Tributes flow for legendary Gold Coast lifeguard John Cunningham

Tributes are pouring in for a legendary Queensland lifeguard who once paddled straight into a cyclone to rescue two comrades.

TRIBUTES are pouring in for legendary Queensland lifeguard John Cunningham after his death following a long illness.

Mr Cunningham was one of the first professional lifesavers on the Gold Coast, serving as the city’s chief lifeguard for decades and earning the distinction of being the personal lifeguard for former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

He served the city for more than 40 years before retiring in 1994.

He was held in such high regard that the council’s Coolangatta lifeguard centre was named in his honour after he retired.

John Cunningham, pictured at Kirra Beach in 2006. Picture: Jono Searle.

He died after a lengthy illness at the age of 89.

Long-time Gold Coast chief lifeguard Warren Young said Mr Cunningham had been a tremendous mentor and friend.

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“He was very supportive of me when I first started,” he said.

“I started at a pretty young age, but John was very encouraging towards me and that was great because he was so well-respected by everybody.

“He had a great sense of humour and he was a real character in every respect.

“He was an incredible man.”

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Mr Cunningham carved out a decorated career as a Gold Coast lifeguard and received the prestigious Meritorious Award in Bronze for a daring rescue at Coolangatta during Cyclone Dinah in 1967.

After a surfer was swept away in huge seas, two local lifesavers set out to rescue him, but they too floundered in the ferocious five-metre swells, before Mr Cunningham, who was off-duty at the time, bravely entered the water and reached the lifesavers as they clung to a shark net off the coast.

He gave his rescue board to the exhausted lifesavers before turning around and guiding them back to shore to a hero’s ovation.

However, he later recalled feeling uncomfortable with the “hero” tag.

“I didn’t look at myself as a hero,” he said.

“I got a lot of pats on the back, but I wasn’t interested in any of that.”

John Cunningham with the medal he received for a famous rescue at Kirra. Picture: supplied.

Former surfing world champion Peter “PT” Townend once described Mr Cunningham as “Coolangatta’s greatest waterman”.

“He was a mentor to all of us growing up in the water,” he recalled in 2011.

Australian Surfing hall of fame Bob McTavish once said Mr Cunningham was one of the best surfers he had ever seen and he was known for his tremendous athleticism and skill across a variety of water sports.

He was a life member of the Tweed Heads Coolangatta surf club and still enjoyed a swim in the ocean or the nearby Jack Evans Boat Harbour until his illness made it too difficult.

John Cunningham enjoying retirement from his role as a city lifeguard.

Tweed Coast icon “Big” Trev Arbon said Mr Cunningham was a legend of the surf arena.

“Sad to hear that my mate, legend lifeguard John Cunningham has passed away,” he wrote on Facebook.

“I’m going to miss the funny bugger.”

“Lifetime legend of the area,” wrote one admirer on Facebook.