Pride of Australia: Medals given out for acts of heroism
ANGELA Jay hides well the scars of the day she was almost stabbed to death by a man she met on Tinder. But today the young doctor struggled to conceal her emotions when she was reunited with the man she credits for saving her life.
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The Pride of Australia awards honour ordinary Australians for extraordinary acts of bravery, service and charity
Inspired by the Liberty Medal, the award supports the notion there is no greater measure of a society’s strength than its ability to recognise, learn from and reward its true heroes
TINDER stab victim doctor Angela Jay hides well the 11 scars of the sickening day she was knifed by her jilted lover who broke into her home and lay in wait for her return.
But today the trainee obstetrician and gynaecologist struggled to conceal her emotions and welled up when she was reunited with neighbour Steve Willdern, the man she credits for saving her life as she bled profusely on his garage floor.
The Port Macquarie plasterer was at home with his daughter when madman Paul Lambert broke into the house next door planning to rape and kill the woman inside.
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With every piercing scream that escaped from behind the bolted wooden front door of Ms Jay’s four-bedroom home, Mr Willdern had felt a sick tightening in the pit of his stomach.
Summoning his courage, he grabbed a steel bar from the back of the truck and rushed blindly down the driveway towards the front door from where the screams were coming and ran into the face of danger, not caring who or what was behind the door.
The blood-soaked doctor staggered onto the driveway, stabbed 11 times and doused in petrol by 36-year-old finance worker Lambert whom she had briefly dated.
As Lambert fled the scene by car — he was gunned down by police hours after as he resisted arrest — Mr Willdern tended to the bleeding medic on a blanket in his garage to where he had carried her.
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It is for these lifesaving actions and the risk he took to his own safety that Ms Jay, a year on, nominated Mr Willdern for a Pride of Australia medal, championed by the Daily Telegraph.
“I was just at the right place at the right time,” said Mr Willdern at the awards ceremony hosted at the Sydney Opera House today.
“When you hear (those screams) you have no choice. I heard screaming and knew something was terribly wrong. I didn’t know what was behind the door, but I had to do something,” the reluctant hero said.
Ms Jay, 29, who shared in the award for her fervent campaigning for victims of domestic violence through White Ribbon, said: “I have the utmost respect for him, he saved my life, even though he will say he didn’t.”
Fighting back tears as she hugged him on stage, she added: “He doesn’t realise how much he helped me that day, him being there has made a huge difference to my life.
“He will always be my hero.”
Emotions ran deep at the 13th annual Pride of Australia ceremony, which awarded 16 outstanding individuals garnered from hundreds of nominations from around the country who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities.
“What makes Pride so special is the stories of the medallists. And we look forward to honouring some remarkable Australians today — who are aged between 13 and 93,” said host Sandra Sully as the medal ceremony commenced.
“It’s really humbling and moving, so tissues at the ready,” she warned.
The awards honour ordinary Australians thrust by fate into life and death situations, police officers, volunteer firefighters, teenagers who have displayed courage beyond their years, those who have raised untold thousands for charity and selfless individuals who have spent their lives in the service of others and the protection of animals.
Inspired by the Liberty Medal established by the New York Post in the wake of the September 11 attacks, Pride of Australia, championed by the Daily Telegraph, supports the notion there is no greater measure of a society’s strength than its ability to recognise, learn from and reward its true heroes.
Lifeguard braved huge swells
Also chuffed to be honoured was teenage lifeguard Jennifer Webb who braved seven-foot swells on the Central Coast’s Killcare beach to save a drowning man swept 80 metres out to sea by a ferocious flash rip.
She was being tossed like a ragdoll on the giant waves. But the 17-year-old dived down, grabbed the man’s hair and dragged him up above water.
Hell bent on saving him, Ms Webb barrelled towards the shore, focused on delivering into the hands of rescuers the listless body of 22-year-old Sayed Hashimi a Blacktown local.
Days later he took to the Killcare Surf Life Saving Club to write: “Thank you for saving my life.”
“When he was breathing and sitting on the beach I knew I had done something right,” she said accepting her medal.
Among the winners were the family of Dr Chloe Abbott, who committed suicide under the strain of “brutal” working conditions, whose advocacy won new laws to support junior doctors who seek mental health treatment.
Ms Abbott worked as a junior doctor at St Vincent’s Hospital before she took her own life.
Their advocacy won new laws to support those who seek mental health treatment.
Her emotional mother Mrs Eagles said: “Chloe’s loss was devastating but suicide is not a dirty little secret.
“It affects the rest of society”.
Pair pulled sisters from burning car
Heroic mother-of-three Lisa Elmas and Darrin Collier were awarded medals being among the first on the scene and not hesitating to pull Home and Away actor Jessica Falkholt and her sister Annabelle from a horror car wreck that claimed their lives.
Mrs Elmas, 44, risked her own life to drag the sisters to safety after a horrific head-on collision on the New South Wales south coast on Boxing Day.
