The impulsive decision to risk their own safety in order to rescue a family pet, saw four young boys find themselves in an incredibly dangerous and almost tragic situation on this day in 1983.
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One of the boys involved in the incident, Robert Buckley, said that he and his friends had gone to Florey earlier in the day to "look at the bike track" and on the way back, pet dog, Jeta, fell into the creek which runs into the nearby storm water drain.
Assuming that there was little risk of flooding, the boys entered the drain through a hinged grid. When they entered the water was very shallow however levels quickly rose and caused the kids to panic.
Michael Hammond, Michael Gazzard, Darren Beatty and Jason Collins, all 13, were trapped in the drain while quick thinking friends, Robert Buckley, 12, and Cameron Taylor, 13, who had been above ground, ran to nearby Southern Cross Drive and were able to stop passing motorists and tell them to notify police. A local resident, Warren Backhouse, heard of the incident and went to assist.
The four boys were eventually dragged out with a rope by First Constable Peter Bright, of the Australian Federal Police Rescue Squad. Cold, wet and shaken when they emerged, amazingly the boys first concern was that this be a lesson on the dangers of these drains.
Thankfully this story ended with everyone unharmed, however, all involved were aware of how differently this could have ended and the group was warned about how dangerous their actions had been.
