For the First Responders

What began as a plan to welcome Sydney with festive hams quickly shifts in response to a difficult week, with the team deciding to pass those small gifts on to first responders instead. Josh heads to Bondi to personally thank surf lifesavers and police, hearing firsthand stories of bravery, quiet resilience, and compassion in the aftermath of recent events. From silent beaches to unexpected moments of kindness, it’s a moving reminder of the people who show up when it matters most.

 

If this conversation brings up difficult feelings, support is available. You can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 confidential support, or visit lifeline.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
I Heeart podcasts.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
You can hear more Gold one I four point three podcasts,
playlist and listen live on the free iHeart app. So,
like I was saying, we had these Christmas hams, and
last week it seemed like this would be a nice
way to say hello. It feels like, you know, I'm
moving into a new neighborhood and going around all the
local neighbors saying hello, introducing myself and I've got a
gift for you before Christmas, okay.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
And so now we had it.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
This week everything changed and it says we're all where
we can't be doing that, it's not right. But look,
we've got these Christmas hams. Why do we give them
to the first responders if they'd like them. So yesterday
a lovely man on the show called Josh You went
down to Bondi You went to the first responders to
see if they wanted these just very small gifts to
say we see you and thank you for your service.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
So what was that like?

Speaker 3 (00:56):
It was a really special moment and one that I
didn't know was going to be as special as it was.
But as I went down to Tema Emma Surf Life
Saving Club, which is now their sort of main meeting
point to sort of connect, to do debriefs, and so
I knew I was kind of going to a main
point for them, and I didn't even know how to

(01:17):
enter him. Was it the front door, was it the
back door? How do you enter a stiff life saving club?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
And do you want to get in the way?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
They're also an act of life saving club and he
don't want to be an inconvenienced. But we wanted to
go down and say thank you. I'm not just us
on the team here, but everyone in Sydney absolutely.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
And I met a gentleman by the name of Ben
there and he was sort of working out already, you know,
shirt off, ready to go and jump in the water,
and he met me with so much warmth and straight
away he was just taken by the gesture and nothing
more than just a big thank you. And he told
me straight away that I needed to speak with a

(01:55):
couple of other people, and one was a man named Rory,
who actually on Sunday was there when it was all happening,
In all the chaos, his first instinct was to actually
run towards the water and to save people.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
And it truly and this.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Is because obviously people were trying to find a safe
refuge in the water.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, people freaking out, not knowing what to do, and
it just really makes it very very real in that
moment to hear firsthand just how brave, how incredibly.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Brave, and the young kids.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah yeah, and to not think of yourself and it's
just a lovely thing to be able to give them something.
And yeah, I think even now it's it's just to
your point there, just being able to say a hello
to people and really almost just that human element that
people are there and people are being brave. It's quite

(02:51):
a special thing to actually hear it firsthand.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
What was it like to go down a bond II.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
It's very silent. It's almost like the air and like
time is like standing still, like everything's slower down.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
There by sacred ground now, isn't it. Yeah?

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Unwittingly it has, you know, when you sent me your
photo of it yesterday, already felt just want to photo
the silence of it, because actually going to Bond that
is not a place of silence. Normally, it's a place
of noise, chaos, laughter, people meeting up, you know, life
happening there vividly and in all the stuff I've seen.
It's very very quiet. Obviously, it's just so strikingly different.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Absolutely, and you know, nobody speaking, but then there is
sort of communication with the prayers and the loves and
the foot.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Is an act of silent respect, isn't it that? Actually
they don't need the words. The silence is are the words.
And so you went also to other first responders. You
went to the police.

Speaker 3 (03:42):
Yeah, went to Bondo police station and I was wondering
if they can accept it, like is it in their
company policy?

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Again, you've been told by the ambulance staff couldn't accept them.
They're not allowed to accept gifts, which I find extraordinary.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
I think that's a real shame.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
So anyway, you went to the police station and how
are they Yeah, they grabbed those hands off the.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Fish were the hams.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
They had to get clear and they asked. I spoke
with a gentleman named Andrew and he goes, I've just
got to check check with my sergeant. And he went
away and came back and came back with the biggest smile.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
On his face.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
What else is that sergeant going to say? Standing in
at ten seconds to make it at the chip? How
many ams do you reckon, it's gone, follow him, see
where he goes, go back to his face, get more
Christmas hands.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Who doesn't love a Christmas hand? Right, So they chut
the hams. They did great, they did.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
And then as I was leaving it really it's stopped
me because I was leaving and there was a whole
group of girls walking in all holding flowers and they
were just going to go the desk after me and
give flowers to the police. Yeah, it's just so lovely
because it's like those are the kindness and cares that
you maybe don't see, and to see it in person

(05:01):
was it was very.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Special, brilliant, lovely.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
If there's anyone else you think we need to hear
about or we should be talking to, please let me know.