just all gutted," long-time friend Steven Meaker said yesterday.

"To lose a family, I couldn't imagine what Stacey is going through. They have just built a house."

Meanwhile lifesavers who helped pull the three from the ocean said the odds were fatally stacked against the father and his sons once they went into the water

"They all had their shoes and clothes and everything on, so in those sort of conditions they didn't really have much chance," Tathra lifesaver Scott Meaker told ABC.

"I've never been so scared in my life. I jumped in and didn't even realise how cold the water was," fellow lifesaver Shane Rettke said.

Onlooker hero

Mr O'Neill was fishing off the wharf as Travis sat nearby in a pram held by Riley when the pram and boys tumbled into the water.

The panicked father quickly dived in, and a 37-year-old man, identified by The Sydney Morning Herald as Canberra man Robert Brown, also jumped into the water to help.

Mr Brown, a protective services officer with the Australian Federal Police, was reportedly "groaning" in the water when rescuers found him.

He was taken to hospital on Tuesday night but discharged early yesterday morning with minor injuries.

The water temperature at the time was estimated to be about 15C, with a 1.5m swell running.

Police said members of the public who wished to nominate Mr Brown for a bravery award could contact Bega police.

"He risked his life to save others and he could have had a very different outcome for himself," lifesaver Mr Rettke told the ABC.

NSW police Superintendent Mick Willing said the people involved knew each other and the tragedy had impacted on the whole community.

The reality of Tuesday night is just starting to set in for some.

"My wife came home, she dropped the kids off at school and said the (deceased) little fella was actually from my young bloke's pre-school and that's when it hit home," Mr Meaker said.

With AAP and The Daily Telegraph

my ex wife will not let me take my son fishing now

but i can see her side has ben is only 4 yrs old

[craigtempo]

it still brings tears to my eyes when i read this stuff ...........

i have a 3and 5 year old .

i just cant imagine what mum is going through.

craig