Venus Bay, known for its stunning yet challenging beaches, is the location for a new trial of life-saving equipment that could save lives.
LSV's Research & Health Promotion team
Public Rescue Equipment
This equipment is aimed at helping mitigate the high risk of drowning at Venus Bay beaches.
Why do we need Public Rescue Equipment?
There were 7 drowning deaths in the South Gippsland local government area (LGA) in Victoria since 2014, 75% of which occurred in coastal environments such as Venus Bay. South Gippsland is one of the state’s highest drowning blackspots.
Public Rescue Equipment (PRE) stations are being piloted along Venus Bay beaches 1 – 5 , with a station at each beach’s access point. These stations comprise a call button that enables a direct link to emergency services and a rescue tube that can be used by strong swimmers or trained personnel such as lifesavers to conduct a rescue.
PRE is no substitute for swimming between the flags at a patrolled beach.
Venus Bay Beach No. 1 is patrolled every weekend from November to April.
Gippsland Blackspot Project Overview
The aim of the project is to determine the effectiveness of PRE stations in Gippsland. The project will accomplish this aim with short-term and long-term goals.
The short-term aims are:
- Determine stakeholder and community awareness and knowledge of risks associated with coastal waterways.
- Determine the impacts of the PRE stations including the associated communications on the community.
The long-term aims are:
- Overall decrease the number of drownings and aquatic injuries in the Gippsland region.
- Use this project as a precedent for implementation of similar PRE projects in other Victorian local government areas.
The project consists of three phases split up to effectively deliver on the proposed outcomes.
Phase 1 (Complete)
The first phase consisted of coastal risk assessments at key blackspot locations including Venus Bay beaches 1 – 5. This phase involved consultation with key stakeholders that included land managers, local life saving clubs and community groups.
Phase 2 (Complete)
The second phase involved the implementation of elements as determined in Phase 1, as well as further stakeholder consultation. As a result of location remoteness, these measures included:
- development and installation of public rescue equipment stations along beaches 1-5, each of which comprise a:
- rescue tube attached to instructional signage, which connects to emergency services (000) via a call button
- unique emergency marker code
- QR code for in-language translation, further project information and beachgoer feedback;
- community training/information sessions to the local community about the public rescue equipment; and
- a media campaign about the public rescue equipment stations and promoting safe behaviours in coastal areas.
Phase 3 (In progress)
The third phase involves monitoring and evaluation of the public rescue equipment stations and awareness campaign, to help determine the impacts of these measures on knowledge and awareness of coastal water safety, hazard identification and risk perception in coastal environments.
Acknowledgements
This project is part of the Surf Life Saving Australia Beach Drowning Blackspot Reduction Program, funded by the Australian Government.
Education, promotion and public awareness campaign project elements are funded by the Andrews Foundation.
Venus Bay Surf Life Saving Club
Surf Life Saving New South Wales
