Gunammatta Beach Drownings
On 8 January 1998, a fun day out at the beach ended in tragedy for two families when four children drowned. The families were of the belief the section of the beach they were at was patrolled, however they had parked at an unpatrolled section of Gunammatta Beach - the patrolled section was 800 metres further away at another car park.
Lack of adequate water safety signage at the various access points to the beach did not inform them of the unpatrolled area.
Following the tragedy, Derek Wilson, father of two of the children and uncle of the other two, campaigned in partnership with Life Saving Victoria for better beach signage across the State. The signage was to better inform beach users of patrolled locations and other water safety hazards. This resulted in national and international adoption of standardised beach signage.
The drownings were also the catalyst for a ‘call to action’ by the Victorian Government, the media, and water safety experts to develop the now successful ‘Play it Safe by the Water’ campaign.
For more information, please refer to the Aquatic and Recreational Signage Style Manual by following the link below.
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