The mangled wreckage exploded only moments later, as flames ignited a gas bottle under one of the vehicles.
Both girls passed away in the days and weeks after the event both Mrs Elmas and Mr Collier said they would do it all again.
“I was just on autopilot but I had to get them out,” said Mrs Elmas who is receiving counselling for the trauma she underwent trying to rescue the girls.
“We’re not heroes, we’re just normal guys,” said Mr Collier.
“You can’t forget what they did ... knowing the girls were not alone ...” she said.
“The words ‘thank you, ‘appreciation,’ hero’ sound cheap, there are no words I can use to describe how thankful I am, knowing they did not pass away alone in that catastrophic event.”
Father lost an arm
Another breathtaking tale of bravery involved Colin Bailey who had been trying to attach a horse float to his car when he reversed into a pole. The crash tore his right arm off entirely.
With only his 12-year-old daughter Ayumi and her best friend Aja at home on the remote property near Jindabyne, Mr Bailey thought he would not survive.
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But following instructions from Mr Bailey, Aja made a makeshift tourniquet from a horse lead as Ayumi ran a nearby hill to call an ambulance. With poor reception on the property, she dialled six times before getting through to help.
His arm could not be saved but their actions saved Mr Bailey’s life.
“I did not know what a tourniquet was, I did did what Colin said and grabbed a horse rope and tied it round his arm,” said a shy Aja collecting her award.
Heroism hours before death
Nominated posthumously was Doctor Bill Christie who showed breathtaking heroism in the hours before his death.
Last October, a false move on a slippery narrow laneway on a Gundy farm, in the NSW Upper Hunter sent the four-wheel-drive he was in careering down an embankment.
Dr Christie’s son, Paul, 42, was killed almost immediately as he was flung clear from the vehicle as was real estate agent Adam O’Regan.
Dr Christie’s instinct to hold his screaming grandson to his chest saved the boy from serious injury but it is his incredible strength in the ensuing hours that his family will never forget.
For eight long hours the retired radiologist, 75, clung to life, ensuring his five-year-old grandson Hugh did not wander off and risk further injury.
Fighting back the tears his widow Dr Wendy Christie, who flew in from Mount Tamborine to collect his award, said: “Bill was generous, he was community spirited, it’s nice that he has got this recognition ... his grandson will appreciate it.
“It would have been a super human effort to do what he did given his injuries.
“He would have been gratified (by the award) had he known.”
Great strength shown by Levesons
Behind another incredible tale of indomitable strength are Mark and Faye Leveson.
Not for one moment since their son Matt disappeared in September 2007 did they surrender their search or the pursuit of justice.
They drove a police cold case reinvestigation and later an inquest into his death.
As a result, Matt’s former lover, Michael Atkins, 55, led police to Matt’s lonely grave in the Royal National Park south of Sydney where he said he buried the 20-year-old after he allegedly died of a drug overdose.
Atkins remains free after he was acquitted in 2009 of Matt’s murder and given immunity from prosecution.
The assistance they gave to detectives, including wearing a listening device to talk to Atkins, led the coroner to recommend they receive an official police commendation.
The couple were given a Pride of Australia Award at the ceremony today.
Accepting the award, Ms Leveson said: “The first time I did the wire, I vomited.
“We’ve got 18th century laws, things have to change.
“I just worked on a mother’s instinct, I couldn’t sit down and do nothing.”
Also chuffed was Senior Constable Jacki Largo whose charity Paws Recover brings animals and sick and lonely humans together.
Presenting the award, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “Jacki has gone above and beyond and out her life on hold to help others.
“She has demonstrated enormous strength, courage and compassion.
“She show individuals can make a difference and insure others.”
The Daily Telegraph’s general director Michael Wilkins said these breathtaking stories — and so many others — typified those whose deeds were recognised at the awards, which are organised by News Corp Australia and supported by Imagine Cruising.
“These medallists, their families and friends are the heart of Australia,” he said. “Their selfless contributions set them apart.”
Constable saved suicidal man
Perhaps the most emotional moment of the day came when constable Arun Trevitt told of the extraordinary moment he helped rescue Dan Price, who stood on Sydney Harbour Bridge with every intention of hurling himself off.
His kind and empathetic actions convinced Mr Price to turn around and today it was revealed he is a proud expectant father.
“Suddenly I was inches from the face of a man I had never met before.
“He was holding onto a fence and I knew if he let go he would go down.
“I’m proud of how he’s come through, he’s done the hard yards, not me.”
After returning to Australia from the war, he joined the charity Legacy and today still drives widows to charity functions in Dubbo.
Accepting his medal from Daily Telegraph editor Christopher Dore, an overwhelmed Mr Winslow said: “I was never a hero but I’m still going strong.
“I’m overwhelmed by how this city has advanced since I was least here and can’t wait to get back to Dubbo quick enough.”
Pride of Australia is proudly brought to you by The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, NewsLocal and Imagine Cruising