A 13-year-old boy who made headlines worldwide for swimming four hours to save his family from drowning off the coast of Western Australia has been welcomed to Government buildings.
Austin Appelbee was welcomed to the Dáil on Tuesday, just months after the “awe-inspiring” ocean rescue which took place in February, involving his mother and younger siblings.
Austin ditched his kayak and swam 4 kilometres over almost four hours to reach the shore to get help after being swept out to sea with his mother and two siblings in Geographe bay. As he swam against the sea, he recalled how he kept repeating to himself, “No, not today.”
“It was God the whole time,” the teenager told the national press, saying that when the sea turned dangerous, he relied on his faith. Despite being swept miles away from shore with his mother and siblings, he made the brave decision to swim alone to find help after his family members were swept 14km out in Geographic Bay, near Quindalup, Western Australia.
What had begun as a family day at the beach ended in a 10-hour ordeal for the family, after they were swept out to sea. The schoolboy said he didn’t know if his mother, brother and sister would still be alive when he finally reached the shore – four hours after he departed them in the water holding onto two paddleboards. As the evening darkened, his mother also feared her son may not have made it. Austin’s swim to raise the alarm was described by rescuers as “superhuman.”
Austin Appelbee’s mother, Joanne, is from Magheracloone in Monaghan, while his father is Australian. The family lives in Perth, Western Australia.
Austin recounted how prayer, Christian songs and “happy thoughts” kept him going despite being “really scared.”
“I was thinking about mum, Beau and Grace. I was also thinking about my friends and my girlfriend – I have a really good bunch of friends,” he said.
“When I hit the floor I thought, how am I on land right now – is this a dream?”
He said it dawned on him that his family “could still be alive out there – I have to go save them”.
He then ran 2km to a hotel and calmly called triple-zero, telling operators, “We took out to sea and got lost out there.”
A helicopter rescue saved his mum, Joanne, 47, brother, Beau, 8, and sister, Grace, 12.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy said: “I hope colleagues will assist when I break with the normal rules of not welcoming anyone during Leaders’ Questions. Today we have a very special welcome in giving a big, warm céad míle fáilte to an incredible young man, Mr. Austin Appelbee, age 13.
“Deputies may have heard Austin’s story from February this year, when he undertook an incredible act of bravery in Western Australia. In order to save the lives of his mother Joanne, his brother Beau and his sister Grace, Austin undertook a four-hour, 4 km swim followed by a 2 km run to contact emergency services, which ultimately led to everyone being rescued by emergency services. What an incredible feat. We are delighted to have Austin and his family here today in the Public Gallery. You are most welcome.”
TDs gave Austin a round of applause.
Austin, a cadet in the Australian army, was previously recognised with the Australian Army Cadets’ top honour – a Gold Commendation after an extraordinary act of bravery. The Australian Army Cadets commander hailed his “exceptional determination and courage.”