1894 - 1982

Surf lifesaver and labourer John ‘Jack’ Chalmers was born in 1894 in Wellington, New Zealand, and he and his family moved to Sydney in 1906. In World War 1, between 1916 and 1918, he served on the Western Front, with the 47th and 45th battalions.

Back in Sydney, he joined North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club (NBSLSC), and in 1921, at age 27, he won ‘belt’ races at several Sydney beaches. At Coogee Beach on 4 February 1922, body surfer Milton Coughlan was attacked by a shark. Without hesitating, Jack tied an unused reel line around his waist, plunged into the water and raced to the stricken swimmer’s aid despite being dazed from a fall on the slippery rocks. (Sir) Frank Beaurepaire joined him and helped return the pair to the beach. Coughlan died at Sydney Hospital soon after being admitted. Jack later said that as the ‘belt’ champion, he’d been responsible for acting: “The fact is that I went in first and worried about it after, and am still worrying, for I shall never forget the shocking sight.”

The rescue captured the public’s attention, and in The Sydney Mail, it was described as “one of the most glorious deeds of gallantry ever recorded in Australia”. King George V awarded Jack the Albert Medal for Lifesaving, which at the time was the highest bravery award a civilian could earn. Also, Jack and Beaurepaire each received a medal from the Royal Shipwreck Relief & Humane Society of New South Wales and the Surf Life Saving Association of New South Wales. In 1923, Jack’s brother Rob was awarded the same honours, for a rescue he’d performed at North Bondi.

Coogee and North Bondi surf-lifesaving clubs honoured both Jack and Beaurepaire with life membership, and at least £3000 was raised for Jack, from public-testimonial funds. The proceeds from appeals mounted by Sydney newspapers The Sunday Times and The Referee and NBSLSC were used to pay off his mortgage, and the proceeds from an appeal mounted by a citizens’ committee were used to pay a deposit on a truck and make investments for him. 

In 1972 at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II conferred the George Cross on him and his fellow surviving Albert Medal for Lifesaving recipients. He later received the Surf Life Saving Association of New South Wales’s service awards for 25 and 50 years of service.

Jack was first employed as an ironworker at the Balmain shipyards and later as a rigger. He died in 1982 at age 88, in Bondi Junction, the suburb he’d lived in since 1939. His ashes were scattered on his beloved Bondi Beach.

Images courtesy North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club and Alan Peacock.