Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 19 February 1950 at approximately 4 pm, Daphne Knowles, aged 16, was swimming about 25 metres from the shore at North Cronulla when she was caught in a notorious rip near ‘the alley’. After she had been swept about 300 metres, she managed to cling to a surf ski which was being paddled by a member of the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club. Other surf lifesavers also managed to make it through the break to reach her, but by this time she was exhausted.

Club Captain ‘Major’ James Peryman, known as Jim, aged 24, was observing from the beach and realised the situation was critical. A member of North Cronulla’s champion R&R team and an accomplished swimmer with considerable knowledge of local surf conditions, Jim summoned another reel, line and belt team from the patrol and ran to the northern end of the beach. After a tremendously difficult swim, during which he strained against the weight of the line, Jim managed to reach Daphne. He took control of the patient and eventually the line began hauling him and Daphne back to the beach. He was assisted by another surf lifesaver visiting from Queensland, Frank Bergstron.

Jim continued to hold Daphne until he disappeared under the water, his line weighed down by the massive amount of seaweed in the water at the time. Jim was last seen conscious with his back towards the beach, an apparent sign that he was still prepared to rescue Daphne. Daphne was eventually taken to the beach by another surf ski and was safe.

During a lengthy haul-in, with increasing weight on the line, the linesman observed in the shallows of the sandbank a mass of seaweed. They raced to the scene and after frantically digging through the weed found the unconscious Jim Peryman. After numerous resuscitation efforts, Jim was transferred to the St George Hospital where the resident medical officer pronounced his death.

Jim was posthumously awarded a silver medal and certificate of merit by the Royal Shipwreck Relief and Humane Society. He has been acknowledged now in our local community also with the naming of Peryman Square at North Cronulla and, most recently, at the dedication of Australia’s first national surf reserve on Cronulla’s beaches in Bate Bay.

However it was not until this year’s National Surf Life Saving Championship in Perth that he was acknowledged by Surf Life Saving Australia. Thanks to the efforts of North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club life members, Allan Cameron, Edward Larsen, Harry Brown and club patron Warren Rennie, together with the late Bill Marshall, patron of the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, in recognition of the fact that he continued to rescue at the risk of his own life, ‘Major’ James Peryman was awarded posthumously Surf Life Saving Australia’s highest recognition for bravery, the Meritorious Award Silver Medallion.

Jim is one of 40 such recipients in the movement’s more than 100 years proud history, joining the shire’s E. Salisury Baker from the Cronulla club, who received the award in 1944 for his rescue of a shark victim, Keith Weir, at Forster Beach. I commend Surf Life Saving Australia for their long overdue recognition of ‘Major’ Jim Peryman and thank all of our surf life savers particularly those from our Bate Bay clubs in the shire who follow in Jim’s footsteps every summer, putting themselves at risk to protect our safety.